Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Li Qingxian Invites the Southern Dipper Six Stars”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The giant child attacks the Beyond-Rank Fate Corpse with a devastating flying kick, crushing much of its body into pieces. However, the corpse’s flesh and blood continue reconnecting, allowing it to regenerate.
• Li Qingxian unleashes nearly all his available resources—including Fate Artifacts, Fate Arts, thunder talismans, and an invocation of the Jade Clarity True King—but none of them can kill the corpse.
• Realizing he needs greater power, Li Qingxian uses a Fortune Fish to fuse the Prince’s Golden Seal into the Great Principle-Slaying Sword, upgrading it to Upper Rank.
• The upgraded sword automatically severs some negative fate connections, reducing the resentment others hold toward Li Qingxian because of Li Gangfeng’s past actions.
• Li Qingxian uses the Heaven’s Mandate Sect’s sword-controlling art, “Life-Slaying,” and pours a hundred Fortune Fish into the sword. Strengthened by violet lightning from the Thunder Dragon Fire Seal, the sword strikes the fate line connecting the Beyond-Rank Fate Star and the corpse.
• The attack fails. Li Qingxian realizes the sword can sever mortal fate but cannot judge or kill a being who has transcended mortality and approached godhood.
• The Lightning-Wrapped Drum-Bearing Strongman explains that the Southern Dipper governs the lifespans of gods and immortals. Its Star Lord of Fate, under the Jade Clarity True King, can therefore kill the Beyond-Rank Fate Corpse.
• Li Qingxian modifies the Deity-Inviting Incantation, prepares six Fate Stars, and places the Great Principle-Slaying Sword on an altar to invite the Star Lord of Fate and request the Power of Fate Sovereignty.
• At the chapter’s end, the Emperor Star dims while six immense Southern Dipper stars illuminate the sky, signaling that the summoning has succeeded or is beginning.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian: Demonstrates persistence, resourcefulness, and growing mastery of Fate Arts. He upgrades his most powerful weapon, discovers its limits, and quickly adapts by seeking a higher authority capable of killing a quasi-divine enemy.
• The giant child: Reveals overwhelming physical strength by nearly destroying the Fate Corpse with a single kick, though his crude, childlike behavior remains evident.
• Lightning-Wrapped Drum-Bearing Strongman: Acts as Li Qingxian’s guide, identifying the crucial distinction between mortal and divine fate and suggesting that the Southern Dipper can solve the problem.
• Beyond-Rank Fate Corpse: Is shown to possess extraordinary regeneration and near-immortality, surviving attacks that would destroy ordinary beings.
• Great Principle-Slaying Sword: Evolves from a powerful inherited weapon into an Upper-Rank Fate Artifact capable of severing some fate lines, though its original function remains limited against divine beings.

Significant Themes

• Limits of human power: Even Li Qingxian’s greatest weapons and techniques cannot overcome the boundary between mortality and godhood.
• Hierarchy of cosmic authority: Different realms govern different kinds of existence—the Netherworld controls mortal life and death, while the Southern Dipper governs divine lifespans.
• Inheritance and adaptation: Li Qingxian combines inherited techniques, artifacts, and new discoveries, showing that mastery requires both tradition and innovation.
• Fate as a tangible force: Fate lines can be strengthened, severed, or transferred through artifacts and rituals, making destiny an active battlefield.
• Persistence against overwhelming odds: Despite repeated failure and severe strain, Li Qingxian continues searching for a solution rather than accepting defeat.

Character Interactions

• The giant child briefly looks toward Li Qingxian before launching his attack, suggesting an instinctive response to Li’s presence or direction.
• Li Qingxian works with the Lightning-Wrapped Drum-Bearing Strongman, whose explanation leads him to recognize the need for Southern Dipper authority.
• The conversation between them shifts the conflict from brute force to divine judgment, prompting Li Qingxian to summon the Star Lord of Fate.
• Li Qingxian’s interaction with the Great Principle-Slaying Sword is largely ritualistic and strategic: he empowers it with the Prince’s Golden Seal, Fortune Fish, and thunder, then uses it as the instrument for invoking higher celestial power.

Chapter Summary: Meng Huaichuan Gifts the Emerald Green Bamboo Horse

Key Plot Points and Events

• The entire Eerie City falls silent as the Southern Dipper Six Stars descend their power upon Li Qingxian’s Great Principle-Slaying Sword.
• The sword’s golden branch patterns are replaced by the six stars, granting it the power to sever the fate connection between the Beyond-Rank Fate Corpse and its Fate Star.
• Li Qingxian uses the enhanced sword to kill the Beyond-Rank Fate Corpse, causing its former head and memories to emerge before dissolving into sand.
• He collects more than a thousand black spheres of concentrated National Fortune and Evil Power from the corpse. Though valuable, they contain the accumulated hatred of a fallen nation and will require extensive purification.
• Li Qingxian also stores the strange Heavenly Calamity Beast Dragon Fate Star, recognizing that it is too dangerous and incompatible to use immediately.
• Using the Heaven-and-Earth Bracelet, he gathers the corpse’s remains, including armor fragments that could potentially be refined into powerful First Rank artifacts.
• Mao Shigao praises Li Qingxian’s achievement and suggests that the imperial court may reward him with a noble title—possibly even a marquisate—after the emperor returns. Li Qingxian would prefer a treasure instead of a title, but has no control over the decision.
• Li Qingxian learns that Good Fortune Born saved an injured purple-robed eunuch with an apricot and gained a fortunate opportunity in return. He asks Mao Shigao to remain with Good Fortune Born and ensure the injured eunuch is cared for.
• Li Qingxian returns to the Imperial Garden, where the other examinees have waited for him and Meng Huaichuan.
• Meng Huaichuan announces that the group will recognize Li Qingxian as their leader and act as one team. He admits that the dangers of Eerie City have exposed his own limitations.
• Meng Huaichuan gives Li Qingxian the emerald-green Bamboo Horse treasure that Good Fortune Born previously entrusted to him.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian: Demonstrates the power of the Southern Dipper Six Stars and successfully kills a Beyond-Rank Fate Corpse. He becomes more cautious and strategic, choosing to preserve dangerous treasures rather than use them recklessly. His reputation and political importance rise sharply.
• Meng Huaichuan: Abandons his earlier pride and recognizes that family status and personal treasures are insufficient in Eerie City. He willingly submits to Li Qingxian’s leadership and proves his sincerity by giving him the Bamboo Horse.
• Mao Shigao: Becomes an ally and supporter of Li Qingxian, openly praising his achievement while helping him manage the situation involving Good Fortune Born and the injured eunuch.
• Good Fortune Born: Though absent from the chapter’s main action, he is shown to be resourceful and lucky, gaining a major opportunity by saving the purple-robed eunuch.
• Shen Xiaoyi and Lin Zhenyuan: Both recognize the significance and humor of Meng Huaichuan’s submission to Li Qingxian; Shen Xiaoyi quietly smiles while Lin Zhenyuan struggles not to laugh.

Significant Themes

• Power and recognition: Li Qingxian’s victory establishes him as a major force whose accomplishments may earn him supernatural status and political elevation.
• The cost of fallen civilizations: The black spheres embody the evil, resentment, and National Fortune of a destroyed realm, showing that the glory of rulers and nations eventually decays.
• Humility and loyalty: Meng Huaichuan’s change reflects the importance of acknowledging one’s limitations and aligning with a stronger leader during crisis.
• Fate and destiny: The chapter emphasizes the manipulation of fate through the Great Principle-Slaying Sword, Fate Stars, and the consequences of severing the corpse’s connection to its destiny.
• Cooperation in danger: The examinees’ decision to form a unified team illustrates how Eerie City forces former rivals to depend on one another.

Character Interactions

• Li Qingxian and the Southern Dipper Six Stars: Li Qingxian expresses gratitude after receiving their power and uses it to destroy the Beyond-Rank Fate Corpse.
• Li Qingxian and Mao Shigao: Mao praises him and discusses his possible reward. Li Qingxian, in turn, asks Mao to protect Good Fortune Born and the injured eunuch.
• Li Qingxian and Good Fortune Born: Although separated, Li Qingxian shows concern for his “good brother” and is pleased by his good fortune.
• Li Qingxian and Meng Huaichuan: Meng formally offers his allegiance and gives Li Qingxian the Bamboo Horse. Li Qingxian initially resists treating him as a subordinate, but Meng insists that circumstances have changed.
• Meng Huaichuan and the assembled group: He declares that the group will follow Li Qingxian, with himself enforcing the decision against anyone who causes trouble.
• Shen Xiaoyi and Lin Zhenyuan: Their amused reactions underscore the dramatic reversal of Meng Huaichuan’s former pride and independence.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Qingxian’s group formally reorganizes after expelling Good Fortune Born for repeatedly endangering teammates and nearly getting Li killed. The members swear a new oath recognizing Li as leader and granting him authority over life and death within the team.
• Lin Zhenyuan’s addition greatly strengthens the group’s Momentum Configuration, potentially making it the strongest team among the Eighteen Hidden Princes.
• Li explains that Good Fortune Born survived by borrowing the body of a treacherous minister and fleeing into the Imperial Palace prison. A Beyond-Rank Fate Corpse followed him, was badly injured by the eunuchs, and eventually died. Li conceals his own role in killing it.
• The group encounters the allied forces of Bone Filth Child and the Monument Inscriber. Despite numbering more than a hundred, the two enemies avoid Li’s group, revealing that Bone Filth Child has become severely weakened and is apparently afraid of Li.
• The Emperor Star begins descending, sending pale ripples across the sky and signaling a major contest or opportunity.
• Meanwhile, Good Fortune Born is detained by the old ghost Mao Shigao, who blocks his escape with incessant conversation. Good Fortune Born uses a mysterious character gifted by the old eunuch to transform into smoke and reach the Imperial Garden.
• In a visionlike state, Good Fortune Born observes the colored cloud formations representing different forms of qi. He sees that only two cloud masses contain golden qi, including his own and a much larger one.
• Good Fortune Born initially believes the Emperor Star is meant for him, but it is drawn toward the larger cloud mass. His attempt to seize it fails, and the Emperor Star disappears beyond his reach, leaving him devastated.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian becomes the acknowledged leader of a powerful, unified team. His companions now trust his judgment and accept his authority, while his concealed victory over the Beyond-Rank Fate Corpse enhances his mysterious reputation.
• Meng Huaichuan and the other teammates recognize the danger of Good Fortune Born’s Fate Mold and willingly submit to Li’s leadership.
• Shen Xiaoyi is vindicated for having warned everyone about Good Fortune Born earlier.
• Bone Filth Child appears greatly diminished and unusually cautious, suggesting that Li’s Fate Arts or an undisclosed event has seriously affected him.
• Good Fortune Born undergoes a sharp emotional reversal: confidence and possessiveness turn into shock, grief, and humiliation when the Emperor Star rejects him.
• Mao Shigao demonstrates his cunning and ability to control a tense situation without openly fighting, successfully delaying Good Fortune Born at a crucial moment.

