Chapter Summaries

Fang Yun punished Guan Yi for advocating that Jing Kingdom give up territory by turning Guan Yi’s claim of personal generosity against him. Guan Yi was left imprisoned in a cage atop the ruins of his home, on display for Xiang Prefecture’s people.

• Guan Yi defended his article by claiming he was willing to give up only his own share of the borderlands, making himself out to be kind rather than vile.
• Fang Yun decreed that Guan Yi surrender his family’s wealth to compensate people harmed by Qing Kingdom’s Xuanwu Army and ordered his home demolished, leaving him only a three-foot-square cage for three months.
• Fang Yun sealed Guan Yi’s powers with the Ji King’s Seal and had guards drag him away after Guan Yi collapsed while trying to flee.
• Fang Yun left the hall without answering Nie Changju, while the officials joked about the fates of the worthy, the kind, and the vile.
• Dong Wencong and the other officials found Guan Yi trapped in a sealed cage amid the rubble of his former home as residents gathered to watch.

After Guan Yi was exposed and punished, Fang Yun ignored the resulting impeachments and organized the launch of the People's Gazette. The first issue appeared in Xiang Prefecture, opening with Fang Yun's article, “My First Letter of Challenge.”

• The public learned that Guan Yi had taken Qing Kingdom's money, and scholars across Xiang Prefecture burned copies of his supplement.
• Scholars across the Ten Kingdoms debated whether Guan Yi's punishment was justified, while Qing Officials filed impeachments against Fang Yun.
• Fang Yun arranged for the Fang Clan Library to run the People's Gazette under a prefectural review team and designed its newspaper format.
• Dong Wencong eagerly accepted a role as editorial reviewer and instructional columnist for the Beginner Scholar Examination section.
• On the second day of the eighth month, the People's Gazette appeared in Xiang Prefecture bookshops, with Fang Yun's “My First Letter of Challenge” as its lead article.

Yang Lin bought the first copy of the People's Gazette in Baling City and discovered that it carried Fang Yun's challenge to the Qing Kingdom's Xuanwu Army. The paper's varied reports drew growing crowds, and within hours it became a sensation throughout Xiang Prefecture.

• Yang Lin arrived at the Prefectural Academy bookshop to buy the Sacred Way and the Literary Gazette, but the assistants were absorbed in reading the newly released People's Gazette.
• An assistant explained that the People's Gazette had been founded by Fang Yun and others, used Song Typeface, and cost one copper coin, so Yang Lin bought a copy.
• Yang Lin read the front page and saw Fang Yun's challenge to the Qing Kingdom's Xuanwu Army, prompting the scholars in line to crowd around and buy the paper.
• Readers discussed the People's Gazette's reports on Xiang Prefecture, the Demon Realm, the Beginner Scholar Examination, and Jing Kingdom politics.
• Word spread through Baling City and other cities, drawing huge crowds to academy bookshops across Xiang Prefecture and making the People's Gazette a runaway sensation.

The People's Gazette sparked an unprecedented buying frenzy in Xiang Prefecture and heated discussion across the human race, while scholars outside the prefecture tried to obtain and copy its contents. The chapter ended with Kong City scholars demanding access to the newspaper as the Kong Family debated whether to distribute it, review it, or keep it under their control.

• Residents across Xiang Prefecture rushed to buy the People's Gazette, and sales exceeded thirty-two million copies by noon.
• Dong Wencong posted the People's Gazette's full contents on the Discourse Ranking, where scholars debated it and the post topped four rankings.
• Scholars outside Xiang Prefecture gathered to transcribe the newspaper, prompting officials in many cities to recite it aloud with Tongue Blossoms Thunder.
• Lu Huaijiang praised Fang Yun for opening a door to a new era, and scholars across the human race sought copies of the inaugural issue from Xiang Prefecture.
• More than a thousand scholars protested outside Kong City's prefectural offices, demanding the People's Gazette.
• The Kong Family elder convened a meeting, where family members disagreed over whether the newspaper should be distributed, reviewed, or controlled by the family.

After defending the People's Gazette's independence and discussing its power to shape public opinion with Jiang Hechuan, Fang Yun prepared to challenge the Qing Kingdom's Xuanwu Army and entered Demon-Grinding Mountain. He began his campaign at the foot of Sky-Pillar Peak, facing a region ruled by many powerful demons.

