Chapter Summaries

After the Provincial Graduates ascended Book Mountain, Fang Yun prepared to enter the increasingly chaotic Ten Cold Ancient Land and compete for a Frost Lord position. Before he could finish preparing, the murder of fourteen people in Zhengde County, his fief, drew the Human Race’s attention.

• Xiang Prefecture's Legal Office stripped Zhuang Li of his Literary Rank, barred him from the Imperial Examination, and sentenced him to one year of detention.
• Fang Yun returned to the Literary Academy as the newly promoted Provincial Graduates ascended Book Mountain, where he was the only one to reach the Seventh Mountain.
• The Yan Zi Clan sent a Grand Academician and two Hanlin Academicians to teach Fang Yun about the Ten Cold Ancient Land and supplied him with books about it.
• Fang Yun learned that Ancient Land Genesis Destruction was approaching and that a mad Ice Clan Frost Lord and two Blood Demon Barbarian Frost Lords had plunged the land into chaos.
• Fang Yun decided to enter the Ten Cold Ancient Land despite the danger, believing a mysterious power there drew him in.
• Fourteen people were murdered in Zhengde County, the fief of Fang Yun, and the case shocked the Human Race.

Fang Yun read the investigation into the massacre of Constable Sun’s household and learned that Spirit Beast traffickers had killed Sun after his undercover work was exposed. Dong Wencong warned Fang Yun that powerful interests and the traffickers’ reach made a sweeping crackdown extremely difficult.

• Fang Yun ordered a major investigation into the slaughter of Constable Sun’s household in Zhengde County.
• The report established that Sun had infiltrated Spirit Beast traffickers, was recognized by a relative, and was killed along with fourteen members of his household.
• Investigators concluded that the traffickers had fled into the mountains and were likely beyond the reach of the officials sent after them.
• Dong Wencong urged Fang Yun to leave the case to him while preparing for the Ten Cold Ancient Land, but Fang Yun insisted on resolving it quickly.
• Dong Wencong explained that Spirit Beast trafficking involved prominent clans and Lineages, making arrests difficult and a region-wide crackdown beyond the capacity of Jing Kingdom’s constables.

Fang Yun decided that the killing of a constable by Spirit Beast traffickers demanded a forceful response, so he invited Han Shuolin to investigate. Three days later, Han Shuolin returned to Baling City after taking charge of the case.

• Fang Yun argued to Dong Wencong that failing to punish the traffickers who killed a constable would undermine the state's authority and resolve.
• Fang Yun invited Han Shuolin, head of the Han Feizi Family, to investigate, and Han Shuolin agreed to come to Baling.
• Fang Yun told Dong Wencong that the people could decide whether to rename Baling as Yueyang, provided they accepted the change.
• Han Shuolin arrived at the Governor-General's Office, spoke privately with Fang Yun, and traveled with him to Zhengde County.
• Fang Yun gave Han Shuolin full authority over the case and ordered the local officials to cooperate.
• Han Shuolin returned to Fang Yun's study three days later.

Fang Yun learned that the leader of the beast hunters who killed fifteen people was hiding in the Qing Kingdom, where powerful officials had erased Han Shuolin’s mark and blocked his capture. He arranged to pursue the remaining accomplices across several kingdoms and entered the Qing Kingdom disguised as a Shu Grand Academician.

• Han Shuolin told Fang Yun that the ringleader had taken refuge at a residence connected to Commandery Prince Yong, and warned that arresting him in the Qing Kingdom risked conflict between the kingdoms.
• Han Shuolin discovered that a powerful force had erased his Literary Guts Mark, while Fang Yun concluded that the Qing Lord or a prime minister had intervened.
• Fang Yun assigned Han Shuolin to arrest four accomplices in Jiangzhou, asked the Qi Lord to capture two in the Qi Kingdom, and left the two in Demon-Grinding Mountain for later.
• The Qi Lord promised to help, and Fang Yun contacted Dong Wencong before flying toward the Qing Kingdom to track the marked accomplices.
• Fang Yun sensed the four accomplices’ locations through the marks in his Literary Palace, then entered the Qing Kingdom disguised as a Shu Grand Academician and went on guard.

Fang Yun discovered that the Qing Lord was sheltering the five suspects in the Zhengde County massacre and refused to hand them over. As he flew back to Baling City, Fang Yun declared, “When I become a Sage...,” and his words resounded across the Saint Origin Continent.

