Chapter Summaries

The Eighth Prince convinced Chu Xuanzhen that Shen Yangge loved him and urged him to search, while Shen Yangge remained under the Western Regions prince’s watch. Chu Xuanzhen led a Great Chu attack on the camp, and Shen Yangge cut the prince’s neck as the battle erupted.

• The Eighth Prince told Chu Xuanzhen that Shen Yangge loved him and had chosen him, urging him to go find Shen Yangge.
• Chu Xuanzhen took the clothes Shen Yangge had left behind and rode off to search for him.
• Half a month later, Shen Yangge remained watched by the Western Regions prince and could not send word to Chu Xuanzhen.
• Great Chu soldiers attacked the camp to rescue Shen Yangge, while the Western Regions men fought back and denied kidnapping him.
• Ruthis blocked Shen Yangge from reaching Chu Xuanzhen, and Shen Yangge slashed the prince’s neck with a blade.

Shen Yangge reunited with Chu Xuanzhen during the battle and escaped the encirclement with him, but was wounded while blocking an arrow. Chu Xuanzhen tended to his injury and repeated that there would be no next time, leaving Shen Yangge worried about his state of mind.

• Ruthis ordered a retreat after Shen Yangge attacked him and the Western Regions forces found their escape routes blocked.
• Great Chu soldiers brought Shen Yangge through the fighting to Chu Xuanzhen, and the two ran toward each other.
• Chu Xuanzhen caught Shen Yangge as an arrow flew at him, held him on horseback, and fought their way out of the encirclement.
• Shen Yangge blocked another arrow with his hand and suffered a severe wound.
• Chu Xuanzhen kissed the blood from Shen Yangge's injured hand and repeated that there would be no next time.

Shen Yangge confessed his love to Chu Xuanzhen on the battlefield and decided to resist the Database’s attempts to separate them. After the battle, Shen Yangge suspected the escaped prince Ruthis was another bug, while Xue Pingyuan warned that Shen Yangge’s restored appearance could reveal his identity.

• Shen Yangge kissed Chu Xuanzhen, confessed that he loved him, and said he wanted them to cherish each other as husbands.
• Chu Xuanzhen embraced Shen Yangge, said he had waited a long time to hear the confession, and made an obscene remark that flustered Shen Yangge.
• The battle ended with most Western Regions fighters captured, but Prince Ruthis escaped despite suffering serious wounds.
• Xue Pingyuan told Chu Xuanzhen and Shen Yangge that Ruthis had appeared to ignore an arrow strike, leading them to wonder whether he had worn armor.
• System 615 told Shen Yangge that Ruthis’s aura differed from everyone else’s and that he might be a bug with a mission.
• Shen Yangge told Xue Pingyuan that Ruthis had ambitions to conquer Great Chu, while Xue Pingyuan worried that Shen Yangge’s appearance would expose his identity.

After Shen Yangge reunited with Chu Xuanzhen and confessed his feelings, Chu Xuanzhen kissed him and fell asleep holding him. Elsewhere, Ruthis rescued Nan Jiaxi from a snakebite, while Xue Pingyuan learned of military treachery and pulled Xue Qian from a river when he seemed intent on drowning himself.

• Xue Pingyuan went to interrogate Liu Depan after learning he wanted to confess, while Chu Xuanzhen carried Shen Yangge into the woods.
• Shen Yangge told Chu Xuanzhen, "Your Highness, I'm back," and Chu Xuanzhen kissed him before falling asleep with him in his arms.
• Ruthis questioned Nan Jiaxi, then rescued him from a snakebite by squeezing the venom from his wound.
• Xue Qian severed a lackey's hands after learning the man and the Fourth Prince had betrayed military plans, then walked to a river in a daze.
• Xue Pingyuan caught Xue Qian by the collar and pulled him from the river, asking if he was trying to drown himself.

Xue Qian described his strange loss of control to Xue Pingyuan, who arranged for an army physician to examine him. After Xue Pingyuan’s forces defeated the Fourth Prince’s northern supporters and returned to Capital City with Chu Xuanzhen and Shen Yangge, the city guards barred their entry, claiming the emperor had issued a verbal decree; Chu Xuanzhen killed one guard and demanded answers from the rest.

• Xue Qian told Xue Pingyuan about the strange things happening to him, and Xue Pingyuan took him to see an army physician.
• Xue Pingyuan joined local officials to destroy the Fourth Prince’s northern power base, while Shen Yangge helped win support for Chu Xuanzhen and establish schools.
• Chu Xuanzhen and Xue Pingyuan ambushed the Fourth Prince’s troops on the road through Lüquan before continuing toward Capital City.
• At the city gates, the guards claimed that the emperor had ordered everyone except the Crown Prince barred from entering.
• Chu Xuanzhen challenged the guards’ claim that the unconscious emperor had issued a verbal decree, killed one guard, and forced the others to kneel and plead ignorance.