• At Jing Kingdom's court assembly, the Empress Dowager, Jiang Hechuan, and other officials blocked the Left Prime Minister's faction from placing the People's Gazette under government control or shutting it down.
• Jiang Hechuan warned Fang Yun that newspapers could be manipulated by authorities, merchants, or enemy kingdoms, and Fang Yun promised the People's Gazette would not betray Jing Kingdom or humanity.
• Fang Yun told Jiang Hechuan that he had not considered his chances against the Xuanwu Army and would fight with resolve, then hinted that he would reveal a second challenge in about ten days.
• Fang Yun painted the border between Xiang Prefecture and Demon-Grinding Mountain black on his map and prepared to enter the mountain to kill demons and deter them from troubling Xiang Prefecture.
• On the third day of the eighth month, the Qing Kingdom's Grand Marshal accepted Fang Yun's challenge on behalf of the Xuanwu Army and agreed that the army would admit its wrongdoing if defeated.
• On the morning of the fourth day of the eighth month, Fang Yun entered Demon-Grinding Mountain and looked up at Sky-Pillar Peak.

Fang Yun arrived at Sky-Pillar Peak to face the Xuanwu Army in a challenge, then raced ahead to Pot Mountain, where he prepared to fight three Demon Kings alone. Xuanwu General Chai Zhi and three Grand Academicians followed, planning to seize the demon leader’s military merit and study Fang Yun’s methods.

• Fang Yun surveyed Sky-Pillar Peak and spotted the Xuanwu Army attacking a demon tribe while its Grand Academicians watched.
• Chai Zhi confirmed the terms of the challenge, and Fang Yun flew toward Pot Mountain rather than engage with his taunts.
• Fang Yun’s Walking the Blue Clouds outpaced Chai Zhi and the other Grand Academicians as they assessed his newly advanced cultivation.
• Fang Yun wrote an Edge-Concealing Poem and a Sword-Summoning Poem while approaching Pot Mountain, where three bear Demon Kings confronted him.
• Chai Zhi identified the Silver-Tent Demon King as a powerful opponent and ordered his companions to kill it and take the military merit once they drew near.

Fang Yun unleashed the seven-pattern True Dragon Ancient Sword at Pot Mountain, annihilating the Bear Demon Kings’ forces and splitting the mountain apart. After killing the two Sage Aspect Bear Demon Kings, the sword defeated the Silver-Tent Bear Demon King, then returned to Fang Yun.

• Fang Yun sent his True Dragon Ancient Sword toward Pot Mountain, where it grew to a li in length and revealed seven True Dragon Patterns.
• The enlarged sword cut a Sage Aspect Bear Demon King in two and cleaved Pot Mountain apart, burying the weaker Demon Barbarians beneath the rubble.
• The sword’s upward sweep blasted the rubble skyward, killing the Demon Marshals, and it then hunted down every surviving Demon Marquis.
• Fang Yun’s replica sword severed the head of the remaining Sage Aspect Bear Demon King as the true sword confronted the Silver-Tent Bear Demon King.
• The Silver-Tent Bear Demon King invoked his bloodline power, but the True Dragon Ancient Sword destroyed his body before returning to Fang Yun.

Fang Yun destroyed Pot Mountain and flew toward Crow-Back Mountain, while Demon Kings across Sky-Pillar Peak reacted to his arrival. The chapter ended as he confronted the Golden-Tent Wolf Demon King and launched his True Dragon Ancient Sword again, leaving Chai Zhi and the other Grand Academicians stunned.

• Fang Yun destroyed Pot Mountain and killed every Demon King there using his Lip Spear and Tongue Sword, while Chai Zhi and three Qing Kingdom Grand Academicians watched from afar.
• Chai Zhi and the other Grand Academicians decided to attack Crow-Back Mountain and target its Wolf Demon Kings, hoping to compete with Fang Yun for military merits.
• Demon Kings throughout Sky-Pillar Peak learned that Fang Yun had arrived; many gathered greedily, while several Ape, Monkey, and Rat Demon Kings fled to avoid the danger.
• The Golden-Tent Wolf Demon King warned Fang Yun to leave and called on the other Demon Kings to help kill him.
• Fang Yun mocked the Golden-Tent Wolf Demon King, wrote the Edge-Concealing Poem and Sword-Summoning Poem, and launched his True Dragon Ancient Sword despite its recent clash.
• Chai Zhi and the other Grand Academicians watched in disbelief as Fang Yun used the sword again only a few hundred breaths after the previous battle.

