Chapter Summaries

Fang Yun learned that Qing officials might unite to impeach him and that an unnamed great figure was preparing to act against him. As the Xuanwu Army approached Ding County without being received by the Qing Lord, Fang Yun suspected the king had a larger scheme.

• Fang Yun agreed that a joint impeachment by Qing officials could end his political career, while Geng Hui reported that the Ge Family sought revenge and an unnamed great figure would act against him.
• Geng Hui said his contacts had stopped attending Literary Assemblies to prepare for what was coming, so Dong Wencong secretly sent him away.
• Dong Wencong suggested Lei Konghe or Yi Zhishi might be the great figure, but Fang Yun doubted either would act against him at this time.
• Dong Wencong reported that the Xuanwu Army had reached a point thirty li from Ding County and was advancing slowly toward the city.
• Fang Yun said the Qing Lord's failure to receive the Xuanwu Army was a terrible sign and suggested the king was pursuing a greater scheme.

Fang Yun sent Dong Wencong and Commander Fang to accept the Xuanwu Army’s apology in Ding County while he stayed behind. Meanwhile, a Zong Family Metropolitan Graduate revived disputes over Fang Yun’s wager and demanded that the Chen Sage Family surrender its city in the Desolate City Ancient Land.

• Fang Yun told Dong Wencong to have Ding County’s magistrate delay the Xuanwu Army and to go accept its apology with Commander Fang.
• Dong Wencong left Baling City aboard a Flying Page Skyboat, and local officials praised Fang Yun for giving others the chance to earn credit.
• Officials discovered a Zong Family Metropolitan Graduate’s article arguing that the old wager over Fang Yun’s works had come due, prompting debate about whether he had completed sixteen world-passing works or battle poems.
• The Zong Family writer challenged the head of the Chen Sage Family to hand over the sixty-third city in the Desolate City Ancient Land, which the Chen and Zong Families had wagered.

Fang Yun challenged the Zong Family after it publicly pressed the Chen Family over their lost wager in the Desolate City Ancient Land. Chen Mingding explained that the Chen Family had failed to negotiate an alternative settlement and had delayed withdrawing, and Fang Yun told him to wait until after the fifteenth day of the eighth month before acting.

• Scholars explained that the Chen Family had to hold its city in the Desolate City Ancient Land because losing it would lower its rank among the sages and bring severe consequences.
• Members of the Zong Family used a Metropolitan Graduate’s article to taunt the Chen Family and suggest that Fang Yun had caused its loss.
• Fang Yun replied that the Chen Family would settle the matter before year’s end, and promised to capture a city himself if it could not.
• Chen Mingding told Fang Yun that the Chen Family had tried to negotiate compensation instead of surrendering the city, but the Zong Family had refused and some Chen Family members had delayed withdrawing.
• Fang Yun told Chen Mingding to wait until after the fifteenth day of the eighth month before dealing with the Desolate City.

Fang Yun dismissed the Zong Family’s attack on the Discourse Ranking and agreed to Yan Yukong’s request to serve as Ning’an County’s deputy magistrate. Yan Yukong planned to meet him in Baling before announcing his appointment, while Ning’an continued to prosper under its cooperative magistrate.

• Fang Yun read the Zong Family Metropolitan Graduate’s article blaming him for the losses aristocratic lineages faced in their wagers, and saw scholars debate whether he deserved to lead the Four Great Talents.
• Fang Yun calmly thanked friends who sent letters of support and dismissed the criticism as unimportant.
• Yan Yukong asked Fang Yun to recommend him for deputy magistrate of Ning'an County so he could temper himself through governing.
• Fang Yun approved Yan Yukong’s plan and told him to come to Baling before announcing his appointment after the fifteenth of the eighth month.
• Ning'an County’s elderly magistrate continued cooperating with Fang Yun, and the county prospered under his administration.

After the Xuanwu Army apologized to Ding County’s residents, Fang Yun ordered preparations for a grand Mid-Autumn Literary Gathering in Baling City and showed Dong Wencong its startling front-page announcement. On the twelfth day of the eighth month, crowds gathered to buy the new issue of the People's Gazette, and Yang Lin eagerly read its lead story.