Jia Zhengyuan presented an imperial edict ordering Xue Pingyuan’s arrest, and his troops attacked the Crown Prince’s party outside the city gates. Chu Xuanzhen protected Shen Yangge through the chaotic battle, which remained unresolved as he locked Shen Yangge to himself.

• Jia Zhengyuan arrived with an imperial edict ordering Xue Pingyuan arrested and the Crown Prince’s party confined.
• Archers attacked Shen Yangge’s carriage, and Chu Xuanzhen carried him away while deflecting arrows with his sword.
• Jia Zhengyuan ordered his soldiers to kill anyone obstructing Xue Pingyuan’s arrest, and Chu Xuanzhen fought to protect Shen Yangge.
• The Eighth Prince joined the battle, while Xue Pingyuan restrained Xue Qian when his bloodlust threatened their own soldiers.
• Chu Xuanzhen locked Shen Yangge’s hands to himself and continued fighting as Shen Yangge worried that he was becoming a burden.

Jia Zhengyuan’s forces captured Chu Xuanzhen’s party and imprisoned Shen Yangge beside the Crown Prince, while Xue Pingyuan escaped. Chu Tianyin arranged to have Shen Yangge brought to him, but Chu Xuanzhen intervened when guards tried to remove him from his cell.

• Jia Zhengyuan’s troops overwhelmed Xue Pingyuan’s forces, and Xue escaped south with trusted men after Chu Xuanzhen chose to enter the capital’s trap.
• Jia Zhengyuan escorted Chu Xuanzhen, Shen Yangge, and the Eighth Prince to the Heavenly Prison, where Shen and Chu were placed in adjoining cells because they were shackled together.
• Chu Tianyin learned that Xue Pingyuan had escaped and asked Jia Zhengyuan about the extraordinary man known as the Divine Dragon.
• Jia Zhengyuan offered to secretly bring Shen Yangge to Chu Tianyin, who accepted the offer.
• Guards entered Shen Yangge’s cell and tried to drag him away, but Chu Xuanzhen rose and demanded to know what they were doing.

In the Heavenly Prison, Shen Yangge and Chu Xuanzhen resisted Jia Zhengyuan’s attempt to take Shen Yangge to the Fourth Prince. Shen Yangge went to the Fourth Prince’s Residence, where Chu Tianyin welcomed him to a banquet as Chu Xuanzhen vowed revenge.

• Chu Xuanzhen killed one servant and used silver needles to incapacitate two others after they tried to seize Shen Yangge.
• Jia Zhengyuan arrived and ordered Shen Yangge to meet the Fourth Prince, then threatened to cut off his hand to make Chu Xuanzhen release their chain.
• Chu Xuanzhen caught Jia Zhengyuan’s sword and warned him not to touch Shen Yangge, but Shen Yangge stopped the next strike with his wrist and broke the chain.
• Shen Yangge reassured Chu Xuanzhen that he would stay in the Capital City, and Chu Xuanzhen sent subordinates out of the Heavenly Prison and vowed to make Chu Tianyin regret his actions.
• Jia Zhengyuan escorted Shen Yangge to the Fourth Prince’s Residence, where Chu Tianyin welcomed him to a banquet and exchanged a subtle look with Jia Zhengyuan.

At Chu Tianyin’s banquet, Shen Yangge realized the prince was gathering officials who feared the Crown Prince’s succession and had Xue Pingyuan arrested to win military support. Chu Tianyin then used Shen Yangge’s concealed identity to present him as a new figure equal to Lord Divine Dragon, beginning a ploy to redirect the officials’ loyalty and undermine the original Divine Dragon’s words.

• Chu Tianyin seated Shen Yangge beside him at the banquet, while Jia Zhengyuan took the seat on his other side.
• Shen Yangge considered how Chu Tianyin had gained support by arresting Xue Pingyuan and bringing Jia Zhengyuan under his command.
• A dancer tried to serve Shen Yangge, but he refused and sent her away.
• Chu Tianyin asked the guests to guess Shen Yangge’s identity and described him as an honored guest equal in ability to Lord Divine Dragon.
• Shen Yangge recognized that Chu Tianyin planned to create a rival Divine Dragon and use that identity to overturn the original Divine Dragon’s declaration.

Shen Yangge confronted Chu Tianyin after Chu Tianyin drugged him mute and announced that he wanted him as a teacher. Shen Yangge exposed Chu Tianyin’s ambition and warned that Chu Xuanzhen could still regain power, then left as their conflict remained unresolved.