Fang Yun used his Seven-Pattern True Dragon Ancient Sword to destroy Crow-Back Mountain and exterminate its wolf demons, then slaughtered the demons on a third mountain. As Chai Zhi and the other Qing Kingdom Grand Academicians left to avoid him, Fang Yun turned toward them, leaving them fearing he would take their military merit.

• Fang Yun struck the Golden-Tent Wolf King into Crow-Back Mountain with his True Dragon Ancient Sword, whose watery sheen revealed its powerful dragon ability.
• The Golden-Tent Wolf King unleashed his full strength, but Fang Yun's sword destroyed half the mountain and then shattered the whole peak with a third slash.
• Fang Yun's sword killed three Wolf Demon Kings and exterminated the wolf demons of Crow-Back Mountain, while Chai Zhi and the other Grand Academicians recognized he was there to slaughter demons.
• Fang Yun flew to a third mountain and killed its demons as they fled, while Chai Zhi led the other Qing Kingdom Grand Academicians away to avoid competing with him.
• Fang Yun suddenly turned toward Chai Zhi and the other Grand Academicians, leaving them to fear he would take their military merit.

Fang Yun observed Chai Zhi and four other Grand Academicians battle the Elephant Clan, then killed the three Demon Kings and challenged the Qing scholars over their methods. Chai Zhi argued that Fang Yun had unfairly taken their battle merits, leaving their dispute unresolved.

• Chai Zhi led the other Grand Academicians toward Red Stone Valley despite suspecting Fang Yun intended to interfere.
• The five Qing Grand Academicians summoned famous generals and war-poem soldiers to fight the Elephant Clan.
• As the Grand Academicians battled the three Elephant Demon Kings, Fang Yun watched and waited for an opening.
• Fang Yun charged in and killed all three Demon Kings with the True Dragon Ancient Sword while Chai Zhi was occupied.
• Fang Yun defended his intervention as a way to slaughter Demon Barbarians more effectively, and Chai Zhi accused him of seizing their battle merits unfairly.

Fang Yun rejected Chai Zhi’s apology because it did nothing for the people of Xiang Prefecture and continued following the Xuanwu Army. The five Qing Kingdom Grand Academicians resolved to endure his interference, but Fang Yun repeatedly took the Demon King kills they were about to claim.

• Fang Yun and Chai Zhi argued over Chai Zhi’s attempt to seize Fang Yun’s military achievements, and Chai warned that Fang Yun’s anger could obstruct his cultivation.
• Chai Zhi bowed, admitted fault, and apologized to Fang Yun, who accepted the apology but demanded that Chai apologize to the people of Xiang Prefecture instead.
• Chai Zhi refused to apologize to the people and declared that he would rather lose or die; Fang Yun said Chai had used his backbone in the wrong place and continued following the Xuanwu Army.
• Chai Zhi told the other Grand Academicians to stay steady and keep admitting fault, since they had no way to stop Fang Yun from taking their military achievements.
• At Wolfguard Crag, Fang Yun repeatedly appeared just before the Xuanwu Army could kill a Demon King, wiped out the targets, and took the kills for himself.

Fang Yun punished the five Grand Academicians by taking every Demon King they tried to hunt, then warned them not to provoke him again. Chai Zhi ordered his men to keep fighting demons from a distance, but hinted that a greater crisis would soon force Fang Yun off Demon-Grinding Mountain, as a howl echoed across the region.

• The five Grand Academicians retreated to their command tent after Fang Yun took the Demon Kings from the strongholds they attacked, while Chai Zhi persuaded them to continue the offensive.
• Fang Yun took the Demon Kings from the fourth through ninth strongholds, bringing his total to forty, then warned the five Grand Academicians that he would not go easy on them next time.
• The five Grand Academicians acknowledged Fang Yun’s strength, and Chai Zhi decided to send a report to the Qing Kingdom so its leaders could reassess him.
• Chai Zhi told the others to rest, then resume fighting demons while staying away from Fang Yun, and said an approaching crisis would force Fang Yun to leave Demon-Grinding Mountain.
• A powerful howl spread across thousands of li around Sky-Pillar Peak.