Significant Themes

• Leadership and trust: The team’s new oath marks a shift from loose cooperation to centralized authority under Li Qingxian.
• The danger of harmful alliances: Good Fortune Born’s removal emphasizes that power and treasure cannot compensate for the misfortune he brings to those around him.
• Fate and destiny: The Emperor Star appears to represent a higher opportunity or destiny, but Good Fortune Born’s belief that it belongs to him proves mistaken.
• Appearance versus reality: Good Fortune Born’s vision resembles a dream, and what seems destined for him is ultimately claimed by another power.
• Hidden strength and concealed information: Li withholds the truth about the Beyond-Rank Fate Corpse, while the reason for Bone Filth Child’s fear remains unexplained.

Character Interactions

• Li, Meng Huaichuan, Shen Xiaoyi, and the others discuss Good Fortune Born’s betrayal and formally establish Li’s authority.
• The team questions Li about his escape and the fate of the Beyond-Rank Fate Corpse, though he reveals only part of the truth.
• Li and Shen Xiaoyi silently recognize that Bone Filth Child’s fearful retreat is unusual and may have a deeper cause.
• Mao Shigao deliberately obstructs Good Fortune Born through distracting conversation, forcing him to use a special escape technique.
• Good Fortune Born confronts the descending Emperor Star, only to watch it turn away and fly toward the larger cloud mass, creating the chapter’s central moment of loss.

Chapter Summary: Heaven-Shifting Sun-Changing Hidden Emperor Star

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Emperor Star descends from the heavens and enters Li Qingxian’s Fate Mansion. Although several people are tempted to seize it, Meng Huaichuan warns that it belongs to Ye Han, and everyone realizes that taking it by force could be fatal.
• Inside Li Qingxian’s Fate Mansion, the Emperor Star first appears as a violet plaque hanging above the broken wooden door. Its exact function is unclear.
• Li Qingxian discovers that the Emperor Star is concealed within the Heavenly Fate Star Fish Eyes Among Pearls, a Fate Star created by the Heaven’s Mandate Sect. The Fate Star hides the Emperor Star so completely that ordinary deductions and extraction methods cannot reach it.
• Using Good Fortune Born’s remaining blood, Fate Arts, the Fate Fishing Rod, and repeated attempts with the Fortune Fish, Li Qingxian initially fails to retrieve the concealed star.
• Realizing that stronger force would destroy the Fate Star, Li Qingxian sacrifices a small kingdom’s Jade Imperial Seal to upgrade the Fate Fishing Rod. The rod becomes more powerful, allowing him to hook and extract the true Emperor Star.
• The revealed Hidden Fate Star is named Heaven-Shifting Sun-Changing. It can conceal another Fate Star, interfere with deductions, and reverse or counteract enemy Fate Arts.
• After everyone congratulates Li Qingxian, the group continues through the Imperial Garden. They soon become separated without warning. Li Qingxian finds himself alone before a small mountain and waterfall, but despite walking forward, he cannot reach the pool or the cave behind the waterfall.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian demonstrates caution, ingenuity, and increasing mastery of Fate Arts. Rather than using brute force, he analyzes the concealment and sacrifices a powerful treasure to strengthen the Fate Fishing Rod.
• His discovery of Heaven-Shifting Sun-Changing significantly enhances his defensive and deceptive abilities, making his Fate Mansion harder to analyze and allowing enemy Fate Arts to potentially backfire.
• Meng Huaichuan shows restraint and awareness of political boundaries. Though he seems to know more about the Emperor Star, he hesitates to speak because he is no longer the group’s leader.
• Song Baige remains openly curious and excited about Li Qingxian’s acquisition.
• Wang Buwu, Song Baige, and Shen Xiaoyi are portrayed as comparatively free of greed, accepting that the Emperor Star belongs to whoever receives it.
• The Heaven’s Mandate Sect is established as extraordinarily meticulous, having prepared multiple layers of fate-based safeguards around the Emperor Star.

Significant Themes

• Fate versus agency: The Emperor Star is heavily manipulated by preexisting Fate Arts, yet Li Qingxian uses intelligence and adaptability to overcome those arrangements.
• Concealment and deception: Both Fish Eyes Among Pearls and Heaven-Shifting Sun-Changing revolve around disguising truth and misleading observers.
• The danger of greed: The group recognizes that forcibly claiming the Emperor Star could bring disaster, emphasizing the risks of pursuing power without understanding its consequences.
• Ingenuity over brute strength: Li Qingxian succeeds not by overwhelming the concealment but by finding the precise tool and sacrifice needed to bypass it.
• Uncertainty and isolation: The group’s sudden separation and Li Qingxian’s inability to reach the waterfall suggest a new trial governed by illusion, spatial distortion, or hidden Fate Arts.

Character Interactions

• Meng Huaichuan warns the others not to covet the Emperor Star, preventing conflict.
• Li Qingxian works independently while the others watch, later receiving their congratulations.
• Song Baige questions Li Qingxian about the experience, but Li Qingxian downplays the significance of his achievement.
• The group’s shared journey abruptly ends when they become separated, leaving Li Qingxian alone to confront the mysterious mountain and unreachable cave.

Chapter Summary: Li Qingxian Encounters a Fate-Killing Curse

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Qingxian follows the Dao Protector’s jade pendant to a hidden cave behind a waterfall. The pendant activates a staircase and allows him to enter.
• Inside, he encounters a golden rune barrier. After preparing his defensive treasures, he uses the Great Principle-Slaying Sword to destroy it.
• The shattered runes transform into the three components of a terrifying

Three-Kill Fate Curse

1. A Black Dragon Incense burner that summons a lethal figure.
2. A black-and-white wooden snake that releases a deadly green wind.
3. A painting of Li Qingxian that seizes his Myriad Phenomena Brush and attacks his reflected image.

• The curse nearly kills him. His Life-Replacement Wooden Children are destroyed one after another, while the Sky-Raising Cloud-Bearing Guard, Void Fate River, and Death-Exemption Golden Plaque each block or neutralize part of the attack.
• The Death-Exemption Golden Plaque ultimately sacrifices itself, destroying the painting and the stolen Myriad Phenomena Brush.
• Li Qingxian realizes that the Heaven’s Mandate Sect intentionally designed the trap to kill anyone who opened the cave, including the Dao Protector or any possible impostor. He condemns the sect as ruthless and demonic.
• After surviving, he refines a replacement Void Fate River, then notices that three of the four characters on his examination paper—“Peace Under Heaven”—have turned red, suggesting an unexplained change or achievement.
• He proceeds through an unnatural darkness, using Yellow Turban Strongmen to guide him, until he reaches the Fate-Dividing Platform.
• Sitting on the platform transports his consciousness through a cosmic vision of stars, galaxies, and Fate Stars. He sees a ruined world surrounded by seawater and feels sorrow for the destruction of living realms.
• The vision shifts to the Imperial Garden, where he sees 2,210 surviving examinees advancing along separate paths from the garden’s center, a dramatic reduction from the original tens of thousands.

Character Development

• Li Qingxian demonstrates caution, preparation, and resourcefulness. His extensive collection of defensive artifacts allows him to survive an attack that was intended to be unavoidable.
• He gains a clearer understanding of the Heaven’s Mandate Sect’s ruthlessness and becomes more distrustful of its schemes.
• His survival comes at a high cost: several Life-Replacement Wooden Children, the Death-Exemption Golden Plaque, and the Myriad Phenomena Brush are lost or destroyed.
• His vision of the Death Realm reveals a growing concern for the fate of entire worlds and their inhabitants. He briefly develops an idealistic desire to prevent living realms from becoming Death Realms, though he immediately reminds himself to focus on his own survival and objectives.
• His awareness of the examination’s casualties deepens as he recognizes that only 2,210 candidates remain.

Significant Themes

• Betrayal and hidden danger: The Heaven’s Mandate Sect creates a trap even for those following its intended plan, showing that its schemes are based on suspicion and total control.
• Preparation versus overwhelming power: Li Qingxian survives not through a single superior technique, but through carefully accumulated treasures and layered defenses.
• The cost of survival: His escape requires the destruction of several powerful artifacts, emphasizing that victory carries lasting losses.
• Fate and identity: The curse, Fate-Dividing Platform, Fate Stars, and changing examination marks all reinforce the chapter’s focus on destiny, manipulation, and uncertain identity.
• Destruction and compassion: The ruined Death Realm causes Li Qingxian to mourn the loss of an entire civilization, expanding his concerns beyond personal advancement.
• Attrition and competition: The sharp reduction in examinees highlights the deadly nature of the Imperial Garden examination.

Character Interactions

• Li Qingxian has no direct conversation with other characters in the chapter, but he interacts extensively with the will and mechanisms left behind by the Heaven’s Mandate Sect.
• The Dao Protector’s jade pendant guides him to the cave, while the Dao Protector’s legacy and memories help him assess the danger.
• The protective treasures associated with Shen Xiaoyi, Eerie City, and other powerful forces function as indirect allies, shielding him from the curse.
• The Heaven’s Mandate Sect’s trap effectively acts as an adversarial “interaction,” revealing its hostility toward the Dao Protector and any unauthorized entrant.
• At the end, Li Qingxian observes the remaining examinees from afar, placing his personal journey within the larger struggle taking place in the Imperial Garden.

