Chapter Summaries

Qiqi decided to attend Hu Xiaotian’s wedding despite her ministers’ warnings, and asked Zhou Ruiyuan to manage affairs in the Kang Capital while she was away. A report on the Imperial Mausoleum and Hu Xiaotian’s growing control of frontier trade routes raised further concerns about his power.

• Wen Chenghuan and Zhou Ruiyuan urged Qiqi not to attend Hu Xiaotian’s wedding, but she rebuked their attempts to maneuver one another and confirmed she would go.
• Qiqi told Zhou Ruiyuan that his daughter Yutong was in the Yong Capital and had helped Great Yong during the plague, then asked whether Hu Xiaotian knew Yutong’s identity.
• Qiqi told Zhou Ruiyuan to oversee the Kang Capital while she attended the wedding, explaining that some people could not be avoided.
• Yang Lingqi gave Qiqi a ledger showing that Imperial Mausoleum purchases matched the allocated funds but included unusual supplies and a large number of blacksmiths.
• Yang Lingqi reported that Guo Guangbi and his son had died, their subordinates had joined Hu Xiaotian, and Hu Xiaotian’s control of Ji City and Xingzhou gave him command of the Western Regions trade route.

Zhou Ruiyuan and Wen Chenghuan clashed over rumors and political responsibility, while Hu Xiaotian arrived in White Spring City to prepare for his wedding to Long Xiyue. As powerful guests began making plans to attend, Hu Xiaotian assigned Gao Yuan to coordinate security and wondered whether Zhou Mo would come.

• Wen Chenghuan accused Zhou Ruiyuan of betraying him, and Zhou Ruiyuan countered by raising rumors about their families.
• Zuo Xingjian welcomed Hu Xiaotian to White Spring City and showed him the city and the newly built wedding complex at White Sand Bay.
• Hu Xiaotian learned that Princess Yongyang was traveling to attend the wedding and that Long Xuanjiao would join her on the way.
• Hu Xiaotian told Gao Yuan to prepare security and coordinate the arriving commanders, including Zhan Peng, Liang Yinghao, and Xiong Tianba.
• Gao Yuan asked whether Zhou Mo would attend, and Hu Xiaotian fell silent.

Hu Xiaotian reassured Visa that he would give each of his women a heartfelt individual proposal, then began receiving guests ahead of his wedding. Xu Fengwu announced that Old Madam Xu and Mubai planned to attend, while Wu Jingshan arrived to prepare for Princess Yongyang’s visit; Hu Xiaotian explained that he had invited her to test her sincerity and show he meant her no harm.

• Visa told Hu Xiaotian that she, Qingxuan, and Rongxin supported his marriage to the Princess, but required him to propose to each of them individually.
• Xu Fengwu arrived without an invitation and said Old Madam Xu would attend Hu Xiaotian’s wedding, with Mubai likely accompanying her.
• Wu Jingshan arrived from Great Kang with two hundred warriors, including members of the Heavenly Secrets Bureau and Baobao, to prepare for Princess Yongyang’s arrival.
• Hu Xiaotian showed Wu Jingshan the guest lodges and accompanied him as he chose the largest lodge at Waveswept Shoal.
• Hu Xiaotian told Wu Jingshan he had invited Princess Yongyang to test her sincerity, assess her magnanimity, and prove he bore her no ill will.

Hu Xiaotian prepared for his wedding as Wu Jingshan agreed to help him manage the uneasy guests and learned that Princess Yingyue was really Long Xiyue. As delegations arrived from the Beggar Gang and Shajia Kingdom, Hu Xiaotian arranged for Zhao Wusheng to be brought to Mengya and went to welcome the guests from Python Jiao Island.

• Hu Xiaotian revealed Long Xiyue’s identity to Wu Jingshan and offered him a peaceful retirement in exchange for helping keep the Heavenly Secrets Bureau’s people on edge.
• Leaders from the Beggar Gang and Hu Xiaotian’s allies gathered in White Spring City ahead of the wedding.
• Prince Heldan arrived with National Preceptor Jialuo and Mengya, who was disappointed that Zhao Wusheng was not there.
• Hu Xiaotian asked Xia Changming to bring Zhao Wusheng from Wuxing Commandery to meet Mengya.
• When guests from Python Jiao Island arrived by three ships, Hu Xiaotian sent Zuo Xingjian to welcome them while Heldan went into the city.

Hu Xiaotian welcomed Yan Tianlu’s family and learned that Yan Nujiao had gone to see Long Xiyue before the wedding. He visited the Shajia camp, where Mengya reunited with Zhao Wusheng, and discussed Shajia’s growing ambitions while drinking with Heldan.