• Fang Yun lost track of the suspects after Han Shuolin’s marks were erased, but learned that the Qi Lord had captured two criminals and sent them toward Baling City.
• Fang Yun asked the Qing Lord to help apprehend the remaining murderers, but the Qing Lord denied sheltering them and directed him to the Ministry of Justice.
• Fang Yun invoked his Void Sage privileges, and the Hall of Punishment reported that the chief culprit and four accomplices had been made Imperial Guards and taken into the Qing palace.
• The Qing Lord refused Fang Yun’s demand to surrender the five men and challenged him to kneel and kowtow from the southern gate to the palace.
• Fang Yun flew toward Baling City and vowed to become a Sage, causing a mighty voice to reach everyone on the Saint Origin Continent.

Fang Yun swore three Sacred Words against the Qing Kingdom, causing its Literary Star Light to plunge and helping him enter the Rectified Mind Realm. As he flew toward Baling City with unprecedented speed, Great Scholars debated his powers and the cause of his anger, but no one knew what had provoked him.

• Fang Yun vowed to behead the lawless sovereign, destroy the Qing Capital, and sever the Qing Kingdom's National Fortune, diminishing its Literary Star Light by thirty percent.
• Fang Yun entered the Rectified Mind Realm as Literary Qi and Heaven-and-Earth Righteous Qi surged into him.
• The Qing Lord used the Lord's Furious Thunder Voice against Fang Yun, but Fang Yun ignored him and continued toward Baling City.
• Great Scholars discovered that Fang Yun's Walking the Blue Clouds used Literary Star Light and carried him at two and a half resonances.
• The Great Scholars discussed Fang Yun's control over Literary Star Light and wondered what had provoked his oath, then turned toward the Grand Academician of the Pavilion of the Hall of Punishment.

The Sacred Academy’s Great Scholars condemned the Qing Lord for sheltering the murderers Fang Yun had pursued and announced measures to punish Qing Kingdom. As Fang Yun traveled back to Baling, allies and rulers reacted to the crisis, and the Qing Lord collapsed after vomiting blood.

• Gao Mo explained that the Qing Lord had taken the Zhengde County murderers into his palace after destroying Master Shuolin’s Literary Guts Marks, while the Qi Lord had arrested two fugitives and sent them to Baling City.
• Wu Jiu, Luo Jingting, and Gao Mo announced economic, academic, and personal measures against Qing Kingdom, while Zhang Zangxiang offered to recruit its young medical practitioners if they changed their citizenship to Shu Kingdom.
• The Great Scholars posted notices recruiting Qing Kingdom disciples, and the weakened Literary Star Light left the kingdom facing further damage to its strength.
• Han Shuolin continued hunting the murderers, Fang Yun traveled back to Baling, and Yang Yuhuan waited anxiously while holding Nunu.
• Ao Huang attacked the Dongting Flood Dragon King and led water demons toward Qing Kingdom, while Zhang Longxiang vented his fury on the demon barbarians outside the city.
• A eunuch announced that the Qing Lord had vomited blood and fainted, while the Wu Lord began laughing uncontrollably.

Fang Yun returned to Baling City and answered Qing Kingdom scholars who blamed him for weakening their Literary Star Light. He then issued an urgent order to crack down on spirit beast traffickers in Xiang Prefecture and avenge the fallen undercover bailiffs.

• Fang Yun read the Discourse Ranking and saw Great Scholars from several kingdoms announce that they would recruit Qing Kingdom geniuses, while scholars debated the loss of Qing Kingdom's Literary Star Light.
• School of War scholars argued that Saint Zong was unlikely to intervene because the Qing Lord was in the wrong and the dispute involved juniors.
• A Grand Academician of the Zong Family and Qing Kingdom scholars denounced Fang Yun, invoking the dead and accusing him of harming humanity.
• Fang Yun challenged the Qing Kingdom scholars to repeat their accusations to his face in Baling City and offered to pay their travel expenses.
• Fang Yun entered the Governor-General's Office and sent an urgent crackdown announcement to every government office in Xiang Prefecture, calling for vengeance for the undercover bailiffs.