Chapter Summary: “Good Fortune Born Pays Homage to an Immortal”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Myriad Phenomena Azure Cloud Examination ends with an exceptionally high death toll. In the sky, 2,211 Fate Stars appear, corresponding to the examinees.
• The highest and most powerful star is revealed to be Purple Tenuity Illumination, the supreme Emperor Star and “Lord of All Stars.” It surpasses even the Fate Star Son of Heaven Seated in Court and would drastically transform anyone who obtained it.
• Li Qingxian realizes that no ordinary person could withstand Purple Tenuity Illumination. If placed directly into his own Fate Mansion, the mansion would collapse. Among all the examinees, only Good Fortune Born, a Child of Heaven’s Mandate, appears capable of bearing it.
• A bronze balance-like artifact manifests, revealing the rule of Fate Division: each person must be matched with a Fate Star of equal “weight.”
• Good Fortune Born unexpectedly uses a painting and the Purple Tenuity Treasure Edict to create a golden gate and connect his location to the Fate-Dividing Platform—an apparent shortcut or form of cheating.
• To respond, Li Qingxian summons three Inner Gods—Mist-Supporter, Wind-Shaker, and Sky-Raising Cloud-Bearing Guard—to protect the gate and disguise the platform as an immortal realm.
• Li also summons the Light-Chasing Sun-Shooting Celestial General, asking him to provide a heavenly welcome. The general calls forth two squads of imposing ceremonial heavenly soldiers.
• With divine treasures, clouds, halos, golden dragons, a celestial canopy, and heavenly guards arranged around him, Li Qingxian stages an overwhelming spectacle.
• Good Fortune Born steps through the passage and is confronted by what appears to be an imperial immortal court. The heavenly soldiers command him to kneel before the Emperor. Believing the display to be genuine, he immediately kneels, kowtows three times, and declares: “This lowly commoner of the lower realm, Good Fortune Born, pays homage to the immortal.”

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian demonstrates sharp judgment and strategic adaptability. He recognizes both the extraordinary value of Purple Tenuity Illumination and the danger it poses, then quickly devises a plan to control the situation.
• His willingness to exploit summoned gods and heavenly imagery reveals a more playful, cunning side. Rather than confronting Good Fortune Born directly, he uses intimidation and theatrical deception.
• Good Fortune Born is reaffirmed as an extraordinarily favored figure, capable of creating a passage to the Fate-Dividing Platform through his own treasures. However, despite his confidence and talent, he is also susceptible to overwhelming authority and spectacle.
• Light-Chasing Sun-Shooting Celestial General shows mild irritation at Li Qingxian’s dubious request, suggesting that he views Li as unreliable or mischievous. Nevertheless, he cooperates and helps create the ceremonial display.
• The summoned gods act loyally and efficiently, supporting Li’s scheme without questioning his motives.

Significant Themes

• Fate and heavenly destiny: Purple Tenuity Illumination represents the highest possible status and demonstrates how fate can determine—and transform—a person’s entire existence.
• The burden of power: The greatest Fate Star cannot simply be claimed; even Li Qingxian’s Fate Mansion would collapse under its weight. Great fortune requires the capacity to endure it.
• Legitimacy versus appearance: Li Qingxian’s staged immortal court shows how authority can be created through symbols, ritual, and spectacle. Good Fortune Born responds not to verified truth but to the appearance of overwhelming divine power.
• Cunning and improvisation: The chapter contrasts Good Fortune Born’s unusual “shortcut” with Li Qingxian’s rapid countermeasure, emphasizing strategy over straightforward strength.
• Reverence and hierarchy: The heavenly soldiers’ demand that Good Fortune Born kneel reinforces the rigid hierarchy between mortals, immortals, and celestial rulers.

Character Interactions

• Li Qingxian studies Good Fortune Born as the only person capable of receiving Purple Tenuity Illumination, creating an underlying relationship of wary recognition and competition.
• Good Fortune Born’s attempt to reach the Fate-Dividing Platform prompts Li to intervene.
• Li commands the three Inner Gods to provide protection and concealment, demonstrating his authority over them.
• Li asks the Light-Chasing Sun-Shooting Celestial General to help stage a ceremonial welcome. Though annoyed, the general accepts the request and summons the heavenly soldiers.
• The heavenly soldiers directly confront Good Fortune Born, ordering him to kneel.
• Good Fortune Born, overawed by the apparent immortal court, submits completely and pays homage, ending the chapter on a moment of dramatic deception and comic irony.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Good Fortune Born kneels before Li Qingxian’s disguised manifestation in the Destiny Hall, causing Fortune to surge through Li’s Dragon Suppression Art.
• Li manipulates the Fate Star Balance and considers whether Good Fortune Born could balance the Emperor Star, but abandons the idea to avoid losing control of it.
• Through the Sky-Raising Cloud-Bearing Guard, Li presents himself as the ancient and supreme Fate Emperor, only eighteen years old yet existing across immense cycles of time.
• Good Fortune Born believes he has encountered a true immortal opportunity and asks for the finest Fate Star.
• When questioned about his virtue and achievements, he honestly admits that he is not the best among the examinees and is unworthy of the finest Fate Star.
• Li uses this admission to portray Good Fortune Born as sincere and deserving of an immortal destiny, while claiming that his Fate Star was damaged by the schemes of “petty villains”—a veiled reference to Ye Han.
• Good Fortune Born is offered a choice: take the finest Fate Star, or surrender it and receive an equivalent replacement from the Fate Star Treasury while helping restore the supposedly damaged Fate Star of another person.
• Believing this is his destined opportunity to recover what Ye Han stole from him, Good Fortune Born willingly gives up the finest Fate Star.
• Li tests several Fate Stars against Good Fortune Born’s fate but finds that ordinary choices cannot balance it.
• To provide a suitable but controlled replacement, Li combines the Heavenly Calamity Beast Dragon with Fish Eyes Among Pearls, creating a concealed, effectively empty Fate Star.
• This prevents Good Fortune Born from freely using the Heavenly Calamity Beast Dragon’s power while allowing Li to appear generous and fulfill the bargain.

2. Character Developments

• Li Qingxian demonstrates increasing mastery of fate manipulation, deception, and strategic planning. Rather than simply granting Good Fortune Born power, he carefully chooses a Fate Star that appears valuable but keeps its true abilities hidden and inaccessible.
• Good Fortune Born becomes increasingly convinced that Li is a supreme immortal authority and that his own suffering has finally led to a great reward. His resentment toward Ye Han deepens, and he interprets Li’s fabricated explanation as confirmation that Ye Han wronged him.
• Good Fortune Born also reveals a degree of honesty: despite his ambition and past ruthlessness, he admits he is neither the best nor worthy of the finest Fate Star when directly questioned.
• The Sky-Raising Cloud-Bearing Guard acts as Li’s spokesman, faithfully delivering Li’s carefully designed narrative.
• The Light-Chasing Sun-Shooting Celestial General is left shocked and speechless by Li’s manipulation and the apparent granting of an immortal destiny.

3. Significant Themes

• Deception and constructed authority: Li creates the image of an ancient Fate Emperor through ceremony, grand claims, and intermediaries, showing how authority can be manufactured through appearances.
• Fate versus personal merit: Good Fortune Born seeks the “best” Fate Star, but is forced to confront whether his actions and character truly justify it.
• Self-delusion and confirmation bias: Good Fortune Born eagerly interprets every statement as proof that he has been chosen and wronged by Ye Han, allowing Li’s deception to succeed.
• Control through apparent generosity: Li gives up something that looks valuable while concealing its true power, turning a potential threat into a controlled reward.
• The danger of ambition: Good Fortune Born’s desire for the finest destiny makes him willing to accept Li’s conditions without questioning their deeper implications.
• Fate as a manipulable system: The Fate Star Balance, Fortune, and hidden Fate Stars suggest that destiny can be measured, altered, concealed, and strategically exploited.

4. Character Interactions

• Li Qingxian and Good Fortune Born: Their interaction is fundamentally unequal and deceptive. Good Fortune Born believes he is petitioning a transcendent emperor, while Li privately studies his fate and engineers the outcome.
• Li Qingxian and the Sky-Raising Cloud-Bearing Guard: Li directs the guard through the Inner Gods, using him to speak the necessary words and maintain the illusion of divine authority.
• Good Fortune Born and the supposed Fate Emperor: Good Fortune Born behaves with reverence and desperation, repeatedly kneeling and answering honestly in hopes of securing an immortal destiny.
• Good Fortune Born and Ye Han: Though Ye Han does not appear directly, he dominates Good Fortune Born’s thoughts. Good Fortune Born views him as the villain responsible for stealing or damaging his destiny.
• Li Qingxian and the Fate Stars: Li evaluates, combines, and conceals Fate Stars with careful precision, especially merging the Heavenly Calamity Beast Dragon into Fish Eyes Among Pearls so Good Fortune Born receives only an apparent reward.

Chapter Summary: Golden Tower Destiny Mansion Beholds the Wutong

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Qingxian evaluates which Fate Stars to grant Good Fortune Born without creating the dangerous Twin Dragons Contesting Heaven configuration.
• He deliberately avoids giving Good Fortune Born Ten Thousand Mountains Form a Vein, fearing it would allow him to establish an independent lineage and potentially evolve into the Beyond-Rank Fate Star Heaven-and-Earth Ancestral Court.
• Instead, Li chooses Sea Embraces All Rivers, supplementing it with numerous ordinary Fate Stars until the destiny scale finally balances.
• The Sky-Raising Cloud-Bearing Guard declares that Good Fortune Born has passed the trial and opens the Fate Star Treasury Hall. More than a dozen Fate Stars descend into Good Fortune Born’s Fate Mansion.
• Li then places Purple Tenuity Illumination, the Emperor Star, onto the scale. It balances perfectly, causing Purple Tenuity to descend toward his Fate Mansion and unleashing overwhelming imperial radiance.
• However, Li’s Fate Mansion is not yet strong enough to fully contain the Emperor Star, so Purple Tenuity remains suspended rather than completely descending.
• As Good Fortune Born’s Fortune weakens, Li gains the ability to inspect his Fate Mansion. He discovers that Good Fortune Born’s destiny has changed significantly.
• Good Fortune Born’s Youth Fate Ground now contains Rising Sun and Everlasting Moon, Hidden Dragon in the Poison Pool, Tempered Through Ten Thousand Trials, and the inferior Treasure-Gathering Basin.
• The Treasure-Gathering Basin appeared because Good Fortune Born lost his accumulated wealth after the Heaven-and-Earth Bracelet returned to its rightful owner. His desperate need for money summoned the Fate Star, but its presence disrupted his Fate Pattern and caused the Heavenly Calamity Fate Spirit to dissipate.
• In Good Fortune Born’s Young Adult Fate Ground, Li sees Sea Embraces All Rivers along with three unknown Fate Stars. The first is revealed to be the Heavenly Fate Star Divine Radiance Wutong Grove, a magnificent forest of sacred wutong trees and radiant nests.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian becomes increasingly powerful and confident as his Fortune surges after granting Fate Stars to Good Fortune Born. He is able to observe and analyze another person’s Fate Mansion directly, something previously impossible.
• Although Li initially acts cautiously to avoid strengthening Good Fortune Born too much, his weakened state awakens Li’s greed and ambition. Li begins considering whether he could exploit Good Fortune Born’s vulnerability.
• Li’s acquisition of Purple Tenuity Illumination confirms his emergence as an imperial figure, though his Fate Mansion still lacks the strength to fully support the Emperor Star.
• Good Fortune Born is ecstatic upon receiving so many Fate Stars and believes he has benefited more than Li. Yet his Fortune is secretly collapsing, and his once-peerless Fate Pattern is damaged by the addition of Treasure-Gathering Basin.
• Good Fortune Born remains unaware of the full extent of his decline, while Li now understands that the former “chosen one” has become temporarily weaker than an ordinary Seventh Rank Martial Cultivator.