• The Xuanwu Army knelt to apologize to the people of Ding County and offered compensation before leaving in disgrace.
• Dong Wencong reported the apology to Fang Yun, who ordered him to prepare for a Mid-Autumn Literary Gathering attended by monarchs and greater figures.
• Fang Yun gave Dong Wencong the People's Gazette's upcoming lead story, and Dong Wencong rushed to deliver it to the Editorial Review Hall.
• Crowds of more than one hundred thousand gathered outside Baling City's Prefectural Academy bookshop to buy the People's Gazette.
• Yang Lin bought the first copy on sale and hurried to read the front-page lead story.

Fang Yun challenged Zhang Longxiang to a literary contest at Yueyang Tower on the Mid-Autumn Festival, prompting scholars across the continent to scramble for a way to attend. The story left with Fang Yun waiting in Baling City as Zhang Longxiang’s Official Seal vibrated, with no word yet on whether Zhang would accept.

• Yang Lin read Fang Yun’s challenge in the second issue of the People's Gazette, announcing a Mid-Autumn literary contest against Zhang Longxiang at Yueyang Tower.
• Lu Yu, Ning Zhiyuan, Du Shudai, Tang Shanyue, Ma Yuan, and other former classmates recalled their youthful stories about Fang Yun and decided to stay through the festival after Yang Lin urged them to cheer him on.
• Scholars on the Discourse Ranking argued over Fang Yun’s challenge and searched for ways to reach Yueyang Tower, but their excitement waned when someone asked whether Zhang Longxiang would agree.
• Fang Yun sat in his study in Baling City while Zhang Longxiang’s Official Seal vibrated, and he continued reading the messages sent to him without contacting Zhang Jing'an or his other associates.

Fang Yun accepted a Mid-Autumn literary contest with Zhang Longxiang at Yueyang Tower, setting off a rush of preparations and travel plans. As powerful rulers and clan leaders announced they would attend, the Four Seas Dragon Palaces opened a route that could bring even more scholars to Baling.

• Fang Yun replied to Lei Tingzhen that their agreement was fulfilled and they would go their separate ways, then announced that Zhang Longxiang would attend the gathering only if he could choose the contest topic.
• Fang Yun agreed to the contest, and Zhang Longxiang confirmed it would take place at Yueyang Tower on the fifteenth day of the eighth month.
• The Kong Family arranged to transport up to a hundred thousand attendees to Xun County, while Baling's government agreed to help organize the gathering.
• The ruler of the Qing Kingdom, Zong Ganyu, and Chen Mingding announced they would attend, prompting scholars to speculate about the gathering's dangers and political stakes.
• The Four Seas Dragon Palaces announced they would create temporary Sea Eyes leading to the Yangtze River outside Baling, opening them for eight hours on the day of the gathering.

Dong Wencong warned Fang Yun that the Three Seas Dragon Palaces might be plotting to sabotage the Yueyang Tower Literary Gathering, but Fang Yun remained confident and explained why he had accepted their help. As Fang Yun and Dong Wencong discussed the mysterious important figure expected to attend, Zeng Yuan arrived seeking an audience.

• Dong Wencong hurried to Fang Yun’s study and warned that the Four Seas Dragon Palaces’ temporary Sea Eyes were costly and likely part of a scheme against Fang Yun.
• Fang Yun said he had accepted the Three Seas Dragon Palaces’ help to bring scholars to Baling City and boost Xiang Prefecture’s prosperity, despite suspecting their motives.
• Dong Wencong urged Fang Yun to limit the gathering, but Fang Yun said he was completely certain he could defeat Zhang Longxiang and promised to hold the event at Yueyang Tower.
• Fang Yun told Dong Wencong that the Qing Lord’s announced visit and the Dragon Palaces’ involvement had made him wary of the mysterious important figure.
• A guard announced that Zeng Yuan had requested an audience, and Fang Yun ordered him admitted.

Fang Yun met with Zeng Yuan, who warned him that the Qing River Trading Company planned to mobilize the common people if anything happened to him and could not identify the powerful figure behind it. Zeng Yuan also explained that ordinary readers remembered Fang Yun’s plainspoken challenge letters better than the articles in his publications, leaving Fang Yun considering how to make the People's Gazette more effective.

