Chapter Summaries

Fang Yun’s words about hope lifted the spirits of the Human Race procession as it crossed the freezing Ten Cold Ancient Land. As the Ice Emperor Palace drew near, the humans learned that only a limited number could enter each day and that the races might have to fight for priority.

• The humans embraced Fang Yun’s message of hope, and scholars vowed to remember that he had saved their lives as the procession’s spirits and pace improved.
• The Star Demon Barbarians noticed an unseen force pushing snow and cold away from the human procession, and five Great Demon Kings watched the humans with complicated expressions.
• On the morning of the fourth day of the second month, the procession learned it was less than a day from the Ice Emperor Palace, whose gates could admit only about four million people per day.
• Fang Yun recalled the deadly Contest for Entry into the Ice Palace, in which latecomers had to challenge three defenders in succession for the right to enter first.
• The humans looked toward Fang Yun with reluctance, knowing he was their best candidate to fight for priority despite the danger.

Fang Yun’s procession reached Ice Palace Mountain while preparing for the Contest for Entry into the Ice Palace. After passing through the mountain passage, Fang Yun learned that Xiao Yetian would enter the first battle and reassessed the threat he posed.

• Fang Yun followed Meng Jingye’s advice to conserve literary qi in case of an ambush and for the coming contest.
• Fang Yun and the human leaders confirmed agreements with the star demon barbarians to limit rivalry and defend one another while entering the Ice Emperor Palace.
• The human procession entered Ice Palace Mountain, where Fang Yun studied the mountains and experienced an unexplained vision while passing through the corridor.
• Yan Ningxiao told Fang Yun that Xiao Yetian planned to fight in the first contest and had secretly demonstrated strength sufficient to kill a Great Demon King.
• Fang Yun reconsidered Xiao Yetian’s abilities and, at dusk, saw the outline of the Ice Emperor Palace through the snow.

Fang Yun returned to Ice Palace Mountain to perform Search for Antiquity, absorbing an ancient inheritance while enduring a painful reaction. Bing Tong arrived and revealed that the mountain’s incisions were an inheritance left by the Ice Clan’s ancestors, then found Fang Yun receiving it.

• Fang Yun surveyed the newly appeared Ice Emperor Palace and the gathered Ice Clan and Blood Demon Barbarian forces before descending to the human camp.
• Fang Yun told the six Great Scholars he would perform Search for Antiquity on Ice Palace Mountain and relinquish his official posts to focus on the struggle for the Frost Lord’s Throne.
• Yan Ningxiao and four Grand Academicians accompanied Fang Yun back to Ice Palace Mountain, where he touched the wall’s incisions and drew golden fragments into his Literary Palace.
• Fang Yun endured severe pain as the fragments formed images and caused his Literary Palace to tremble, while the five scholars guarded him.
• Bing Tong approached the group, and Yan Ningxiao threatened him with war if he harmed Fang Yun.
• Bing Tong explained that Ice Palace Mountain guarded the Ice Emperor Palace and that its incisions held an ancestral Ice Clan inheritance Fang Yun appeared to be receiving.

At the foot of Ice Palace Mountain, Yan Ningxiao’s group guarded Fang Yun while Bing Tong watched him and the approaching kings. Bing Tong blocked the Blood Demon Barbarians from advancing, leaving the rival forces facing one another as Wolf Fir King sought help from the Ice Clan.

• Yan Ningxiao dismissed Bing Tong’s concern for Fang Yun, while Bing Tong revealed his interest in the Ice Palace Mountain Inscription and the Ice Clan’s inheritance.
• Bing Tong retreated a hundred zhang and showed that he was toying with the Black Pearl in his notorious Fierce Tomb Hand.
• Wolf Fir King arrived with Blood Demon Barbarian kings and declared that he had come to avenge Lion Ridge King by killing Fang Yun.
• Bing Tong ordered Wolf Fir King to kill the humans and Star Demon Barbarians before approaching, then threatened to join him if anyone advanced.
• Wolf Fir King accused Bing Tong of betraying the Ice Clan, but Bing Tong calmly admitted that he had betrayed it before.
• Bing Tong leaned against Ice Palace Mountain and continued playing with the Black Pearl as Wolf Fir King sought help from the Ice Clan, whose kings declined to intervene.