Significant Themes

• The instability of fortune: Great Fortune can rise or fall suddenly. Good Fortune Born’s apparent victory conceals a severe weakening of his destiny.
• The dangers of greed and ambition: Li’s careful strategy begins to give way to temptation when he realizes Good Fortune Born can finally be examined and potentially exploited.
• Destiny as a system of balance: Fate Stars, Fate Grounds, and Fate Patterns must harmonize. Even a seemingly beneficial star like Treasure-Gathering Basin can damage an otherwise superior destiny if it does not fit.
• Power and legitimacy: Purple Tenuity Illumination symbolizes imperial authority, but possessing it is not enough; Li must strengthen his Fate Mansion before he can truly wield its full power.
• Hidden consequences of apparent blessings: Good Fortune Born receives many Fate Stars, yet the changes weaken his structure. Meanwhile, Li’s apparent inability to fully absorb Purple Tenuity may represent a temporary setback rather than failure.

Character Interactions

• Li silently worries about Good Fortune Born’s safety while carefully manipulating the Fate Star selection process.
• The Sky-Raising Cloud-Bearing Guard oversees the trial, announces Good Fortune Born’s success, and opens and closes the Fate Star Treasury Hall when it begins losing too many stars.
• Good Fortune Born thanks Li by prostrating himself and assumes that the outcome favors him, unaware that Li has gained the greater strategic advantage.
• Their relationship remains outwardly cooperative but is increasingly defined by concealed rivalry: Good Fortune Born believes he has outmaneuvered the Destiny Emperor, while Li recognizes that Good Fortune Born’s fortune has begun to collapse.
• The discovery of Divine Radiance Wutong Grove ends the chapter on a note of mystery, suggesting that the remaining Fate Stars in Good Fortune Born’s Fate Mansion may possess extraordinary power.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Qingxian examines the powerful Fate Stars in Good Fortune Born’s Fate Mansion and discovers four remarkable options:
  • Divine Radiance Wutong Grove, a Beyond-Rank Fate Star that attracts officials, generals, and beauties.
  • Dragon-Transformation Pearl, which can be consumed by a related Fate Star to help it rapidly advance.
  • Manifest Golden Body, a Beyond-Rank Fate Star that protects against evil, disasters, and potentially fatal calamities.
  • Sea Embraces All Rivers, an Upper-Rank Fate Star with exceptional value for navigating Grand Momentum Configurations.
• He attempts to fish out the superior Fate Stars with his Fate Fishing Rod, but Good Fortune Born’s Fate Stars repel the hook. Although Good Fortune Born’s fortune has weakened, his Fate Stars remain firmly protected.
• Realizing ordinary fishing will not work, Li Qingxian uses the Jade Ring Toss as bait, joking that Good Fortune Born “cheated first.”
• His attempts to ring Divine Radiance Wutong Grove and Manifest Golden Body fail because their Beyond-Rank power knocks away the ring.
• He ultimately targets Sea Embraces All Rivers, deciding that it would benefit him more than Dragon-Transformation Pearl, even though it would weaken Good Fortune Born more significantly.
• The ring successfully encircles Sea Embraces All Rivers and unexpectedly pulls out not only the Fate Star, but also its Golden-Brick Fate Ground and Coiling Dragon Fate Pillar.
• Li Qingxian transfers these elements into his own Fate Mansion. Purple Tenuity Illumination then descends onto the Coiling Dragon Fate Pillar, unleashing immense power and greatly improving his control and understanding of Fate Stars.
• Good Fortune Born notices the powerful purple halos and auras spreading from Li Qingxian’s Fate Mansion.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian demonstrates increasing ingenuity and boldness. When conventional Fate Fishing fails, he adapts by exploiting the Jade Ring Toss in an unconventional manner.
• He is forced to choose between strengthening himself and weakening Good Fortune Born. Though Dragon-Transformation Pearl would help his own Fate Stars advance, he recognizes that Sea Embraces All Rivers is far more practically useful to a Fate Arts Master.
• His successful acquisition of Sea Embraces All Rivers and the associated Fate structures marks a major increase in his power. His connection to and comprehension of Fate Stars deepen dramatically after Purple Tenuity Illumination merges with the Coiling Dragon Fate Pillar.
• Good Fortune Born remains powerful despite the decline of his Fortune and Fate Mold. His Fate Stars instinctively resist Li Qingxian’s attempts, showing that he is still a formidable Child of Heaven’s Mandate. He becomes alert when he senses Li Qingxian’s new power.

Significant Themes

• Ingenuity overcoming brute force: Li Qingxian cannot seize the Fate Stars directly, so he uses a seemingly unrelated treasure in an unexpected way.
• Choice between self-improvement and weakening an enemy: The decision to take Sea Embraces All Rivers reflects the tension between maximizing personal strength and strategically damaging Good Fortune Born.
• The scale of heavenly fortune: The extraordinary quality of Good Fortune Born’s Fate Stars emphasizes the terrifying advantages possessed by a Child of Heaven’s Mandate.
• Transformation through opportunity: Purple Tenuity Illumination’s interaction with the stolen Fate structures suggests that Li Qingxian’s power and understanding are entering a new stage.
• Rules, cheating, and retaliation: Li Qingxian’s use of the Jade Ring Toss is framed as answering Good Fortune Born’s earlier manipulation with his own clever exploitation of the Fate-Dividing Platform.

Character Interactions

• Li Qingxian directly contests Good Fortune Born’s Fate Mansion, repeatedly trying to remove valuable Fate Stars despite their defensive resistance.
• Although Good Fortune Born does not directly confront him in dialogue, the conflict is expressed through the Fate Stars’ rejection of Li Qingxian’s fishing attempts.
• Li Qingxian’s internal comparison of the two men’s needs shapes his decision: he takes Sea Embraces All Rivers for his own benefit while leaving Good Fortune Born without one of his most useful Fate Stars.
• The chapter ends with Good Fortune Born witnessing the consequences of Li Qingxian’s maneuver, setting up a likely confrontation or further reaction.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Good Fortune Born witnesses Li Qingxian’s overwhelming fate power and becomes convinced that Li is the Fate Emperor.
• Li conceals the powerful Purple Tenuity Illumination inside Heaven-Shifting Sun-Changing, which he merges into the Youth Fate Ground so that others cannot detect it.
• Good Fortune Born’s Fate Pillar and Fate Ground are removed, leaving a major flaw in his Fate Mold. Li becomes the only person capable of seeing through his true condition.
• The Sky-Raising Cloud-Bearing Guard tells Good Fortune Born that the Fate Emperor’s successor will soon descend into the mortal world, select a “True Dragon,” and bring him a great opportunity. Good Fortune Born mistakenly believes this may refer to himself.
• Li takes control of the Fate-Dividing Platform and distributes the remaining Fate Stars:
  • He keeps Purple Tenuity Illumination and Sea Embraces All Rivers for himself.
  • He gives Ten Thousand Mountains Form a Vein to Wang Buwu, believing him trustworthy and morally sound.
  • He assigns favorable Fate Stars to upright cultivators and deliberately gives unsuitable ones to Devil and Heretical Cultivators.
• Returning to the waterfall with Fangfang, Li discovers that he has gained several powerful Fate Stars, a Coiling Dragon Fate Pillar, and a Golden-Brick Fate Ground.
• His celebration is interrupted when he senses that something has happened to the Half-Life Man protecting Uncle Zhou. Through repeated deductions, he sees it destroyed by a demonic Momentum Configuration.
• Li investigates past events and realizes that the Devil Sect’s earlier actions were likely aimed at Uncle Zhou, not merely his relatives.
• He deduces that the eunuch Jing Guan died immediately after delivering Yan Shixiao’s letter to Uncle Zhou, suggesting he was killed to silence him.
• Li concludes that Uncle Zhou and Yan Shixiao have concealed a major crisis from him. Uncle Zhou’s later strictness, unusual generosity, political closeness to the Dingnan Prince’s Residence, and final instructions about a locked box now appear deeply suspicious.
• The chapter ends with Li shaken by these revelations while Fangfang asks what is wrong.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian grows substantially stronger, acquiring multiple high-level Fate Stars and the foundation to establish his own faction within several years.
• He demonstrates greater strategic maturity by concealing Purple Tenuity Illumination and distributing Fate Stars according to both aptitude and moral character.
• Li’s attitude toward Good Fortune Born remains amused and calculating; he allows Good Fortune Born to leave believing he has gained a victory.
• His confidence collapses into alarm when he realizes Uncle Zhou may be facing a hidden and possibly deadly threat.
• Good Fortune Born becomes increasingly convinced that he is connected to the Fate Emperor and may be the prophesied True Dragon. His triumph over Li is based on a misunderstanding.
• Uncle Zhou/Zhou Chunfeng is revealed to have behaved suspiciously, combining unusual strictness and affection while secretly preparing or protecting something.
• Jing Guan is retrospectively revealed to have been killed after delivering a secret message, making him a likely victim of political intrigue.
• Yan Shixiao appears to have participated in concealing the truth from Li.

Significant Themes

• Fate and manipulation: Fate Stars can determine power, status, and destiny, but their distribution is controlled by those with superior insight.
• Concealed power: Li’s ability to hide Purple Tenuity Illumination reflects the importance of secrecy in a world where strength attracts danger.
• Moral judgment and power: Li rewards upright characters with suitable opportunities while obstructing those aligned with evil or heresy.
• Misunderstanding and ambition: Good Fortune Born interprets vague prophetic language as confirmation of his own importance.
• Hidden sacrifice and political conspiracy: The destruction of the Half-Life Man reveals that major events have been occurring behind Li’s back, possibly involving assassination and secret protection.
• The cost of ignorance: Li’s previous assumptions about the Devil Sect, Jing Guan, and Uncle Zhou are overturned, forcing him to reevaluate his relationships and the political situation.