• Dong Wencong prepared for the Yueyang Tower Literary Gathering after Fang Yun dismissed him.
• Zeng Yuan met Fang Yun and reported that the Qing River Trading Company would likely mobilize the common people on Mid-Autumn Festival if Fang Yun suffered a setback.
• Zeng Yuan told Fang Yun that he could not discover the identity of the important figure behind the company, and warned that the figure likely held high standing.
• Fang Yun and Zeng Yuan discussed the literary gathering, local officials, Jing Kingdom, and the great families.
• Zeng Yuan reported that common readers remembered Fang Yun’s challenge letters but rarely retained the content of the People's Gazette or other publications.
• Fang Yun recognized that the letters’ everyday language and vernacular characters made them easier for common people to understand and remember.

Fang Yun discussed vernacular writing with Zeng Yuan, then heard Zeng’s concerns about the Girls’ Academy and the cost and political risks of educating women. Fang Yun defended the schools as a path the human race needed to explore and left Zeng with a warning not to obstruct him.

• Fang Yun asked Zeng Yuan whether vernacular characters and prose could make the People's Gazette more popular, and Zeng praised vernacular novels while questioning their impact.
• Fang Yun urged Zeng Yuan to speak honestly, and Zeng affirmed his support for Fang Yun’s library, academies, and newspaper before raising his criticisms.
• Zeng Yuan objected to the Girls’ Academy, citing opposition from powerful families and the enormous cost of more than ten thousand schools for girls.
• Zeng Yuan suggested replacing the girls’ schools with a few symbolic academies, but Fang Yun defended his right to spend his own money on them.
• Fang Yun argued that the future would prove the schools’ value and said that, as a Void Sage, he had to clear a path for the human race and needed Zeng Yuan not to stand in his way.

Fang Yun defended his plan to establish the Girls' Academy and argued with Zeng Yuan about the People's Gazette using vernacular writing. He began showing Zeng Yuan how aristocratic privilege shaped the difference between their education, leaving the argument unfinished.

• Fang Yun argued that the human race needed sweeping change to have any hope of defending Two Worlds Mountain and asked Zeng Yuan not to obstruct his efforts.
• Zeng Yuan accepted that Fang Yun would establish the Girls' Academy, but warned that opponents would use it to attack him and urged him to consider the consequences.
• Fang Yun explained that the People's Gazette was intended for ordinary people and said he would not prioritize conservative scholars' preferences for standard characters and formal prose.
• Zeng Yuan described the historical and practical arguments for using a uniform script, and Fang Yun asked whether he truly believed people should be equal or divided into ranks.
• Fang Yun compared the easier-to-learn vernacular characters with standard characters and asked Zeng Yuan to consider how their different upbringings affected their education.
• Zeng Yuan described how servants, meals, and clan schooling had supported his studies, and he began to understand Fang Yun's point.

Fang Yun explained to Zeng Yuan how aristocratic children’s advantages in diet, environment, teachers, access to books, and study time affected their academic results compared with ordinary children like Lu Zhan. Zeng Yuan accepted Fang Yun’s arguments and promised to ask his family to revise its schooling practices.

• Fang Yun used Lu Zhan as an example to argue that most human children faced similar disadvantages in their studies.
• Fang Yun explained how better nutrition and physical development could improve aristocratic children’s ability to learn, and Zeng Yuan agreed.
• Fang Yun described how older children in the same school year could outperform younger classmates, prompting Zeng Yuan to recognize the importance of age-based schooling.
• Zeng Yuan said he would ask the Zeng Family to reorganize its schooling and urged Fang Yun to submit his research to the Sacred Academy and the Ritual Hall.
• Fang Yun listed the advantages aristocratic children had in vital energy, teachers, books, learning materials, and study time, and Zeng Yuan acknowledged their effects.

Fang Yun explained to Zeng Yuan how a great family’s wealth, upbringing, and connections gave its children advantages over ordinary people like Lu Zhan. He left Zeng Yuan understanding that inherited advantages were his to accept, but not grounds to scorn commoners.