As Fang Yun weakened while touching Ice Palace Mountain, Xun Pingyang and the other scholars began reciting sacred classics to support him. Their readings drew the attention of the assembled races as Fang Yun’s condition continued to deteriorate.

• Fang Yun pressed his hand against Ice Palace Mountain as his aura steadily weakened, alarming the human scholars.
• Xun Pingyang began reading Xunzi aloud, hoping the classic’s resonance would help Fang Yun.
• Yan Ningxiao, Meng Jingye, Zeng Yue, and other scholars joined in by reciting the classics they knew best.
• A Kong Family Great Scholar presented a projection of Family Sayings of Confucius, whose sacred power awed the gathered Demon Barbarians and Ice Clan members.
• The scholars recited the Classics of the Sages, and most listeners paid close attention while a few resisted the words.

The human camp recited the Classics of the Sages to support Fang Yun, and their learning brought many scholars sudden advances and new insights. Hu Li explained that the Human Race’s strength came from its ability to learn, leaving the Demon Kings impressed as Fang Yun remained at the center of their attention.

• The humans in the camp joined the Grand Academicians and Great Scholars in reciting the Classics of the Sages to help Fang Yun.
• As the recitation spread, people gained insights, remembered what they read, and found their abilities improving in many fields.
• An elderly Hanlin Academician advanced his Literary Guts, and a Metropolitan Graduate advanced to Hanlin Academician as more humans rose in rank.
• The demon barbarians and Ice Clan gathered to discuss the human advances but ultimately let them continue.
• Hu Li told the star demon barbarian kings that human strength came from learning and effort rather than inherited bloodlines, and the kings accepted her explanation.

As seven hundred thousand humans recited the Classics of the Sages together, Hu Li recognized their unity as the rare manifestation of ten thousand hearts united as one, while the demon kings sensed a majestic force behind them. King Shi Kan abandoned his attempt to attack Bing Tong after the same force stopped him, leaving the kings to wonder what protected the humans near Ice Palace Mountain.

• Hu Li explained that the humans’ united recitation had produced the legendary manifestation of ten thousand hearts united as one, and that their understanding of the Classics of the Sages marked them as future geniuses.
• King Rat Hermit described sensing a fearless human spirit backed by the power of hundreds of millions of gazes, and Hu Li connected it to the humans’ belief that Fang Yun’s death would doom their race.
• The demon barbarians and Ice Clan stopped attacking Fang Yun and listened as the Grand Academicians, Great Scholars, and seven hundred thousand humans recited the Classics of the Sages.
• King Shi Kan crept toward Bing Tong with intent to kill, but a vision of kings gazing down from above the clouds made his body stop despite his lack of fear.
• King Shi Kan told the blood demon barbarian kings that his heart had feared nothing, but his body had refused to obey.

Fang Yun survived his attempt to comprehend the Ice Palace Mountain Inscription but was left so weak that he could no longer compete for entry into the Ice Palace or a Frost Lord’s throne. The Human Race leaders gathered to change their plans, and Xiao Yetian argued they should follow the original plan without Fang Yun.

• Fang Yun stopped trembling and collapsed, so Yan Ningxiao supported him and carried him back to the Human Race camp.
• Bing Tong asked Fang Yun what the Ice Palace Mountain Inscription meant, but Fang Yun did not answer; after Fang Yun left, Bing Tong pressed a black x symbol against the stone wall.
• The humans ended their recitation of the Classics of the Sages, which had helped several scholars advance in rank and Literary Guts.
• Yan Ningxiao brought Fang Yun to his tent, then summoned the Human Race’s Great Scholars and Grand Academicians to the command tent.
• Yan Ningxiao said Fang Yun could not compete and announced that the Yan Family would protect him instead of contending for the Ten Cold Kings.
• Xiao Yetian urged the group to proceed as if Fang Yun were absent, and Yan Ningxiao rebuked him for blaming Fang Yun.