Character Interactions

• The Sky-Raising Cloud-Bearing Guard speaks with Good Fortune Born and reinforces his belief in the Fate Emperor’s succession and the coming True Dragon.
• Li silently observes Good Fortune Born’s confidence and arranges the Fate-Dividing Platform’s outcomes without revealing his identity or intentions.
• Li evaluates numerous candidates before assigning Fate Stars, favoring Wang Buwu and other morally upright cultivators.
• After returning, Li reassures Fangfang that he has gone nowhere, then takes her hand.
• Li’s deductions connect the Devil Sect, Yan Shixiao, Jing Guan, and Uncle Zhou into a hidden chain of events.
• Fangfang notices Li’s distress at the end, but Li’s discovery is not yet explained to her.

Chapter Summary: “Spring Breeze Returns You a Cup of Wine”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Outside Divine Capital, Zhou Chunfeng destroys a devil formation and kills numerous devil cultivators. Though gravely wounded, he survives long enough to fulfill a final act of vengeance.
• He senses the ongoing Seventh Rank Azure Cloud Examination on Azure Cloud Mountain and remembers an old friend from Jiangnan. Raising an imaginary wine cup, he says, “Spring Breeze’s three-foot sword returns you a cup of wine.”
• Zhou Chunfeng travels to Prince Yuan’s Residence, where he kills Prince Yuan and carries out his severed head. He then returns to Chunfeng Residence, sits beneath his maple tree, and dies, lamenting that he cannot return to Jiangnan while expressing hope for the future of Great Qi.
• News of Zhou Chunfeng’s death spreads through Divine Capital. Chief Minister Zhao Yishan, Coward King of the Night Guard, Grand Sacrificial Scholar Bai Shangshu, and Zhang Fugui all move toward the Ministry of Justice, intending to demand justice and repay Zhou Chunfeng’s past kindnesses.
• Bai Shangshu threatens to distribute books from the Imperial Academy’s library and, if necessary, expel the Devil Sect from the Four Great Academies.
• Within the Myriad Phenomena Diagram, Li Qingxian escorts Fangfang toward the exit of the Imperial Garden. He gives her his final peach and a Movable-Type Token, instructing her to take one for herself and deliver the other to his mother before fleeing.
• At the rear gate, Li Qingxian prepares for battle. He erects artifacts, arranges Fate Materials, establishes an altar to the Jade Clarity True King, performs the Astral Dipper Steps, and declares that devil cultivators are forbidden from passing through the gate.
• As examinees gather, rumors spread that Li Qingxian intends to sever the Devil Sect’s “azure clouds.” Though many are wary, Li Qingxian’s former teammates gradually join him.
• Song Baige publicly announces the campaign, and Wang Buwu, Shen Xiaoyi, Lin Zhenyuan, Qiu Ye, Lu Gaoming, and others stand beside Li Qingxian. Most of the old teammates volunteer, while several newer teammates hesitate and look to Meng Huaichuan.

Character Developments

• Zhou Chunfeng is revealed as deeply loyal and self-sacrificing. Despite mortal injuries, he completes his revenge against Prince Yuan and dies with concern for Great Qi and affection for his old friends.
• Zhao Yishan, Coward King, Bai Shangshu, and Zhang Fugui demonstrate that Zhou Chunfeng’s actions and relationships have earned him powerful allies. Their immediate response shows grief, respect, and a determination to defend his legacy.
• Li Qingxian becomes exceptionally calm and resolute. Rather than merely surviving the examination, he deliberately takes responsibility for blocking the Devil Sect and prepares to face the consequences alone.
• Fangfang is treated protectively by Li Qingxian, who prioritizes her safety and entrusts her with meaningful gifts for herself and his mother.
• Song Baige and Li Qingxian’s teammates show increasing loyalty and solidarity. They choose to stand with him even without knowing his full reasons.
• Meng Huaichuan’s newer teammates reveal uncertainty, creating a contrast with the unity of Li Qingxian’s old companions.

Significant Themes

• Sacrifice and loyalty: Zhou Chunfeng dies after completing his duty, while Li Qingxian risks himself to protect others and oppose the Devil Sect.
• Justice and retribution: Zhou Chunfeng personally punishes Prince Yuan, while the capital’s officials prepare to demand accountability from the Ministry of Justice.
• Friendship and repayment: The chapter emphasizes bonds formed through past kindness. Zhou Chunfeng’s allies now repay the debts they owe him.
• Legacy and collective resistance: Zhou Chunfeng’s death inspires action rather than despair, while Li Qingxian’s stand draws others into a united struggle.
• Calm resolve in the face of death: Both Zhou Chunfeng and Li Qingxian act without panic, accepting personal danger for larger principles.
• Separation and homesickness: Zhou Chunfeng’s inability to return to Jiangnan gives his death a poignant sense of exile and unfinished longing.

Important Character Interactions

• Zhou Chunfeng symbolically toasts an absent friend, linking his final moments to memory, friendship, and Jiangnan.
• He kills Prince Yuan and leaves his head at the residence, making a direct statement of vengeance.
• Zhao Yishan, Coward King, Bai Shangshu, and Zhang Fugui each respond independently to Zhou Chunfeng’s death, showing the breadth of his influence.
• Li Qingxian urges Fangfang to flee, entrusting her with gifts for himself and his mother.
• Li Qingxian refuses assistance at first, insisting that the confrontation is his personal responsibility and outside the team’s oath.
• Song Baige rejects this isolation and openly calls for others to join Li Qingxian. One by one, teammates declare their support, transforming Li Qingxian’s solitary stand into a collective confrontation with the Devil Sect.

Chapter Summary: “I Sever This Azure Sky with This Body”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Meng Huaichuan reluctantly joins Li Qingxian’s plan to “sever Azure Cloud,” admitting that although he fears punishment from his father, he must honor his oath. His declaration astonishes the observing examinees because the Dingnan Prince’s Residence is one of the Qi Kingdom’s most powerful military forces.
• Song Baige asks four hesitant participants to withdraw before the conflict begins. They leave, ashamed, while Sun Qingtian of the Northern Green Forest arrives and enthusiastically joins without even knowing the full situation.
• Scabbard and several other cultivators—including powerful clans and people hostile to the Devil Sect—also join Li Qingxian. As support grows, three groups form: Li Qingxian’s alliance, the Devil Sect, and neutral observers.
• Bone Filth Child and the Monument Inscriber arrive. The Monument Inscriber attempts to mediate, offering to guarantee justice for Li Qingxian if he postpones the conflict until after the examination. Li Qingxian rejects the offer, stating that he only wants demon cultivators dead.
• Bone Filth Child challenges Li Qingxian and asks that the other Devil Sect disciples be spared, but Sun Qingtian rejects the request. Li Qingxian’s forces advance, forcing a confrontation.
• The Monument Inscriber and members of the Evil Sects withdraw, clarifying that they have no intention of supporting the demon cultivators or becoming Li Qingxian’s enemies.
• Bone Filth Child accuses Li Qingxian of acting only because the Six Divine Stars destroyed the Devil Sect’s Evil God Statues. Li Qingxian denies knowing about that event but declares that it proves the Devil Sect deserves death.
• Remembering Zhou Chunfeng’s protection and kindness, Li Qingxian solemnly vows: “I sever this Azure Sky with this body. Until the Devil Sect is slain, I swear I will not return.” His allies repeat the vow.
• Both sides prepare for battle. Before the main clash begins, the Ten-Thousand Talisman Scholar appears and surrounds more than two hundred demon cultivators with sixty-four Golden-Light Eight Trigrams.
• A massive barrage of talismans unleashes lightning, fire, hail, blades, poison, curses, and illusions. The demon cultivators are engulfed in a devastating attack, after which the Ten-Thousand Talisman Scholar leaves the remaining enemies to Li Qingxian’s group.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian becomes more resolute and vengeful. His grief and loyalty toward Zhou Chunfeng transform his opposition to the Devil Sect into a personal oath and moral crusade.
• Meng Huaichuan demonstrates that despite being cautious and fearful of consequences, he values loyalty and keeping promises above personal safety.
• Song Baige acts as a practical leader, protecting former friends who refuse to join and maintaining a clear distinction between allies and enemies.
• Sun Qingtian is portrayed as impulsive, fearless, and eager for battle. His blunt enthusiasm helps solidify the alliance.
• Bone Filth Child shifts from confidence to alarm as Li Qingxian’s forces swell. Though defiant, he recognizes that the Devil Sect may face disaster.
• The Monument Inscriber remains cautious and diplomatic, attempting to prevent an unnecessary faction-wide war before withdrawing when mediation fails.
• The Ten-Thousand Talisman Scholar reveals overwhelming power and impeccable timing, dramatically changing the balance of the battlefield.

Significant Themes

• Loyalty and oath-keeping: Meng Huaichuan and Li Qingxian both act according to sworn promises, even when doing so brings danger or punishment.
• Grief transformed into vengeance: Li Qingxian’s memories of Zhou Chunfeng provide the emotional foundation for his uncompromising campaign against the Devil Sect.
• Factional solidarity: Individuals and groups set aside ordinary rivalries to unite against a shared enemy.
• Honor versus political caution: Meng Huaichuan’s decision contrasts with his father’s policy of avoiding powerful enemies, emphasizing personal honor over political safety.
• Escalation and irreversible conflict: What begins as a factional dispute becomes a large-scale confrontation once both sides commit publicly and retreat becomes impossible.
• Strength and spectacle: The chapter highlights the immense power of coordinated cultivators, culminating in the Ten-Thousand Talisman Scholar’s overwhelming attack.

Character Interactions

• Song Baige teases Meng Huaichuan about fearing his father, while Meng responds that earning his grandfather’s praise is worth the punishment.
• Song Baige dismisses the four hesitant cultivators, allowing them to leave without becoming enemies.
• Sun Qingtian immediately joins Li Qingxian’s cause and rejects Bone Filth Child’s attempt to limit the fight to himself and Li Qingxian.
• The Monument Inscriber respectfully appeals to Li Qingxian as a fellow citizen of Qi, but Li refuses compromise.
• Bone Filth Child and Li Qingxian exchange accusations and threats, revealing the deepening hostility between the Night Guard and the Devil Sect.
• Li Qingxian’s allies echo his vow, transforming his personal declaration into a collective commitment.
• The Ten-Thousand Talisman Scholar briefly intervenes from outside the main group, annihilating or crippling much of the demon cultivator force before handing the battlefield back to the assembled alliance.