Fang Yun launched a sweeping crackdown on spirit beast traffickers in Xiang Prefecture, defying Qing protests as officials arrested and killed thousands. After learning Ao Huang had led water demons to loot Qing military camps and warehouses, Fang Yun arranged for the spoils to be brought to the Governor-General's Office.

• Fang Yun ordered officials to root out spirit beast traffickers and authorized the execution of anyone who resisted arrest.
• Officials in Xiang Prefecture arrested more than 2,300 traffickers in one day, while 341 were killed resisting arrest and injured constables and runners received medical care.
• The Qing Kingdom protested the crackdown, but Fang Yun ignored the demands and continued his campaign.
• Fang Yun learned that Ao Huang had taken water demons from Dongting Lake and Baling to loot Qing military camps and warehouses.
• Fang Yun told Dong Wencong and Fang Shouye to gather people, carts, and other resources outside the Governor-General's Office to receive the returning loot.

Fang Yun and Ao Huang delivered vast supplies seized from Qing Kingdom storehouses to Baling, then arranged for grain and military equipment to reach Zhang Poyue at Weibei Fortress. The chapter ended with Zhang Poyue receiving Fang Yun’s message and celebrating the unexpected aid.

• Fang Yun summoned tens of thousands of workers and soldiers at night and promised each person an extra tael of silver for helping unload a shipment.
• Ao Huang arrived with bubbles carrying goods from dozens of Qing Kingdom storehouses, including supplies from the enormous Yongfeng Granary.
• Ao Huang revealed that he had used the Heaven-and-Earth Shell to empty Yongfeng Granary after becoming impatient with the water demons moving its contents.
• Fang Yun inspected the Heaven-and-Earth Shell and asked Ao Huang to leave its raw materials in Baling, then deliver its grain and military equipment to Zhang Poyue.
• Zhang Poyue received Fang Yun’s message at Weibei Fortress and laughed with relief as his forces fought the Qing Kingdom.

Fang Yun ordered Dong Wencong to distribute rewards to those who helped arrest spirit beast traffickers and protect their identities by destroying sensitive records. The chapter ended with Dong Wencong reporting that officials had killed an innocent family during the crackdown, while Fang Yun remained calm.

• An article about Ao Huang's contribution to Jing Kingdom spread across the Human Race, earning him widespread praise.
• Fang Yun told Dong Wencong to ensure informants and constables received every tael of their rewards, threatening severe punishment for anyone who stole the funds.
• Fang Yun ordered sensitive records about the helpers destroyed at local offices and restricted the sole backup to the Ministry of Justice.
• Fang Yun called for stricter government confidentiality rules, including treating deadly leaks as complicity in murder and foreign leaks as treason.
• Dong Wencong returned with an urgent dispatch reporting that officials had mistaken ordinary citizens for traffickers and killed the parents of a child during an arrest.
• Fang Yun listened to Dong Wencong's report with an unsettling calm.

Dong Wencong contained a constable’s killing of a civilian to protect Fang Yun’s campaign against spirit beast traffickers, sparking a public dispute over Fang Yun’s decision. As Fang Yun continued administrative reforms, the punishment of the Minggu County magistrate showed Xiang Prefecture’s officials that he intended to enforce them.

• Fang Yun told Dong Wencong to weigh the constables’ morale against the risk of public criticism, then left him to handle the killing.
• Dong Wencong consulted Fang Shouye, arranged compensation and apologies for the victim’s family, transferred the constables, and suppressed the matter.
• A Qing Kingdom Provincial Graduate attacked Fang Yun on the Discourse Ranking, while others defended his decision and Dong Wencong’s response.
• Fang Yun continued reforms to official writing, restrained extravagance, and imposed strict limits on government-sponsored gatherings and spending.
• The Governor-General’s Office sent the Minggu County magistrate to the capital for investigation after he held an unauthorized, lavish literary assembly.
• Officials curtailed their social activities after the magistrate’s case showed Fang Yun would enforce his regulations.

Fang Yun’s crackdown transformed official conduct across Xiang Prefecture, but disputes over government meals and lawful benefits stirred growing resentment among officials and clerks. The chapter ended with Juyuan Prefecture dismissing clerk Wang Nian for taking meat without paying.