Yan Ningxiao and the other Great Scholars defended Fang Yun against Xiao Yetian and Zong Ningbing’s demands that he be punished for his failed expedition. Yan Ningxiao decided to wait until Fang Yun recovered before applying Ninth Cold City law, while Xiao Yetian’s challenge escalated the dispute.

• Zong Ningbing questioned whether Fang Yun should be punished for leaving the city and returning gravely injured, and Xiao Yetian argued that the laws of the Ten Cold Ancient Land applied even to a Void Sage.
• Xun Pingyang defended Fang Yun’s expedition as a risk taken for the Human Race, while Yan Ningxiao asked Xiao Yetian to specify the punishment he wanted.
• Xiao Yetian avoided naming a punishment and recommended that Fang Yun be judged under Ninth Cold City law after he awoke.
• Yan Ningxiao announced that Fang Yun would be punished strictly under the law once he had fully recovered, and Xiao Yetian vowed to watch the judgment.
• Meng Jingye challenged Xiao Yetian to accept ten lashes in the snow if Fang Yun’s expedition had benefited the Human Race, and Xiao Yetian agreed.

The Human Race debated its plans for the Ice Palace without the gravely injured Fang Yun, while Xiao Yetian claimed he would take Fang Yun’s place in the entry contest. After two days, Fang Yun awoke, no longer near death.

• The Grand Academicians gave Xiao Yetian a Melting-Ice Fruit and discussed his taking Fang Yun’s place in the Contest for Entry into the Ice Palace.
• Yan Ningxiao warned that the Ice Clan might use Shattered-Ice Demon Kings, while Xiao Yetian said he would do his best but would not fight to the death.
• Xiao Yetian defended his actions by blaming Fang Yun for the Human Race’s losses, and Yan Ningxiao ended the dispute so they could plan for the Ten Cold King positions.
• The scholars spent a day and night revising their plans without Fang Yun, and a Great Scholar estimated their chances of securing a Ten Cold King position had fallen to less than one-tenth.
• On the sixth day of the second month, Fang Yun’s maidservants announced that he had awakened, and Yan Ningxiao found his condition had improved.

Fang Yun awakened after comprehending the markings on Ice Palace Mountain, and the Human Race leaders concluded that he had gained a powerful benefit. After another day of recovery, he could respond to Yan Ningxiao but remained unable to speak or use Literary Qi.

• Yan Ningxiao sent the crowd away so Fang Yun could rest, then reassured the Human Race that Fang Yun appeared unharmed.
• Yan Ningxiao and the others noticed a golden flash in Fang Yun's eyes and discussed the possible benefits he had gained from the markings on Ice Palace Mountain.
• Yan Ningxiao sealed the area and ordered everyone present to swear not to reveal what they had learned about the markings.
• After another day, Yan Ningxiao sensed movement from Fang Yun and hurried into the tent.
• Fang Yun indicated that he could not speak or condense his voice with Literary Qi, but blinked to show that he expected to recover with rest.

Fang Yun slowly recovered enough to leave his tent in a Mechanical Wheelchair, though he still could not use his Literary Qi. As the Ice Emperor Palace opened and the races prepared to enter, Bing Tong offered him a Frost Lord position for his secrets, and Fang Yun countered by demanding the palace.

• Yan Ningxiao arranged treatment and a Mechanical Wheelchair for Fang Yun, whose body and Literary Palace had been injured.
• Fang Yun visited with Hu Li and the Ninth Frost Lord as rival races noticed his weakness and the star demon barbarians grew less cooperative with the humans.
• Xiao Yetian vowed to counter the star demon barbarians, while snow blade mist encircled the Ten Cold Ancient Land and the Ice Emperor Palace's gates began to open.
• Yan Huaishi pushed Fang Yun toward the palace as Bing Tong offered him a First Frost Lord position for Ice Palace Mountain and the secrets of the Ancient Demons.
• Fang Yun refused to reveal the Fu Yue Clan's secrets, offered the Ice Clan's history instead, and named the Ice Emperor Palace as his price.