• Fang Yun asked Zeng Yuan about the places, people, and experiences that had shaped his childhood, and Zeng Yuan described the advantages of growing up in the Zeng Family.
• Fang Yun explained that Lu Zhan had lacked the upbringing and resources Zeng Yuan received, leaving him to work vastly harder just to keep pace.
• Fang Yun showed Zeng Yuan how taking jobs and positions through family connections could deprive ordinary people of opportunities they might otherwise earn.
• Zeng Yuan realized that his easy access to a shop assistant position and later promotion could have taken opportunities from people like Lu Zhan.
• Fang Yun told Zeng Yuan to honor his ancestors’ achievements while refusing to ridicule ordinary people for lacking the advantages they had inherited.
• Zeng Yuan accepted Fang Yun’s lesson, and Fang Yun returned to their earlier subject.

Fang Yun explained to Zeng Yuan why vernacular characters better serve the practical needs of the Human Race than standard characters. Zeng Yuan accepted the argument, leaving Fang Yun’s case for adopting vernacular characters established.

• Fang Yun argued that writing’s core purpose was utility, while artistic beauty was a secondary quality.
• Fang Yun traced how Chinese scripts changed over time as people sought writing that was more useful and easier to learn.
• Fang Yun explained that clerks and scribes increasingly used vernacular characters because they were quicker to write and easier to recognize.
• Fang Yun showed Zeng Yuan how vernacular characters could reduce the learning gap between ordinary students like Lu Zhan and unusually capable learners.
• Fang Yun argued that easier writing and reading would help people acquire more knowledge and ultimately benefit the Human Race.
• Zeng Yuan acknowledged that vernacular characters narrowed differences in learning speed, while Fang Yun asked why people should reject them.

Fang Yun and Zeng Yuan discussed how writing and education could preserve or widen social divisions, then agreed to promote vernacular characters through the People's Gazette and across Xiang Prefecture. Zeng Yuan pledged to support Fang Yun’s effort to make his vernacular characters the Human Race’s new standard.

• Zeng Yuan admitted that supporting standard characters had instinctively helped keep ordinary people from competing with him, and Fang Yun explained that people naturally protect their own interests.
• Fang Yun recalled how the Sages ended relaxed schooling after the first Battle of Two Worlds Mountain, and Zeng Yuan recognized that the policy had restricted commoners’ chances to rise through study.
• Zeng Yuan confessed that he had spread misleading rumors to help wealthy families acquire government workshops, but Fang Yun said people would continue using such tactics for their own interests.
• Fang Yun ordered the People's Gazette to use plain language and vernacular characters for livelihood, social, and current-affairs articles while retaining standard characters for examination and cultural content.
• Zeng Yuan proposed introducing vernacular characters at the Fang Clan Library and academy, and Fang Yun declared that he intended to make them standard throughout the Human Race.
• Zeng Yuan pledged to follow Fang Yun and suggested a People's Gazette section comparing vernacular and standard characters, which Fang Yun approved.

Fang Yun and Zeng Yuan finalized plans for the People's Gazette and Standard Characters as the approaching Mid-Autumn Literary Gathering at Yueyang Tower stirred rivalries across the Discourse Ranking. Several societies formed to support competing towers, challenge Fang Yun, or oppose his reforms before the gathering began.

• Fang Yun and Zeng Yuan spent two hours discussing plans for the People's Gazette and Standard Characters, with Fang Yun outlining their direction and Zeng Yuan explaining how to implement them.
• Prefect Yao announced that he would lead Qi Kingdom scholars to Yueyang Tower to defend Yellow Crane Tower's reputation, prompting lively exchanges between Qi Kingdom and Jing Kingdom scholars.
• Li Fanming joined the newly formed Tower Contest Society and said he would travel to Yueyang Tower to watch the contest between the towers.
• A group of Provincial Graduates and Metropolitan Graduates founded the Debt Collection Society and planned to demand an apology from Fang Yun over their families' lost wagers.
• Conservative scholars established the Male Supremacy Society to oppose the rise of women's status, while scholars who resented Fang Yun announced that the Black Cloud Society would support Zhang Longxiang.
• The Tower Contest Society, Debt Collection Society, Male Supremacy Society, and Black Cloud Society began arguing on the Discourse Ranking before the Yueyang Tower Literary Gathering opened.