• Shen Yangge discovered that Chu Tianyin had rendered him unable to speak and realized Chu Tianyin had expected it.
• Chu Tianyin declared Shen Yangge his intended teacher and claimed he would become State Preceptor after Chu Xuanzhen’s defeat.
• Shen Yangge tore off his gauze hat, overturned the table, and used voice transmission to insult Chu Tianyin and warn him against challenging fate.
• Jia Zhengyuan stopped himself from drawing his sword, while the dancers and musicians knelt after recognizing Shen Yangge as Lord Divine Dragon.
• Chu Tianyin insisted that whatever he seized would belong to him, and Shen Yangge warned him that he would die before leaving.

A dancing girl abducted Shen Yangge after weakening him with poison and delivered him to a mysterious man who offered to spare him if he surrendered his eyes and horns. Shen Yangge suspected the man was Chu Xuanzhi, the missing Second Prince, and remained trapped under the effects of Soft-Bone Powder.

• The dancing girl scattered powder at Shen Yangge, then used the chaos of a fight to abduct him from the banquet.
• The dancing girl fled across the rooftops with Shen Yangge as Death Soldiers pursued and attacked her with throwing knives.
• The dancing girl brought Shen Yangge to a dark room and presented him to a pale man dressed in purplish-red.
• The man demanded Shen Yangge's eyes and horns, offering to protect him from Little Four and help the Crown Prince take the throne.
• Shen Yangge suspected the man was Chu Xuanzhi and tried to reach for his dagger, but the man caught his wrist and revealed that Soft-Bone Powder had weakened him.

Shen Yangge was trapped by a man who wanted to turn him back to normal, but Su Shang intervened and Shen Yangge used the courtyard to disrupt the attacker’s predictions. The dancing girl stabbed Shen Yangge before Chu Xuanzhen arrived, killed her, and held the wounded Shen Yangge as he clutched his sleeve.

• The man cornered Shen Yangge and said he would turn him back to normal, but Su Shang leaped in to protect him.
• Shen Yangge smashed the flower bed and nearby objects, disrupting the man's predictions and helping Su Shang hold him off.
• The dancing girl seized Shen Yangge by the throat, but he jabbed her eyes and tricked her into running face-first into a tree.
• The dancing girl recovered and thrust her sword into Shen Yangge just as Chu Xuanzhen arrived.
• Chu Xuanzhen ran the dancing girl through with his sword, caught Shen Yangge, and asked what he had been trying to say as blood came from his mouth.

Shen Yangge was badly wounded and poisoned during the fight, and Chu Xuanzhen rushed him to a clinic after he fainted. The doctor treated the wound but warned that Shen Yangge would become paralyzed without an antidote from a tribe in the Southern Border.

• Shen Yangge coughed blood and fainted in Chu Xuanzhen's arms while Su Shang fought Chu Xuanzhi.
• Chu Xuanzhen found a clinic, threatened the doctor, and learned Shen Yangge's sword wound was not in his heart.
• The doctor treated Shen Yangge's wound while Chu Xuanzhen anxiously watched.
• The doctor revealed Shen Yangge had been poisoned and said medicine from a Southern Border tribe could serve as the antidote.

After Shen Yangge woke from his wound, Chu Xuanzhen promised to find a way to restore his voice, then disappeared for a week. Meanwhile, the Fourth Prince’s faction faced a growing crisis as allied forces from several kingdoms advanced toward Capital City, leaving Jia Zhengyuan alarmed and short of capable defenders.

• Shen Yangge apologized to Chu Xuanzhen for breaking his promise, and Chu Xuanzhen vowed to make it possible for him to speak again.
• Chu Xuanzhen left at daybreak, and Shen Yangge spent a week recovering while System 615 and Su Shang helped conceal him from surveillance and spies.
• Jia Zhengyuan’s men spread support for the Fourth Prince, abused those who disagreed, and barred refugees fleeing attacks on border villages from entering Capital City.
• Chu Tianyin ordered Jia Zhengyuan to investigate after learning that several kingdoms had joined forces against Great Chu.
• Jia Zhengyuan discovered that powerful fighters led the invading forces and began discussing how to defend against them with the Fourth Prince.

As the Capital City descended into chaos and faced an invading army, Shen Yangge learned that System 615 wanted him to help Chu Xuanzhen ascend the throne. When Su Shang tried to evacuate him, Shen Yangge refused to abandon the city, and Su Shang pledged to fight beside him.

• A monk warned the soldiers at the city gate that the land would be torn apart and left without a sovereign.
• Shen Yangge learned from System 615 that he must help the male lead ascend the throne, and that doing so would send him back to his original world.
• Shen Yangge saw the Capital City’s suffering and learned from Su Shang that the enemy army had arrived with over a hundred thousand men.
• Su Shang tried to carry Shen Yangge out of the city, but Shen Yangge insisted he could not leave its people and those he cared about behind.
• Su Shang declared that he would protect Shen Yangge and fight alongside Great Chu’s army, and Shen Yangge told him to let the enemy come.