Fang Yun negotiated with Bing Tong over their rivalry for the Ten Cold King positions as the races prepared to enter the Ice Emperor Palace. Before the gates opened fully, a fearsome aura approached from the west, heralding the arrival of the Winged Bear King.

• Ice Clan members berated Fang Yun for demanding the Ice Emperor Palace, and Fang Yun identified Bing Han's weapon as a funerary implement.
• Xiao Yetian apologized to the Ice Clan on Fang Yun's behalf, but Fang Yun mocked his sudden show of goodwill.
• Bing Tong said he would avoid killing Fang Yun while he could still learn from him, and Fang Yun proposed that Bing Tong refrain from opposing him in the contest for the Ten Cold King positions.
• Bing Tong accepted Fang Yun's deal, while Xiao Yetian silently resented being treated as less valuable than Fang Yun.
• The races prepared to enter the Ice Emperor Palace through its three gates as Fang Yun studied patterns above the main gate.
• A ferocious aura swept in from the west, and Yan Ningxiao warned Fang Yun that the Winged Bear King had arrived nearby.

As savage beasts approached the Ice Emperor Palace, Xiao Yetian challenged First Cold City in the Contest for Entry into the Ice Palace, but withdrew after the Ice Clan fielded three Shattered-Ice Demon Kings. He blamed Fang Yun for his humiliation, and Fang Yun traded insults with Xiao Yetian and the Zong Family as First Cold City prepared to enter the palace.

• The First Frost Lord announced that the Contest for Entry into the Ice Palace had begun as savage beasts neared the mountain.
• Xiao Yetian challenged First Cold City, and Bing Han warned him that he would face three opponents alone.
• Xiao Yetian saw that his opponents were Shattered-Ice Demon Kings and withdrew, drawing mockery from the Ice Clan.
• Xiao Yetian blamed Fang Yun for his disgrace, while Fang Yun defended his retreat and snapped back at Xiao Yetian and the Zong Family.
• Someone noted that First Cold City was about to enter the gate.

As the Ice Clan approached the Ice Emperor Palace, Xiao Yetian and the Zong Family blamed Fang Yun for the Human Race’s predicament and attacked his reputation. Fang Yun challenged their certainty that the Ice Clan could enter, and an eerie creak interrupted the confrontation.

• Xiao Yetian accused Fang Yun of insulting the Zong Family and threatened to petition the Sacred Academy unless Fang Yun defeated three Shattered-Ice Demon Kings.
• Fang Yun defended his words and condemned Xiao Yetian and the Zong Family for insulting him while he was ill and injured.
• Zong Ningbing blamed Fang Yun for endangering seven hundred thousand humans, while Xun Pingyang and Zeng Yue defended him.
• As the Ice Clan neared the palace gate, Fang Yun asked who said they could enter and sent a faint ripple of power toward the Ice Emperor Palace.
• An elderly Grand Academician urged Fang Yun to rest, but a shrill creaking sound from ahead stopped him.

The Ice Emperor Palace’s main gates shut just as the Ice Clan of First Cold City approached, fulfilling Fang Yun’s prediction and leaving Xiao Yetian and the clan humiliated. As the races entered through the side gates and worried about the delayed entry, the Star Demon Barbarians said their earlier agreement with the humans needed to be renegotiated.

• The Ice Emperor Palace’s main gates closed, and the humans and Star Demon Barbarians laughed at the stunned Ice Clan of First Cold City and Xiao Yetian.
• Fang Yun asked what would happen if every gate First Cold City approached closed, prompting more laughter and concern among the other Ice Clan cities.
• The Ice Clan of Second Cold City entered through a side gate while First Cold City moved to another; Third Cold City’s Demon Barbarians could not open the main gates.
• The races realized that the sealed main gates would delay entry and feared the Snow Blade Mist and its ferocious beasts might reach the palace first.
• Fang Yun asked the Star Demon Barbarians whether their agreement with the humans still stood, and a Tiger Demon King replied that they needed to negotiate it anew.