Fang Yun tried to drive the Demon Barbarians from their hills, but they fled whenever he approached, while they banded together against Chai Zhi and the Xuanwu Army. The five-day deadline arrived without either side finding a way to compete, leaving Chai Zhi and his men dejected.

• Wolf Rage appeared atop Sky-Pillar Peak and watched Fang Yun, who decided not to challenge the peak lords unless they descended.
• Fang Yun approached the nearby hills, but the Demon Barbarians and their Demon Kings fled before him, astonishing the Xuanwu Army officers and Chai Zhi.
• Chai Zhi mocked Fang Yun and urged him to wait for defeat, but Fang Yun saw the five Grand Academicians flee when more than fifteen Demon Kings gathered against them.
• Fang Yun suggested that he and the Grand Academicians keep working together, then watched the Demon Barbarians flee again as he approached the hills they were attacking.
• Fang Yun suggested that Chai Zhi try Sky-Pillar Peak, but Chai Zhi refused to provoke its peak lords, and both sides spent several days watching and making unsuccessful attempts.
• The five-day deadline arrived with Chai Zhi and the Xuanwu Army officers and soldiers discouraged.

Fang Yun climbed Sky-Pillar Peak despite the Demon Barbarians gathered there and killed the Demon Kings who challenged him. After reaching the summit, he carved a poem into the rock, while the Xuanwu Army watched in awe.

• Chai Zhi and the Xuanwu Army's generals discussed delaying their admission of defeat and hoped the Qing Lord would send help.
• Fang Yun invited the Xuanwu Army to watch him ascend Sky-Pillar Peak, where countless Demon Barbarians gathered and roared at him.
• A Bear Demon King charged Fang Yun, but Fang Yun killed him with the True Dragon Ancient Sword before he could strike.
• Fang Yun slew sixteen more Demon Kings as he advanced, and the remaining Demon Kings retreated from his path.
• Fang Yun reached the summit, surveyed the scenery, and carved a poem into a rock with the True Dragon Ancient Sword.

Fang Yun defeated the demons at Sky-Pillar Peak and forced the Xuanwu Army to concede, while the Qing officials in Baling City learned he had returned safely and risen to the sincere intent realm. He planned to publish his Second Letter of Challenge and heard about the Qing River Trading Company’s schemes and a complaint against the Prefectural Academy’s selected readings.

• The five Grand Academicians interpreted Fang Yun’s poem as a warning, agreed to make restitution in Ding County, and decided to stop opposing him.
• Chai Zhi ordered the Xuanwu Army to return by its original route and apologize to the people of Ding County.
• Fang Yun returned to Baling City and told Dong Wencong and the gathered officials that Sky-Pillar Peak’s demon threat had been eliminated and the Xuanwu Army was making restitution.
• Fang Yun told Dong Wencong to place the Sky-Pillar Peak poem on the second page of the People’s Gazette and announced that his Second Letter of Challenge would be the lead article.
• Dong Wencong reported that the Qing River Trading Company had bought shops from Qing Kingdom merchants leaving Xiang Prefecture, and Fang Yun warned him not to underestimate Ge Million.
• Dong Wencong told Fang Yun that Licentiate Zhang Zongshi had accused the Prefectural Academy’s selected readings of promoting a dangerous tendency.

Fang Yun read Zhang Zongshi’s report that Xiang Prefecture’s schoolbooks distorted Jing Kingdom’s history and demeaned its people. Dong Wencong’s investigation found no Qing Kingdom spies in the Prefectural Academy, but discovered that some local scholars had become willing allies in keeping Jing Kingdom weak.

• Zhang Zongshi urged Dong Wencong to investigate schoolbooks that praised Qing Kingdom figures, smeared Jing Kingdom scholars, and shaped students’ views.
• Fang Yun praised Zhang Zongshi’s insight and asked Dong Wencong whether his allegations had been investigated.
• Dong Wencong sent Fang Yun preliminary findings from a secret investigation conducted with Commander Fang.
• Fang Yun learned that Qing Kingdom had planted no spies in the Prefectural Academy, but some Xiang Prefecture scholars had lost faith in Jing Kingdom and worked to undermine it.
• Fang Yun concluded that these scholars’ efforts to damage Jing Kingdom’s confidence had caused harm far beyond the slaughter of a million people in Xiang Prefecture.