Shen Yangge rallied Great Chu’s collapsing forces by beating the war drum and speaking to them, then transformed into a Golden Dragon when their resistance faltered. His appearance coincided with General Xue’s return with reinforcements and the Chosen One, while Chu Xuanzhen grabbed Shen Yangge’s tail.

• Shen Yangge went to the city wall and beat the war drum, urging Great Chu’s soldiers to fight for their families and nation.
• Great Chu’s soldiers regained their fighting spirit, but the Western Regions troops pushed them back as casualties mounted.
• The people of Capital City knelt and prayed while the remaining soldiers fell into despair.
• Shen Yangge selected the system’s option to transform into a great Golden Dragon and flew above the city, renewing the soldiers’ hope.
• General Xue returned with his army and the Chosen One as Shen Yangge swept through the enemy troops.
• Chu Xuanzhen grabbed Shen Yangge’s tail, and Shen Yangge turned to look at him.

Shen Yangge and Chu Xuanzhen helped Great Chu defeat the Western Regions, and the people of Capital City celebrated the victory. With the outside threat ended, Chu Xuanzhen turned to the threat inside the palace and sent Xue Pingyuan to arrest Chu Tianyin and Jia Zhengyuan.

• Shen Yangge swept through the enemy ranks while Chu Xuanzhen shot Commander Ake and fought with his sword, routing the Western Regions' army.
• Great Chu's forces captured the remaining enemy soldiers, and a messenger announced the victory to the people of Capital City.
• Shen Yangge curled up in Chu Xuanzhen's sleeve as Xue Pingyuan arrived to apologize for taking the army away.
• Xue Pingyuan reported that the emperor in the palace was an impostor and asked permission to arrest Chu Tianyin and Jia Zhengyuan for issuing false decrees; Chu Xuanzhen approved.
• Chu Xuanzhen took Shen Yangge to the clinic to wait outside the palace, where the old physician's startled distraction caused a patient to cry out in pain.

Shen Yangge ate some of Chu Xuanzhen’s divine medicine, regained his voice and strength, and realized Chu Xuanzhen had gone away to find it for him. After they shared a tender reunion, Shen Yangge tried to eat more, but Chu Xuanzhen warned him not to overdo it.

• Chu Xuanzhen brought Shen Yangge to the side courtyard and gave him a large black pill, which Shen Yangge nibbled until he could speak again and felt stronger.
• Chu Xuanzhen called the pill divine medicine, and Shen Yangge realized he had likely left Capital City to find it for him.
• Shen Yangge asked whether Chu Xuanzhen had hidden something from him, then kissed his finger and told him he had missed him.
• Shen Yangge fell asleep holding Chu Xuanzhen’s fingers, and Chu Xuanzhen watched over him through the night.
• After waking refreshed, Shen Yangge tried to reach the medicine for another taste, but Chu Xuanzhen stopped him and warned him not to eat too much.

Shen Yangge shared a quiet breakfast with Chu Xuanzhen before a servant begged for help for his feverish daughter and was turned away. Elsewhere, Chu Tianyin captured Chu Xuanzhi and confronted his long-lost second brother.

• Chu Xuanzhen carried Shen Yangge to the kitchen, and the two shared congee and breakfast together.
• A servant begged Chu Xuanzhen to save his feverish daughter, but Chu Xuanzhen saw through his attempt to gain employment and sent him away.
• Chu Tianyin’s subordinates brought in a captive covered in dirt, whom Chu Tianyin recognized as Chu Xuanzhi.
• Chu Xuanzhi mocked Chu Tianyin for being clingy, and Chu Tianyin kicked him to the ground in anger.

Chu Tianyin captured and tortured Chu Xuanzhi, then locked him in a dungeon, while Xue Pingyuan failed to find the fugitives and headed for the palace. Back at the residence, a homing pigeon carried Shen Yangge into the air, and Chu Xuanzhen’s attempt to stop it sent them both falling.

• Chu Tianyin had Chu Xuanzhi tied up, whipped him, and ordered him confined in a heavily secured dungeon.
• Xue Pingyuan found Chu Tianyin’s residence abandoned and suspected the fugitives had escaped through the west gate.
• Xue Pingyuan sent the pale Xue Qian to a doctor before hurrying toward the imperial palace.
• Chu Xuanzhen read a message brought by a homing pigeon while Shen Yangge watched nearby.
• The pigeon seized Shen Yangge and flew off, and Chu Xuanzhen struck its wing with a brush, sending them tumbling from the air.