After the Star Demon Barbarians abandoned their agreement with the Human Race, Fang Yun ordered the humans to march to the Ice Emperor Palace’s main entrance, confident that it would open for them. The vast human column advanced as the other races mocked them and the Star Demon Barbarians congratulated themselves on breaking ties.

• The Tiger Demon King told Fang Yun that the Star Demon Barbarians had rejected cooperation and that Hu Li had withdrawn to her tent in shame.
• Fang Yun declared the agreement void and invited Hu Li to seek traces of the Moon God with him after the ancient land genesis destruction.
• Fang Yun ordered all humans to prepare to enter the Ice Palace, surprising the scholars and drawing objections from Zong Ningbing and Xiao Yetian.
• Yan Ningxiao and the Great Scholars supported Fang Yun, and the Grand Academicians prepared to protect the civilians as they marched.
• More than seven hundred thousand humans left camp for the Ice Emperor Palace’s main entrance while the other races ridiculed them and the Star Demon Barbarians celebrated their separation.

Fang Yun led the humans to the Ice Emperor Palace despite the Demon Barbarians’ and Ice Clan’s abuse, then opened its doors with three knocks. The stunned races watched as the palace welcomed a human where the Ice Clan’s own efforts had failed.

• The First Frost Lord warned Bing Tong to beware Fang Yun and advised him to surrender rather than oppose the Human Race.
• Fang Yun’s wheelchair reached the Ice Emperor Palace as the surrounding races cursed him and the Zong Family waited for him to fail.
• Fang Yun ordered Yan Huaishi to push him to the Ice Gate, while six Great Scholars guarded him against an ambush.
• Fang Yun knocked three times on the Ice Gate, awakening golden patterns that caused its enormous doors to open.
• Xiao Yetian and the gathered races watched in shock as the Ice Emperor Palace opened for Fang Yun.

Fang Yun opened the Ice Emperor Palace’s gates completely, stunning the Ice Clan and silencing those who had denounced him. As the crowd turned on the Zong Family, Xiao Yetian accepted his promised punishment and challenged the weakened Fang Yun to whip him.

• The Ice Emperor Palace’s main gates opened fully for Fang Yun, shocking the assembled races and lifting the humans’ spirits.
• Zeng Yue and Yan Ningxiao confronted the silent Xiao Yetian and questioned the Zong Family’s earlier attacks on Fang Yun.
• Zong Ningbing argued that punishing Xiao Yetian would weaken the Human Race, prompting hundreds of thousands to chant for the Zong Family to leave the Ten Cold Ancient Land.
• The Six Second Saint Families withheld their support from the Zong Family, alarming its elders.
• Xiao Yetian tore off his upper clothing, stood bare in the snow, and asked Fang Yun to carry out the promised whipping.

Fang Yun rejected the Zong Family's plea to delay Xiao Yetian's punishment, arguing that benevolence and righteousness did not replace the need to enforce the law. He struck Xiao Yetian with a transformed golden sword, leaving a welt across his back.

• Zong Ningbing and another Zong Family Grand Academician urged Fang Yun to postpone Xiao Yetian's punishment until after the contest for the Ten Cold Kings' thrones.
• Xun Pingyang argued that Xiao Yetian was healthy enough to be punished, and Meng Jingye said that Fang Yun had done nothing wrong and Xiao Yetian alone was at fault.
• Zong Ningbing accused Fang Yun of abandoning benevolence and righteousness, prompting scholars to condemn the charge.
• Fang Yun explained that benevolence guided people to do good while law required punishment for wrongdoing, and declared that he would not abandon either.
• Fang Yun turned a golden sword into a whip and struck Xiao Yetian across the back.