• Hu Xiaotian welcomed Yan Tianlu, Ling Sanniang, Yan Xuanming, and Yan Xuanming’s family at Azure Dragon Bay, while Yan Tianlu asked how Hu Xiaotian would treat Yan Nujiao after marrying Long Xiyue.
• Yan Xuanming told Hu Xiaotian that Yan Nujiao had gone to Eastern Liang Commandery to see Long Xiyue, and Hu Xiaotian told him that the Bohai Kingdom would send a special envoy.
• Hu Xiaotian brought wine to the Shajia camp beside Cloud Marsh Lake, where Heldan welcomed him over roast lamb and Mengya retreated to her tent when she saw him arrive without Zhao Wusheng.
• Xia Changming brought Zhao Wusheng to the camp on a snow eagle, and Mengya ran to him before angrily fleeing; Hu Xiaotian urged Zhao Wusheng to follow her and secretly gave him advice.
• Hu Xiaotian drank with Heldan and considered Shajia’s growing military strength and Khan Sang Muzha’s renewed ambition to invade the Central Plains.

Hu Xiaotian discussed ambition, war, and the Shajia people’s homeland with Heldan before greeting the Bohai delegation. He later met Zou Yong privately, accepted a pair of jade pendants, and heard that Zou could reveal where Shangguan Tianhuo and his son were.

• Hu Xiaotian and Heldan discussed the Shajia people’s ambitions, the threatened Southern Yue Kingdom, and their hopes for peace.
• Heldan questioned Hu Xiaotian about taking Ji City and explained its importance as the gateway to the Ankang Grassland.
• Mengya reunited happily with Zhao Wusheng, and Hu Xiaotian encouraged him to pursue her and propose.
• Hu Xiaotian and Zhao Wusheng went to greet Yan Dongqing, but she had already gone to bed; Zou Yong came out to speak with Hu Xiaotian.
• Zou Yong gave Hu Xiaotian a pair of Dragon-and-Phoenix Jade Pendants and offered to tell him where Shangguan Tianhuo and his son were.

Hu Xiaotian learned that Zou Yong’s father and brother had vanished in Black Hu, and agreed to copy the Void Art in exchange for the Sun-Shooting Scripture. Later, Baobao met Hu Xiaotian beneath the moon and warned him that Hong Beimo would arrive with the princess.

• Zou Yong told Hu Xiaotian that Tang Jingyu and Tang Jiucheng had disappeared in Black Hu, and suspected the Brahma Sound Temple was holding them.
• Zou Yong offered the Sun-Shooting Scripture in exchange for Hu Xiaotian copying the Void Art, and Hu Xiaotian agreed to write a version for him.
• Baobao summoned Hu Xiaotian to Maple Forest Ferry and asked whether he would grieve if she died.
• Hu Xiaotian urged Baobao to leave the Heavenly Secrets Bureau, but she said she had her own secrets and warned that Hong Beimo would accompany the princess there.
• Hu Xiaotian welcomed the prospect of Hong Beimo's arrival and said he was eager to deal with him.

Hu Xiaotian warned Baobao against underestimating Hong Beimo and promised to wait for her, while preparations for his wedding drew delegations from several powers. Wanyan Liexin presented lavish gifts on behalf of Black Hu and revealed that the khan wanted an alliance to attack the Yulan Kingdom.

• Baobao cautioned Hu Xiaotian that Hong Beimo and the Dragon Group were formidable, and asked him to avoid rash action and marry Princess Yongyang in peace.
• Hu Xiaotian promised Baobao he would wait for her to fulfill her wish and return to him.
• Delegations from Western Sichuan, Great Yong, and Black Hu arrived to congratulate Hu Xiaotian on his wedding.
• Hu Xiaotian welcomed Wanyan Liexin, who presented a Child-Giving Guanyin statue, Ferghana horses, and young women as wedding gifts.
• Wanyan Liexin told Hu Xiaotian that the Black Hu khan sought an alliance to attack the Yulan Kingdom.

Hu Xiaotian rejected Wanyan Liexin’s request for passage through the Ankang Grassland while accepting Black Hu’s gifts. As Princess Yongyang’s fleet crossed Cloud Marsh, it encountered the Xu Family’s ships, whose arrival revealed that Old Madam Xu had emerged from seclusion for the Prince of Suppressing the Sea’s wedding.