Fang Yun questioned Dong Wencong about the Prefectural Academy’s supplementary reading and then confronted Director Bi Yuan over his choices and praise of the Qing Kingdom. Bi Yuan defended keeping the established reading list, leaving Fang Yun’s accusation unanswered.

• Fang Yun confirmed that Dong Wencong’s report implicated the Prefectural Academy’s director of studies and ordered him to stop selling the inaugural issue of the People's Gazette.
• Dong Wencong left, anticipating that the newspaper’s inaugural issue would become valuable.
• Fang Yun visited Bi Yuan’s residence late at night and questioned him about books associated with the Qing Kingdom and his young grandson’s education.
• Bi Yuan praised the People's Gazette and said his main responsibility was students’ Imperial Examination results.
• Fang Yun challenged Bi Yuan about the academy’s supplementary reading, and Bi Yuan claimed he had merely followed established practice.
• Fang Yun asked whether Bi Yuan was clinging to Xiang Prefecture’s customs or the Qing Kingdom’s, and Bi Yuan replied that supplementary reading was unimportant so long as students enjoyed it.

Fang Yun confronted Bi Yuan over his role in promoting readings that made Xiang Prefecture’s students admire the Qing Kingdom and disparage the Jing Kingdom. He argued that Bi Yuan’s actions as a public official harmed the kingdom and amounted to treason, leaving Bi Yuan challenged to refute the charge.

• Fang Yun accused Bi Yuan of using selected readings to turn Xiang Prefecture’s students against the Jing Kingdom, but Bi Yuan denied responsibility and claimed he had been unfamiliar with his duties.
• Fang Yun cited Bi Yuan’s suppression of objections to the readings and his earlier vow to prevent changes to them, exposing contradictions in his defense.
• Bi Yuan attacked Fang Yun over his failure to produce sixteen transmissible poems by the deadline and the resulting losses to the clans that had wagered on him.
• Fang Yun explained that private citizens could choose to leave the kingdom, but public officials had a duty not to harm the people they served.
• Fang Yun compared Bi Yuan’s influence on students to destroying one’s own workshop out of envy for another, and demanded that Bi Yuan correct his argument that the conduct was treasonous.

Fang Yun confronted Bi Yuan over his loyalty to the Qing Kingdom and his failure to serve the Jing Kingdom, leaving Bi Yuan to choose between public disgrace and taking his own life. After Bi Yuan died, Fang Yun revised the Xiang Prefectural Academy’s readings as the date for his second letter of challenge approached.

• Fang Yun accused Bi Yuan of betraying his duties and challenged him to swear that ordinary Jing citizens would prosper if the Qing Kingdom annexed their homeland.
• Fang Yun exposed Bi Yuan’s self-serving motives, declared his crimes worthy of death, and left him with the saying that punishment did not extend to high dignitaries.
• Bi Yuan took his own life in his study, leaving a Hanlin Literary Treasure Brush and a letter urging his children to be good citizens of the Jing Kingdom.
• Fang Yun offered condolences and support to Bi Yuan’s family, then compiled a new selection of readings for the Xiang Prefectural Academy.
• As the twelfth day of the eighth month approached, Dong Wencong grew eager for Fang Yun’s second letter of challenge.

Fang Yun learned that Qing Officials in Xiang Prefecture were plotting to provoke a major incident and remove him from office, with Left Prime Minister Liu Shan allegedly backing them. The chapter ended as Fang Yun and Dong Wencong recognized who was coordinating the scheme from the imperial court.

• The Literary Gazette sold in unusually low numbers across Xiang Prefecture because people were buying the People's Gazette instead.
• Dong Wencong brought Geng Hui to report an urgent matter to Fang Yun.
• Geng Hui explained that he had once opposed the Jing Kingdom but had grown to reconsider his views after reading Fang Yun's work and observing his governance.
• Geng Hui reported that Qing Officials connected to the Qing River Trading Company and Nie Changju had become openly contemptuous of Fang Yun and hinted that he had little time left.
• Geng Hui revealed that high-ranking Qing Officials planned to provoke a major incident against Fang Yun, with someone in the imperial court promising to have him removed from office.
• Fang Yun and Dong Wencong concluded that Left Prime Minister Liu Shan was coordinating with the Qing Officials.