Chapter Summary: Myriad Army Insect Formation Meets Thunder

Key Plot Points and Events

• Li Qingxian unleashes all the Thunder Talismans he has accumulated, producing roughly three thousand bolts of lightning that devastate the Devil Cultivators.
• When the smoke clears, hundreds of Devil Cultivators have been fused into a grotesque mass of corpses, blood vessels, and writhing insects. Shen Xiaoyi identifies it as the Devil Sect’s forbidden Myriad Army Insect Formation.
• Song Baige invokes the imperial court’s order to exterminate anyone using Devil Sect forbidden arts, rallying the surrounding martial artists and onlookers to join the battle.
• The corpse mass transforms into a two-zhang-tall mud giant bearing Bone Filth Child’s face. It commands hundreds of millions of Devilish Insects and attacks with poisonous fluids and insect swarms.
• The group protects itself with Literary Treasures and Righteous Qi. Wang Buwu unexpectedly leaves the protective barrier, revealing that his cultivation technique can dissolve and absorb Devilish Poison, converting it into vital essence.
• Wang Buwu becomes the main defensive force, resisting the poison and insects while strengthening himself. He eventually attacks the mud giant directly, severely damaging its body, though the creature repeatedly reforms.
• Shen Xiaoyi explains that the formation has collected the lifespans, insects, and poison of all the dead Devil Cultivators. It cannot be killed easily and can only be slowly exhausted.
• Li Qingxian summons the Lightning-Wrapped Drum-Bearing Strongman to fight, but the battle remains stalemated. Wang Buwu eventually exhausts his True Essence and must retreat to recover.
• Li Qingxian detects gray-yellow Weird Power inside the giant and realizes that the formation is about to become an eerie, a far more dangerous existence. Shen Xiaoyi recognizes that their situation may now be hopeless.
• The formation completes its transformation: the giant becomes a massive chariot pulled by more than two hundred headless, armored centaurs. Bone Filth Child commands them as poisonous insects fuse into metallic armor.
• The Lightning-Wrapped Drum-Bearing Strongman attacks with concentrated thunder, but the armored centaurs leap into the air and collide with him. The centaurs are destroyed one by one, yet the Thunder Aspect’s lightning is steadily weakened.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian demonstrates his preparation and combat strength through the mass deployment of Thunder Talismans. He also shows keen perception by detecting the Weird Power and recognizing the formation’s transformation before others.
• Wang Buwu reveals a powerful and highly unusual cultivation technique that neutralizes and absorbs Devilish Poison. His willingness to expose this secret in a crisis makes him essential to the group’s survival, though the technique eventually drains his True Essence.
• Shen Xiaoyi serves as the group’s knowledgeable strategist, identifying the forbidden formation and explaining its mechanism and nearly inexhaustible nature.
• Song Baige takes on a leadership role by invoking imperial law and inspiring the spectators to fight the Devil Sect.
• Bone Filth Child evolves from a surviving Devil Cultivator into the central consciousness of the Myriad Army Insect Formation, displaying both fury and frightening resilience.
• The Lightning-Wrapped Drum-Bearing Strongman fights with immense force and enthusiasm, but his thunder-based attacks are gradually worn down by the transformed formation.
• Good Fortune Born is moved by the battle but ultimately chooses not to reveal or use his anti-Devil treasure, preserving his mysterious position.

Significant Themes

• Collective power versus forbidden evil: Li Qingxian’s group gains strength as bystanders and martial artists unite against the Devil Sect.
• Sacrifice and hidden abilities: Wang Buwu risks exposing a secret technique to protect others, highlighting the cost of survival and the dangers of revealing one’s true capabilities.
• Transformation and escalation: The Devil Cultivators’ corpses evolve through increasingly monstrous forms, showing how forbidden arts can turn death into greater power.
• The limits of brute force: Even overwhelming lightning and martial strength cannot immediately destroy the formation, emphasizing endurance, strategy, and the threat posed by Weird Power.
• Fate and turning points: Li Qingxian senses that the Azure Cloud Examination is shaping the future of several powerful figures, including Wang Buwu.
• The horror of the eerie: Once the formation begins becoming an eerie within the Eerie Ground, the conflict shifts from a difficult battle to a seemingly fatal encounter.

Character Interactions

• Li Qingxian and Shen Xiaoyi work together tactically, with Li providing destructive power and Shen interpreting the formation’s nature.
• Song Baige uses his authority to push the hesitant crowd into action, turning the confrontation into a collective assault.
• Wang Buwu’s defensive feat shocks the others and causes them to connect his technique with the powerful Daoist method associated with Jiangcheng Prince.
• Li Qingxian privately recognizes that his gift of Ten Thousand Mountains Form a Vein was instrumental in Wang Buwu’s growth.
• The Lightning-Wrapped Drum-Bearing Strongman battles directly against the transformed formation, creating a dramatic clash between thunder and the insect army.
• Bone Filth Child’s formation links every dead Devil Cultivator, their insects, and their lifespans into one shared entity, making the enemy both a single opponent and an entire army.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Bone Filth Child unleashes his ultimate technique, “Ten Thousand Demons,” combining demonic qi, evil power, and Weird Power. He absorbs thousands of demonic beasts into his body, transforming into a grotesque mass covered in countless demonic faces.
• The attack causes terrifying deaths among the examinees. Victims suffer inexplicable bodily distortions, while demonic mouths appear on objects and consume their organs.
• The Lightning-Wrapped Drum-Bearing Strongman, Scabbard, Song Baige, and others attempt to fight Bone Filth Child, but ordinary attacks and Righteousness Swords prove ineffective.
• Li Qingxian uses the Great Principle-Slaying Sword and its technique “Life-Slaying.” The sword cuts through the headless centaurs and Bone Filth Child, weakening him despite being unable to fully banish an eerie within the Eerie City.
• Bone Filth Child ultimately collapses and disintegrates, taking the remaining Devil Cultivators with him. His final words reveal his devotion to the Ten Thousand Devils Scripture and an Advent Sect deity known as the Savior God.
• Fangfang arrives with an eerie general, who identifies Li Qingxian as family, removes all traces of Bone Filth Child, and orders everyone to leave the Imperial Garden.
• At the Divine Martial Gate, the examinees submit their examination papers. Li Qingxian and Good Fortune Born possess identical results: three of the four characters on their papers are completely red, suggesting they may be joint top scorers.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian demonstrates both courage and restraint. Although he conceals his identity, he risks revealing the Great Principle-Slaying Sword to eliminate Bone Filth Child and save the group.
• Bone Filth Child is revealed to be even more dangerous than expected, having merged evil, demonic, and Weird powers. His allegiance to the Advent Sect further connects him to a larger religious and apocalyptic threat.
• Shen Xiaoyi recognizes the limitations of Li Qingxian’s sword within the Eerie City, emphasizing that even powerful anti-eerie weapons cannot completely overcome the environment.
• Meng Huaichuan remains observant and politically aware, correctly recognizing that Bone Filth Child has not fully completed his Eerie Transformation and worrying about the implications of his religious allegiance.
• Fangfang openly identifies Li Qingxian as her “brother,” reinforcing their unusual familial bond and enabling him to safely leave with the eerie general.
• Good Fortune Born emerges as Li Qingxian’s apparent equal in the examination, creating uncertainty over who will be recognized as the true champion.
• The examinees are psychologically shaken by the attack. Even after Bone Filth Child’s defeat, the memory of the demonic faces continues to cause fear, disgust, and physical discomfort.

Significant Themes

• The limits of power: Li Qingxian’s sword can injure and suppress the eerie but cannot fully destroy it within the Eerie City, showing that strength is dependent on circumstance.
• The fusion of evil and the supernatural: Bone Filth Child’s combination of demonic, evil, and Weird powers represents an increasingly dangerous convergence of forces.
• Hidden identity and concealed strength: Li Qingxian masks his appearance and voice, yet his actions still expose hints of his true abilities.
• Religious and apocalyptic danger: Bone Filth Child’s faith in the Savior God and belief in the destruction of the myriad realms suggest a broader conspiracy beyond the immediate battle.
• Trauma and psychological corruption: The demonic attack does not end with physical deaths; its lingering effects continue to disturb the survivors.
• Competition and uncertainty: The identical examination results of Li Qingxian and Good Fortune Born set up a potential unprecedented tie for first place.

Character Interactions

• Li Qingxian and Shen Xiaoyi briefly coordinate against Bone Filth Child but realize the enemy is beyond their direct control.
• The fighters collectively attack Bone Filth Child, yet their failure deepens their fear and dependence on Li Qingxian’s hidden weapon.
• Fangfang introduces Li Qingxian to the eerie general as her brother, prompting the general to treat him as family.
• Li Qingxian formally greets the general as “Ye Han,” while the general dismisses ceremony and urges him to leave before the examination results are announced.
• At the gate, Meng Huaichuan draws attention to Li Qingxian and Good Fortune Born’s matching results, raising the possibility of two top scorers and provoking concern from figures such as Hou Duzhou.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Shen Xiaoyi publicly supports Ye Han as the likely top scholar, emphasizing Ye Han’s achievements against the Devil Cultivators and the loyalty of the children around him.
• Scabbard and the other examinees agree, leaving Good Fortune Born without any support.
• Good Fortune Born becomes resentful, recalling how he was once bullied at the Marquis Manor and believing that his current strength and secret manipulation of Ye Han’s fate should have secured him the title.
• Li Qingxian remains indifferent to the result. He reasons that the top scholar’s rewards—reputation, court treasures, Fortune, and possibly Battle Poetry—are insignificant compared with what he gained in the Eerie City.
• The arrival of Heaven’s Mandate Sect’s enormous Heavenly Outer Lamp changes the situation. Shen Xiaoyi identifies it as a sign that the sect intends to confront or threaten the Eerie City.
• Hou Duzhou warns that the artifact can seriously injure First Rank grandmasters and potentially kill even Beyond-Rank experts. Everyone realizes they may be caught in the conflict.
• Li Qingxian suspects that Heaven’s Mandate Sect is forcing the Eerie City to select the top scholar according to its wishes. He also wonders whether the sect helped Good Fortune Born summon the Beyond-Rank Fate Corpse and weaken the city.
• The Heavenly Outer Lamp fires a massive beam at the Imperial Palace prison, where the Fate Corpse had previously displayed its power. A gigantic spirit talisman rises to block it.
• The Lamp expands and prepares thousands of divine beams capable of destroying the Imperial City.
• In response, tens of thousands of Eerie Children grow into enormous giants and surround the city. Singing nursery rhymes, they leap into the air and strike at the Heavenly Outer divine light.
• The resulting clash between Heaven’s Mandate Sect and the Eerie City creates catastrophic shockwaves. The sky appears to shatter, Heavenly Fire spreads, and many examinees are injured or blinded.
• The Imperial City’s protective power eventually suppresses the aftermath, allowing the survivors to rise. The conflict ends temporarily, but the question of the top scholar remains unresolved.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian: Becomes increasingly detached from the top-scholar competition. He shows strategic insight by recognizing the political significance of the Heavenly Outer Lamp and suspects Heaven’s Mandate Sect’s hidden involvement in recent events. He also reassures Shen Xiaoyi despite the danger.
• Good Fortune Born: His bitterness and insecurity intensify. Although he believes he has earned the title through strength and secret preparations, the crowd’s rejection revives memories of humiliation and exclusion.
• Shen Xiaoyi: Openly takes Ye Han’s side and reveals fear when Heaven’s Mandate Sect appears, showing both loyalty and vulnerability.
• Ye Han: Gains overwhelming public support because of his proven merits, military achievements, and apparent connection with the Eerie Children.
• Hou Duzhou: Acts as a realist and warning voice, explaining the Heavenly Outer Lamp’s terrifying power and Heaven’s Mandate Sect’s disregard for conventional political restraints.