• Hu Xiaotian told Wanyan Liexin he could discuss passage through the Ankang Grassland only if he gained control of it, then accepted Black Hu’s gifts and asked Zhao Wusheng to receive the horses and female slaves.
• Qiqi discussed Hu Xiaotian’s growing influence with Hong Beimo and Quan Dean as her fleet sailed toward Azure Dragon Bay.
• Hong Beimo spotted the Xu Family’s Nine-Headed Bird banner and recognized the family’s merchant fleet traveling toward the wedding.
• Xu Mubai approached Princess Yongyang’s fleet and said he had come on Old Madam Xu’s command to pay his respects.
• Quan Dean sent greetings back to Old Madam Xu as the Xu Family’s fleet slowed to let Princess Yongyang’s ships pass.

Hu Xiaotian welcomed the royal fleet and tried to meet Qiqi, but she refused to come ashore and reacted angrily to his roses. He then visited his maternal grandmother, Old Madam Xu, and waited for her to speak with him.

• Hu Xiaotian welcomed Murong Zhan and told him he had met Murong Feiyan and her birth mother.
• Quan Dean told Hu Xiaotian that Qiqi would not come ashore, so Hu Xiaotian sent her roses through him.
• Qiqi pondered Hu Xiaotian’s message, knocked the vase to the floor, and pricked her finger on a rose thorn.
• Hu Xiaotian went to Stillwater Bay to meet Old Madam Xu and exchanged taunts with Xu Mubai at the guest lodge.
• Xu Fengmei directed Hu Xiaotian inside, where he waited by Old Madam Xu’s bed until she asked him to come closer.

Hu Xiaotian confronted Old Madam Xu, who revealed the truth behind his mother’s suffering and recognized clues to his origins. She confirmed she was part of the Time-Space Leap Project and described how her five-person team became scattered after arriving in this world, leaving Hu Xiaotian questioning what Ghost Physician Fu Wan had concealed.

• Old Madam Xu told Hu Xiaotian that Xu Fengyi had known another consciousness occupied her son’s body and had suffered from the deception.
• Old Madam Xu guessed that Hu Xiaotian’s medical skills came from Ghost Physician Fu Wan and questioned whether Hu Xiaotian was Fu Wan himself.
• Hu Xiaotian showed Old Madam Xu his Lightsaber and asked whether she belonged to the Time-Space Leap Project.
• Old Madam Xu confirmed that she had waited nearly fifty years for someone to find her and said she was now too old to travel.
• Old Madam Xu explained that a five-person team had arrived in this world fifty years earlier, but their faulty spatial jump machine scattered them across a battlefield.
• Hu Xiaotian recalled that Fu Wan had claimed all his companions were dead and wondered whether Fu Wan had known about Old Madam Xu.

Old Madam Xu revealed that she came from a future devastated by war and used surviving embryos to build a family in this world. She explained her roles in Chu Fufeng’s death and the destruction of Chu Yuanhai’s household, leaving Hu Xiaotian to confront how she had placed Hu Buwei in the Imperial Court.

• Old Madam Xu told Hu Xiaotian that the Time-Space Leap Project was launched after the Third World War and that she carried twenty thousand fertilized eggs as humanity’s contingency plan.
• Old Madam Xu said the team landed on a battlefield, where the astrophysicist and combat specialist died, and she later used some surviving embryos to create helpers, including Hu Buwei.
• Old Madam Xu revealed that she had killed Chu Fufeng to protect herself, and Hu Xiaotian inferred that Xu Lingkong left after discovering the truth.
• Old Madam Xu explained that Chu Yuanhai learned she had killed his father and plotted to destroy her family, so she arranged his death to protect the Xu Family.
• Hu Xiaotian accused Old Madam Xu of wiping out the Chu Family and planting Hu Buwei in the Imperial Court.

Old Madam Xu explained to Hu Xiaotian that the twenty thousand fertilized eggs she brought through time and space had lost the ability to reproduce and undergone unexplained genetic changes. She revealed that Hong Beimo was one of the people she had raised, described how her creations had turned against her, and warned that the seeds of fire were destined to leave this world.

• Old Madam Xu told Hu Xiaotian that the fertilized eggs lost their ability to reproduce during their passage through time and space, and Hu Xiaotian realized he had been implanted in Xu Fengyi.
• Old Madam Xu explained that some descendants could still conceive naturally with people carrying a Fated One bloodline, but that genetic changes and her children's ambitions had undermined her plans.
• Old Madam Xu revealed that Hong Beimo was the first person she had brought into the world and that he had helped her eliminate Chu Fufeng.
• Old Madam Xu said Hong Beimo had become wary of her after Chu Yuanhai's death, while Hu Buwei and other descendants pursued their own ambitions and sought control of her property.
• Old Madam Xu told Hu Xiaotian that Chu Yuanhai's surviving offspring and their powerful forces worried her, and Hu Xiaotian asked whether Hong Beimo and Hu Buwei had entered the Imperial Court to investigate them.