• Fang Yun arrested officials and clerks who ignored his warning, including members of factions across the political spectrum, and punished them with fines, dismissal, or referral for sentencing.
• Officials in Xiang Prefecture became more diligent and cautious, while residents praised Fang Yun and his words about restoring the world’s “fragrance of orchids.”
• Juyuan Prefecture ordered government kitchens to reduce meat and ration food, and some counties followed suit; Fang Yun set the report aside without comment.
• Tangshan Prefecture canceled official expense allowances and winter grants, and Juyuan Prefecture soon announced the same cuts, provoking angry protests from officials and clerks.
• Juyuan Prefecture dismissed clerk Wang Nian after he was reported for taking three taels of meat from a butcher without paying.

As criticism of Fang Yun’s crackdown grew, Chai Ying formed the Anti-Traitor Society and assaulted scholars who questioned Fang Yun, drawing widespread outrage. Fang Yun revealed that he had been waiting for his opponents to expose themselves, then had officials and society members brought to Baling City, where his office announced they had uncovered Qing Kingdom spies.

• Wang Nian and other Xiang Prefecture residents faced harsh punishment under increasingly extreme enforcement, while criticism of Fang Yun spread on the Discourse Ranking.
• At a Juyuan Prefecture winter solstice literary assembly, Chai Ying beat a Provincial Graduate who had complained about the canceled winter grant, then founded the Anti-Traitor Society.
• Chai Ying and his followers assaulted the Provincial Graduate again during Mi Jun’s attempted mediation and paraded people who criticized Fang Yun through the streets.
• After reading reports of the violence, Fang Yun compiled a list of Chai Ying, Mi Jun, and other officials, then ordered Fang Shouye to bring them to the Governor-General’s Office.
• Fang Shouye mobilized the Prefectural Army to bring everyone on Fang Yun’s list to Baling City, and the Governor-General’s Office announced that Fang Yun had rooted out Qing Kingdom spies within the government.

Fang Yun exposed Qing Kingdom spies and corrupt officials who had staged incidents to undermine his reforms, revealing that he had allowed their scheme to grow so he could catch them all. He and Dong Wencong concluded that Liu Shan had masterminded the plot, while Dong marveled at Fang Yun’s foresight.

• The Governor-General’s Office published evidence that Qing Kingdom spies, including Chai Ying and Mi Jun, had staged incidents and spread resentment to discredit Fang Yun.
• Fang Shouye explained that Fang Yun had suspected outside interference and deliberately let the spies and their collaborators act so he could expose them together.
• Officials who had been summoned to Baling City resigned, were demoted, or were imprisoned as the full scope of the scheme became clear.
• Dong Wencong apologized to Fang Yun for failing to recognize his plan, and Fang Yun assured him that he had deliberately kept him uninformed.
• Fang Yun and Dong Wencong identified Liu Shan as the likely mastermind, and Fang Yun explained that history had helped him see through the plot.

Fang Yun explained that he had to keep Xiang Prefecture stable and prepare Dong Wencong to govern while he was away. He arranged a staged confrontation that raised officials’ allowances and strengthened Dong Wencong’s standing, then entered the Bloodmang Realm on the fifteenth day of the twelfth month.

• Fang Yun warned Dong Wencong that if his reforms failed, the Qing Officials and Liu Shan’s faction would reverse them and plunge Xiang Prefecture into disorder.
• Fang Yun told Dong Wencong that he would travel to the Bloodmang Realm before the fifteenth day of the twelfth month and later set out for the Ten Cold Ancient Land, leaving Xiang Prefecture’s administration in Dong’s hands.
• Fang Yun instructed Dong Wencong to shout a phrase of protest, submit a resignation the next day, and announce a thirty-percent increase in officials’ and clerks’ expense allowances on the third day.
• Dong Wencong followed Fang Yun’s plan, and rumors that he had forced Fang Yun to compromise boosted his prestige among Xiang Prefecture’s officials and clerks.
• Fang Yun entered the Bloodmang Realm on the fifteenth day of the twelfth month.

After Fang Yun left Xiang Prefecture, its citizens and officials thwarted Qing Kingdom schemes, while a Hall of Punishment directive recognized his reforms in Ning'an and Xiang Prefecture as a model for the Legalist School. Fang Yun returned from the Bloodmang Realm to Baling City, where he told Dong Wencong and Fang Shouye about his dangerous exploration of the Crime-Suppressing Hall and his plans to master it.