Significant Themes

• Merit versus manipulation: Ye Han is favored for visible accomplishments, while Good Fortune Born relies on secret schemes and believes those efforts should guarantee success.
• Power beyond human authority: The conflict demonstrates that Heaven’s Mandate Sect and the Eerie City possess power far exceeding the court and its officials.
• Political coercion and hidden influence: The top-scholar selection is revealed to be entangled with a larger struggle between powerful factions.
• Detachment from worldly rewards: Li Qingxian’s indifference contrasts with the others’ obsession with reputation, status, and recognition.
• Collective resistance: The Eerie Children unite to defend the city, transforming seemingly innocent nursery songs into a terrifying display of overwhelming power.
• Fragility of life: Even highly capable examinees are helpless before the Beyond-Rank clash, emphasizing the vast gap between ordinary cultivators and the forces confronting them.

Character Interactions

• Shen Xiaoyi directly challenges Good Fortune Born by praising Ye Han, while Scabbard and the crowd reinforce her position.
• Good Fortune Born silently resents both the crowd and Li Qingxian, whom he still suspects of being connected to Heaven’s Mandate Sect.
• Li Qingxian and Shen Xiaoyi privately discuss the Heavenly Outer Lamp; he comforts her and predicts that the Eerie City will fight back.
• Li Qingxian observes Good Fortune Born’s suspicious reaction and connects it to his belief that Li may be Heaven’s Mandate Sect’s Son of Man.
• Hou Duzhou warns the gathered examinees of the danger, briefly uniting them in fear as they witness the confrontation between the Heavenly Outer Lamp and the Eerie City.

Chapter Summary: “Top Scorers of Two Realms, Different Names”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Heavenly Outer Lamp disappears after unleashing devastating power, leaving the descending giant children severely burned and killing many examinees through the aftershocks.
• An Azure Cloud Examination ranking list appears on Divine Martial Gate. In the present world, Li Qingxian is named top scorer, followed by Good Fortune Born and Hou Duzhou.
• Divine honors are bestowed on the top three:
  • Hou Duzhou receives another layer of red robes.
  • Good Fortune Born receives red robes and red sashes.
  • Li Qingxian receives red robes, red sashes, an official black hat, and a golden flower placed in the hat by a mysterious jade hand.
• The golden flower signifies exceptional status in the Eerie Realm: even ordinary Eerie beings will be expected to greet Li Qingxian first.
• The surviving children celebrate Li Qingxian by circling him and singing a blessing rhyme. Fangfang remains attached to him and reluctantly lets go.
• The Azure Cloud Examination concludes, and the survivors leave Divine Martial Gate, returning to the foot of Azure Cloud Mountain in the human world. Many weep with relief at seeing familiar lands and people again.
• Human-world examiners discover that Li Qingxian, Ye Han, and Hou Duzhou occupy the top three positions, though the order differs from the ranking in the Eerie Realm.
• Literary Cultivation examiners, encouraged by the examination’s conclusion, discuss visiting the Ministry of Justice and preparing for a possible campaign against the Devil Sect.
• Fate Arts Master Tong Ling concludes that Li Qingxian likely has a profound connection to the Yellow Springs Emperor and possesses extraordinary Fortune.
• Heaven’s Mandate Sect members are enraged that Ye Han failed to claim first place in the human-world ranking. Their elders explain that the Eerie Ground interfered in the Myriad Phenomena Diagram to seize the Fortune of the Old Kingdom of the Death Realm and supported Li Qingxian as a rival to Ye Han.
• The Heavenly Outer Lamp forced a compromise: Li Qingxian became the human-world top scorer, while Ye Han was recognized as the Eerie Ground’s golden-list top scorer. Thus, both realms produced different “top scorers.”
• When Ye Han leaves the Eerie Ground, his memories of the experience fade. Seeing that he is second place in the human-world list, he is nevertheless pleased, believing the status will strengthen his position within Marquis Manor.
• Ye Han embraces his rising ambition, declaring that a “trapped dragon” has begun to rise toward Heaven.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian gains enormous prestige in both realms. His top-scorer status, official decorations, and golden flower establish him as an important figure among Eerie beings. However, he remains puzzled that killing a Beyond-Rank Fate Corpse has not produced the expected reward.
• Ye Han suffers a symbolic defeat in the human world but is secretly elevated as the Eerie Ground’s true top scorer. His memories are suppressed, yet his confidence and political ambitions increase. He sees second place as a stepping stone toward greater influence.
• Good Fortune Born and Hou Duzhou are recognized as the second- and third-place candidates and receive increasingly prestigious official garments.
• Fangfang shows strong affection for Li Qingxian, refusing to release his hand even after the celebration ends.
• Tong Ling becomes more convinced that Li Qingxian is connected to powerful ancient forces, especially the Yellow Springs Emperor.
• Heaven’s Mandate Sect’s disciples and elders reveal their fear of Li Qingxian’s growing influence, though they underestimate him because he is still only Seventh Rank.

Significant Themes

• Dual realities and competing identities: Li Qingxian and Ye Han hold different versions of the top-scorer title in the two realms, suggesting that truth and status depend on which world is judging them.
• Political manipulation and Fortune: The examination is not merely a contest of ability; powerful factions manipulate rankings and contestants to control Fortune and influence the future.
• Recognition versus true power: Li Qingxian receives public honors in the human world and Eerie Realm, while Ye Han gains a hidden title that may be more significant in the long term.
• The rise of contenders: Both Li Qingxian and Ye Han are positioned as rising figures whose future achievements may reshape the world.
• Memory and reality: Ye Han’s memories of the Eerie Ground are erased or blurred, emphasizing how supernatural powers can control perception and historical truth.
• The danger of arrogance and underestimation: Heaven’s Mandate Sect dismisses Li Qingxian as insignificant, despite his unprecedented achievements and growing connection to powerful Eerie forces.

Important Character Interactions

• Li Qingxian accepts congratulations from fellow examinees while internally questioning why the Imperial City has not rewarded him for killing a Beyond-Rank Fate Corpse.
• A mysterious Eerie powerhouse honors Li Qingxian by placing a golden flower in his official hat, marking him as someone of exceptional status.
• The children celebrate Li Qingxian with a ritual song, and Fangfang’s attachment highlights their personal bond.
• Human examiners connect Li Qingxian’s success with the legacy of Mr. Gangfeng and Lord Zhou, viewing his achievement as a form of vindication.
• Tong Ling silently reassesses Li Qingxian’s origins and Fortune after seeing him named top scorer.
• Heaven’s Mandate Sect members debate Li Qingxian’s rise and decide that his success resulted from Eerie interference rather than genuine superiority.
• After leaving the examination grounds, Ye Han sees Li Qingxian ranked above him but interprets his own second-place status positively, believing it will help him build power within Marquis Manor.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Two Fate Arts Masters of the Heaven’s Mandate Sect deduce that Ye Han has obtained a Beyond-Rank Fate Star, confirming that his rise and influence are likely unstoppable.
• After leaving the Eerie Ground’s examination, Li Qingxian realizes that his memories remain intact, unlike those of Shen Xiaoyi and Song Baige, whose recollections have become blurred. He understands that everyone must conceal what truly happened inside.
• Li attempts to contact Zhou Hen because the Half-Life Man he gave him has shattered. Zhou Hen finally responds with devastating news: Zhou Chunfeng was besieged and killed by the Devil Sect’s Ministry of Justice.
• News spreads through Divine Capital that Zhou Chunfeng exposed the Ministry of Justice’s secret Devil Chambers, defended Li Qingxian, killed Prince Yuan, and died after fighting the Ministry’s assassins.
• Outraged, the Imperial Academy mobilizes the Myriad-Volume Library: ten thousand scholars form a vast formation around the Ministry of Justice by reading sacred texts and linking themselves through roads of golden words.
• The formation’s influence spreads throughout the city as a soothing, ink-scented wind. Citizens experience calm and vivid memories of the past, giving the chapter its title-like image of the city “gazing back at years gone by.”
• The Nine Talismans Sect secretly places talismans around the Ministry of Justice, while three hundred barbarian ox carts deliver 300,000 swords, which sword cultivators bury beneath the streets in preparation for a major assault.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian shifts from relief at surviving the Eerie Ground to shock and grief after learning of Zhou Chunfeng’s death. His calm composure tightens, revealing the depth of his attachment and concern.
• He also demonstrates growing caution and political awareness by concealing his intact memories from others.
• Shen Xiaoyi remembers only fragments of the Eerie Ground and subtly realizes that Li Qingxian is troubled, choosing not to press him.
• Song Baige likewise notices Li’s unusual expression and stops speaking when Shen Xiaoyi warns him.
• Han Anbo appears unusually distracted, hinting that he may know or suspect more than he reveals.
• Zhou Chunfeng is elevated into a heroic martyr: he protects Li Qingxian, exposes the Ministry’s crimes, kills Prince Yuan, and dies resisting the Ministry of Justice.
• Ye Han’s acquisition of a Beyond-Rank Fate Star establishes him as an increasingly dangerous and destined rival.

Significant Themes

• Fate and destiny: Ye Han’s Beyond-Rank Fate Star suggests that his future power may already be predetermined.
• Sacrifice and loyalty: Zhou Chunfeng dies protecting others and opposing corruption, transforming personal conflict into a public cause.
• Justice versus institutional corruption: The Ministry of Justice is portrayed as an oppressive force willing to murder, conspire with the Devil Sect, and silence its enemies.
• Collective resistance: Scholars, talisman masters, and sword cultivators unite across sects and institutions, showing Divine Capital’s anger gathering into organized action.
• Memory and history: The Eerie Ground distorts personal memory, while the Myriad-Volume Library evokes the city’s shared past, suggesting that truth may be forgotten individually but preserved collectively.
• Literary and martial power: Books, sacred words, talismans, and swords become parts of a coordinated military force, blending scholarship with warfare.