As the Human Race celebrated Mid-Autumn Festival, crowds of commoners from across the kingdoms gathered at temporary Sea Eyes to migrate to Jing Kingdom and seek refuge under Fang Yun. In Baling City, Nie Changju prepared Xiang Prefecture officials to attend the Yueyang Tower assembly and watch the contest between Zhang Longxiang and Fang Yun, while warning them to be ready to remonstrate if events demanded it.

• Commoners and scholars traveled to temporary Sea Eyes that all led to the wharf outside Baling City.
• In Sun Horse County, tens of thousands of Gu Kingdom residents gathered to flee to Jing Kingdom, and soldiers stood ready after clashing with them.
• A father told his daughter that they were seeking refuge with Void Sage Fang because Gu Kingdom's people could no longer endure their hardships.
• Scholars posted accounts of the migration on the Discourse Ranking, revealing that commoners across the kingdoms and even Kong City were heading to Jing Kingdom.
• On the morning of the fifteenth day of the eighth month, Nie Changju instructed Xiang Prefecture officials to attend the Yueyang Tower assembly quietly but to uphold their integrity if trouble arose.

Yan Wu persuaded the Qing Officials to abandon their cautious approach and disrupt Fang Yun before the Mid-Autumn Literary Gathering, while Nie Changju agreed to let Yan lead an initial attack. The officials went to the east city gate to welcome the Qing Lord as a large procession approached Baling City.

• Yan Wu argued that Fang Yun was preparing to purge Xiang Prefecture and urged the Qing Officials to act before the literary contest.
• Nie Changju said Zhang Mingzhou had a strong chance of defeating Fang Yun, but Yan Wu insisted they should help build momentum and unsettle Fang Yun.
• Several Qing Officials backed Yan Wu, agreeing to attack Fang Yun once Zhang Mingzhou's arrival was confirmed.
• Nie Changju approved a limited change to their plan, allowing Yan Wu to lead the first attack while he chose when to make the next move.
• Nie Changju led the Qing Officials toward the east city gate to welcome the Qing Lord as a procession of more than three thousand people traveled along East City Avenue.

A procession from the Qing River Trading Company carried the Qing Lord’s calligraphy through Baling City to welcome him, provoking public outrage and speculation about its conflict with Void Sage Fang. As crowds gathered outside the east gate, a newly formed Sea Eye began bringing people ashore on the Yangtze River.

• Thousands of Qing River Trading Company followers marched through Baling City carrying the Qing Lord’s Duanyu Legacy calligraphy, stamped with his Accumulated Virtue seal.
• Onlookers recognized Hua Qingniang and accused the procession of deliberately humiliating Void Sage Fang and the Jing Kingdom’s officials.
• Scholars and residents followed the procession outside the east gate to see how Void Sage Fang would respond to the Qing Lord’s arrival.
• Pitch-black Sea Eyes appeared along the Yangtze River outside Baling City, and a small one began sending more than a hundred people ashore in waves.

Li Fanming and the Qi Kingdom scholars arrived by Sea Eye for the Yueyang Tower Literary Gathering and saw water demons behaving with unusual order and courtesy. Li Fanming praised Fang Yun but named Zhang Longxiang as a genuine rival who surpassed Fang Yun in some respects.

• People from across the land traveled through Dragon Race Sea Eyes and arrived at the Yangtze River, where Jing Kingdom soldiers and water demons kept order.
• Li Fanming and the Qi Kingdom scholars rode a wave toward shore while Big Rabbit fell into the water and was rescued by river porpoises.
• Big Rabbit thanked the water demons with a human-style bow, and they returned the courtesy, astonishing the scholars.
• Li Fanming explained that Fang Yun’s influence had likely civilized the water demons and gave Big Rabbit a carrot.
• Prefect Yao and the Qi Kingdom scholars teased Li Fanming about which tower he favored, threatening to throw him into the water.
• Li Fanming said the Qing Lord, the Lei Family, the Debt Collection Society, and the Black Cloud Society were no match for Fang Yun, but Zhang Longxiang could surpass him in certain respects.