• Xiang Prefecture's officials and citizens stopped Qing Kingdom unrest and grew harder to deceive, while scholars credited the prefecture's stability, confidence, and the People's Gazette for changing public understanding.
• The Hall of Punishment ordered officials from every kingdom to study in Ning'an and Xiang Prefecture, signaling the Legalist School's recognition of Fang Yun's path.
• The Qing Lord decided to delay action against Xiang Prefecture until the Hall of Punishment's six-month study directive ended, and Dong Wencong welcomed the protection it offered.
• Fang Yun returned to Baling City from the Bloodmang Realm, ate with his family, and briefed Xiang Prefecture's officials.
• Fang Yun told Dong Wencong and Fang Shouye that he had narrowly avoided getting trapped while exploring the Crime-Suppressing Hall, found the divine object he sought, but failed to locate the Dragon-Slaying Saber Fragment.
• Fang Yun planned to continue exploring the Crime-Suppressing Hall until he could master it and draw it into his Legalist Canon.

As Fang Yun prepared for the Ten Cold Ancient Land, he spent the New Year cultivating and condensed a fourth Literary Platform, the Craftsmen School’s Lu Ban Ruler. An urgent warning brought him to the Sacred Academy, where he prepared to enter the ancient land before its Star Gate closed, despite Yan Yukong’s fears for his safety.

• Fang Yun spent the New Year reading, cultivating, and training, while preparing for his journey to the Ten Cold Ancient Land.
• Fang Yun condensed the Craftsmen School’s Lu Ban Ruler as his fourth Literary Platform and bought mechanical devices for his journey.
• Yan Ningshan urgently warned Fang Yun that the Star Gate was weakening and that he needed to reach the Ten Cold Ancient Land by the next day.
• Fang Yun left his family and arrived at the Sacred Academy, where he found hundreds of other travelers, including members of the Six Second Saint Families.
• Yan Yukong learned Fang Yun would enter the ancient land and urged him not to go, while Fang Yun promised to bring her a local specialty and she asked only that he return safely.

Fang Yun prepared to enter the Ten Cold Ancient Land after deciding on the order of his Literary Platforms, then went to the Medical Hall to study its archive. He was still reading through the collection under Hua Chanyi's watch when the chapter ended.

• Yan Yukong warned Fang Yun to consider the value of the Frost Lord Imperial Crown, and Fang Yun reassured him that he had received a worthwhile exchange.
• Yan Yukong relayed Ji Shouyu's advice, and Fang Yun decided to form a Medical School Literary Platform first and a School of Historians Literary Platform last.
• Fang Yun asked Yan Ningshan for time to consult the Medical Hall's books, then learned he could not take them out of the Saint Origin Continent.
• Fang Yun read the Jiazi Archive by making books fly from their shelves and open before him, astonishing the two Medical School clerks.
• The clerks summoned Hua Chanyi when smoke began rising from Fang Yun's head, and Hua Chanyi watched him finish the Jia Archive and enter the Yi Archive.

After exhausting himself by reading the entire Medical Hall library, Fang Yun entered the Star Gate to journey into the Ten Cold Ancient Land despite a warning of great danger. Elsewhere, Ao Zhou headed for the Ancestral Emperor Ruins, while the Demon Emperor learned the Bloodmang Realm’s location and prepared to act against the Water Race.

• Fang Yun finished reading every book in the Medical Hall library in an hour and left severely drained, though he said his Literary Qi would recover.
• Yan Yukong and Yan Ningshan escorted Fang Yun outside the Star Gate courtyard, where he recovered to seventy percent strength before deciding to proceed.
• Yan Ningshan warned Fang Yun that Ji Qingfeng had foreseen immense danger, but Fang Yun entered the Star Gate anyway.
• Yan Yukong resolved to go to Ning'an County and gather popular will to aid Fang Yun, while Yan Ningshan offered to borrow the Book of Exhaustive Devotion from the Meng Family.
• Ao Zhou traveled through the starry sky toward the Ancestral Emperor Ruins, intending to ally with the Demon Race and seek power for himself.
• The Demon Emperor learned that the Bloodmang Realm was in the Taiqi Star Region and that twelve demon sages had gone to find it; he also heard that Lang Lu planned to act against the Water Race in the sixth or seventh month.