Character Interactions

• The two Heaven’s Mandate Sect masters share a humorous, competitive exchange before confirming that they reached the same prediction about Ye Han.
• Jiang Youfei watches Li Qingxian leave while remaining alert to the nearby Devil Sect cultivators, indicating continued tension and suspicion.
• Shen Xiaoyi and Song Baige approach Li Qingxian after the examination and recognize that his mood is abnormal, but they respect his silence.
• Li’s final communication with Zhou Hen abruptly changes the atmosphere, as the news of Zhou Chunfeng’s death turns private concern into a citywide political crisis.
• The Imperial Academy and allied sects effectively respond to Zhou Chunfeng’s death by encircling the Ministry of Justice, preparing for open confrontation.

Chapter Summary: Taking Every Head as a Sacrifice to Spring Breeze

Key Plot Points and Events

• After Zhou Chunfeng’s death, Song Yanxue assumes command of the leaderless Patrol Bureau and leads the Night Guards in a purge of Devil Sect strongholds surrounding the Ministry of Justice.
• Officials from numerous government institutions gather at the Ministry of Justice to demand justice for Zhou Chunfeng’s killing. Minister Weng Jingxi attempts to dismiss the incident as a misunderstanding, claiming Zhou caused the violence.
• Chief Minister Zhao Yishan arrives in plain clothes, a sign that he has abandoned political restraint and is prepared to punish those responsible. His reputation for devastating vengeance terrifies the Ministry of Justice.
• Zhao recounts his history with Xu Chuxin and Zhou Chunfeng, emphasizing their shared past and Zhou’s transformation into the famed “Blood Begonia” after the Demon Race killed his family.
• With three taps of his finger, Zhao destroys nearly the entire Ministry of Justice, sparing only the Heavenly Prison. He forces Weng Jingxi to accept responsibility, punish the conspirators, retire, and send the Ministry’s Secret Division north.
• The Ministry of Justice Secret Division marches north, declaring their opposition to the Demon Race, but is annihilated shortly afterward.
• At the Imperial Prison Bureau, Zhang Fugui discovers that Zhou Chunfeng had taken his treasured possessions—including the Emperor’s calligraphy—and vows to confront him, only to learn that Zhao Yishan is waiting at Chunfeng Residence.
• Li Qingxian returns to Chunfeng Residence, believing he senses Zhou Chunfeng alive, but finds Zhao Yishan instead. Zhao offers him a new assignment: go north rather than retreat to Jiangnan.
• Zhao argues that Li’s greatest tribute to Zhou would be to destroy Devil Horde Mountain and avenge him, rather than merely mourn.
• Li discovers Zhao’s legendary Fate Mansion, containing sixteen complete Fate Stars, each occupied by a scholarly image of Zhao himself.
• The volume ends with Li finding Zhou Chunfeng’s handwritten classics and a final message: “When all under heaven is unsettled, where can one find leisure?”

Character Developments and Interactions

• Zhao Yishan reveals his fierce loyalty and grief toward Zhou Chunfeng. His destruction of the Ministry of Justice shows that his calm official persona conceals overwhelming power and uncompromising vengeance.
• Weng Jingxi shifts from evasive and arrogant to submissive and terrified. He accepts severe punishments for his department, agrees to retire, and sacrifices the Ministry’s Secret Division to preserve himself.
• Li Qingxian struggles between mourning Zhou and pursuing vengeance. Zhao’s words redirect his grief toward action and establish a likely future mission in the north.
• Song Yanxue demonstrates decisive leadership by taking control of the Night Guards and immediately retaliating against the Devil Sect network.
• Zhang Fugui provides a brief comic counterpoint, raging over Zhou’s “borrowed” valuables even amid the political crisis.
• Zhao and Li’s first meeting suggests an immediate, almost paternal understanding. Zhao appears to know Li’s character and potential, while Li is awed by Zhao’s legendary status and unusual Fate Mansion.

Significant Themes

• Justice versus institutional corruption: The officials demand justice because the Ministry of Justice itself has become an instrument of murder and political vengeance.
• Grief transformed into action: Zhao and Li both reject passive mourning. True remembrance of Zhou requires confronting the enemies responsible for his death.
• The duality of public restraint and private fury: Zhao’s contrast between official robes and plain clothes symbolizes the difference between lawful governance and personal retribution.
• Loyalty and shared history: Zhao’s memories of Xu Chuxin and Zhou Chunfeng emphasize the enduring bonds among the Three Sons of Bingchen.
• The cost of political power: The Ministry of Justice is destroyed, its officials punished, and its Secret Division sacrificed, showing how institutional survival is bought through obedience and expendability.
• Duty in a troubled world: Zhou’s final message questions whether leisure or private peace is possible while the world remains chaotic, reinforcing the volume’s emphasis on responsibility and struggle.

Concise Summary of the Chapter

1. Key Plot Points & Events

• End of the First Major Arc: The narrative concludes a lengthy arc (~900,000 words), marking a significant milestone in the story.
• Author’s Pause: The writer takes a break for three key reasons:
  • Rest: The first arc’s conclusion requires a brief hiatus.
  • Planning: Time to strategize and outline the next arc.
  • Relocation: The author is moving to a new city, requiring time to settle in (finding housing, etc.).
• Future Updates: Normal updates will resume in three days unless unexpected circumstances arise (e.g., quarantine, external interference).
• Tone: Lighthearted but cautious—acknowledges potential disruptions while reassuring readers of continuity.

2. Character Developments

• None explicitly detailed in this chapter, as it’s a meta-narrative pause rather than a plot-driven one.
• Implied: Characters’ arcs are complete for now, setting the stage for new developments in the next arc.

3. Significant Themes

• Transience & Transition: Themes of endings (first arc) and beginnings (new arc, new location) are central.
• Resilience & Adaptability: The author’s note emphasizes flexibility—acknowledging life’s unpredictability while maintaining momentum.
• Reader Connection: A personal touch to reassure fans of continuity despite external changes.

4. Character Interactions

• None in this chapter—focus is entirely on the author’s perspective and logistical updates.

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Key Takeaway

This is a non-story chapter serving as a bridge between arcs. It’s a mix of:

• Narrative closure (first arc ends).
• Authorial transparency (relocation, planning).
• Reader reassurance (updates will continue, barring major disruptions).
  The tone is casual but intentional, framing the pause as a natural part of the journey. The next arc begins in three days (unless delayed).

Chapter Summary: “Night Guard Squad Sets Out Again”

Key Plot Points and Events

• A large convoy of more than thirty carts leaves the capital and heads north, carrying goods under the banners of Beitong and Baosheng. The convoy is protected by martial guards and accompanied by people connected to various powerful organizations.
• Li Qingxian, traveling under the name Li Jingqiu, joins the convoy with authorization from the Dingnan Prince’s Residence.
• He speaks with Xiang Zizai, a friendly northern caravan leader, who warns him about the dangers and political complexities of the north.
• Xiang explains that:
  • The Treasure Life Sect controls Treasure Plains City.
  • The River Guard Army dominates the northern half of Yan Prefecture.
  • The Northern Green Forest is influential in much of the north.
  • The Devil Sect and Evil Sects hold greater influence near the borders of Sand and Western Provinces.
  • Far-Reaching City is an isolated enclave surrounded by Sand Province and is largely outside either province’s control, making it chaotic and dangerous.
• Xiang advises Li to remain close to him in Treasure Plains City, obey local rules, and avoid provoking people wearing golden-wave sleeves, who appear to belong to a powerful sect or faction.
• The two discuss the Divine Bow Sect, which has lost prestige after generations of failed challenges and the loss or distortion of its deeper martial manuals. Although technically a Middle Rank sect, it is now regarded as little better than a Lower Rank sect.
• Li reflects that his journey is not merely for experience. He has secretly been appointed:

Subordinate Sixth Rank Bureau Administrator of the Patrol Bureau

Patrol Envoy of Northern Corner Prefecture and another prefecture

• His main destination, Far-Reaching City, was selected by Chief Minister Zhao Yishan as a harsh place where Li would be tested. Because of the city’s unusual political status, Li’s official position gives him authority to respond to trouble from any faction.

Character Developments

• Li Qingxian appears calm, prepared, and politically aware. He asks careful questions about local powers and shows that he understands his trip is part of a larger official assignment.
• His true status is revealed: rather than simply being a young cultivator seeking experience, he is being placed in a powerful but dangerous administrative role.
• Xiang Zizai is established as sociable, knowledgeable, and protective. He possesses extensive connections in the north but admits that his influence depends heavily on his brother-in-law and family relationships.
• Xiang’s warnings reveal his practical understanding of northern politics and his concern for Li’s safety.
• The Divine Bow Sect is portrayed as weakened and embarrassed, demonstrating how a sect’s reputation can deteriorate when its traditions and manuals are lost.

Significant Themes

• Political power and regional authority: The north is divided among imperial officials, martial sects, the River Guard Army, and local organizations. Formal government authority does not always determine who truly controls a place.
• The importance of connections: Survival depends on affiliations with powerful institutions such as the Dingnan Prince’s Residence, the Northern Green Forest, the River Guard Army, or the Evil Sects.
• Official duty versus personal cultivation: Li presents the journey as travel and experience, but it is actually an official mission with serious political implications.
• Decline and inheritance: The Divine Bow Sect’s deterioration illustrates how lost teachings and repeated failures can destroy an organization’s strength and reputation.
• Dangerous frontier environments: Treasure Plains City and Far-Reaching City represent places where competing powers coexist uneasily and where strict caution is essential.

Character Interactions

• Li and Xiang establish a friendly, mutually respectful relationship, exchanging compliments and joking about arranging a feast after returning to the capital.
• Xiang gives Li detailed survival advice, urging him to remain silent and restrained in Treasure Plains City.
• Their conversation also reveals Li’s broad network of allies, including the Dingnan Prince’s Residence, the Northern Green Forest, and the Night Guard.
• Xiang comments on Li’s companions—Yu Ping, Zheng Gaojue, and Zhou Hen—showing that he is assessing the strength and background of Li’s group.
• Li’s questions about the Divine Bow Sect demonstrate that he is quietly connected to it, while Xiang unknowingly interprets the sect through its public reputation.
• The chapter also highlights the roles of Zhao Yishan, Song Yanxue, and the Chief Guard Envoy, whose decisions place Li in Far-Reaching City as part of a deliberate test and political maneuver.