Hu Xiaotian learned from Old Madam Xu that Hong Beimo was repairing a Visitors from Beyond spaceship hidden in the Imperial Mausoleum, then met Xu Lingkong, who gave him an iron ring and entrusted him with the Beggar Gang. The chapter ended with Hong Beimo telling Qiqi that the Xu Family likely possessed the other skull.

• Old Madam Xu told Hu Xiaotian about the hidden spaceship and warned that Hong Beimo could become an enormous threat if he mastered its technology.
• Hu Xiaotian asked Xu Mubai to give him Zeng Xiaorou, but Xu Mubai claimed he had not seen her since South Ferry Island.
• Hu Xiaotian met Xu Lingkong on a boat, received an iron ring, and promised to take care of the Beggar Gang.
• Xu Lingkong warned Hu Xiaotian never to believe Old Madam Xu and declined to attend his wedding.
• Hong Beimo told Qiqi that Hu Xiaotian had spoken with Old Madam Xu and that the Xu Family likely possessed the other skull.

Qiqi planned to let Hu Xiaotian enjoy his wedding before taking revenge, while Hu Xiaotian met Xue Lingjun and used their conversation to provoke her and reveal his connection to Jian Rongxin. The chapter ended with Hu Xiaotian declaring that Jian Rongxin’s relationship with him would torment Li Chenzhou more than killing him.

• Qiqi told Hong Beimo she would let Hu Xiaotian finish his wedding before making him suffer, and Hong Beimo warned her against striking too soon.
• Xue Lingjun and Yan Dongqing visited Hu Xiaotian’s sealed-off residence, where they saw him emerge from the lake and then speak with Xue Lingjun after changing.
• Hu Xiaotian told Xue Lingjun that Black Hu had sent a delegation and a priceless gift, leading her to warn him against joining forces with them against Great Yong.
• Xue Lingjun said she had sacrificed Liu Father and Son to preserve Great Yong, while Hu Xiaotian accused her of pretending to act for the realm.
• Xue Lingjun asked whether Hu Xiaotian had rescued Jian Rongxin, and he confirmed it and said Jian Rongxin was now his woman, which would cause Li Chenzhou lasting regret.

Hu Xiaotian married Long Xiyue in a Western-style wedding at White Sand Bay, publicly revealing that she was the former Princess Anping. The chapter ended with the couple exchanging vows and kissing as their guests watched.

• Hu Xiaotian rejected Xue Lingjun’s attempt to deceive him, then left with Visa to try on his wedding clothes.
• Hu Xiaotian’s wedding day began with tax relief and prisoner releases announced for his territory, while plans for public schools, clinics, and elder-care halls were underway.
• Hu Xiaotian and his groomsmen wore black suits as Long Xiyue arrived in a white wedding gown, prompting Qiqi to react with jealousy.
• Hu Xiaotian carried Long Xiyue to the chapel lawn, where Wu Jingshan officiated their wedding.
• Hu Xiaotian named Long Xiyue in his vows, revealing her identity as Princess Anping, and Long Xiyue declared her love before kissing him.

At Long Xiyue and Hu Xiaotian’s wedding, Hu Xiaotian announced the formation of the Gold and Jade Alliance with Long Xuanjiao and several nations and martial-world powers. The announcement alarmed neighboring representatives, who worried about how the new alliance would affect their plans and security.

• Long Xuanjiao witnessed Long Xiyue and Hu Xiaotian’s marriage after Old Madam Xu declined the role.
• Hu Xiaotian announced that he and Long Xuanjiao had established the Gold and Jade Alliance as a mutual-defense pact.
• Hu Xiaotian named the Bohai Kingdom, Python Jiao Island, Heavenly Wolf Mountain, the Beggar Gang, and the Falling Cherry Palace as members, and invited other powers to join under the alliance’s treaty.
• Xue Lingjun questioned the alliance’s prospects and was troubled that the Falling Cherry Palace had joined it.
• Heldan and Wanyan Liexin assessed how the alliance might affect Shajia’s and Black Hu’s ambitions.
• Yao Wenqi feared Western Sichuan had been excluded because the alliance’s founders might intend to seize its lands.

At Hu Xiaotian and Long Xiyue’s wedding, Qiqi concealed her anger over the Gold and Jade Alliance and traded barbs with the couple. Hu Xiaotian warned her about the men around her, while Qiqi dismissed Xue Lingjun’s attempt to sow discord and left their exchange with her position intact.

• Qiqi congratulated Hu Xiaotian and Long Xiyue, rejected the bride’s bouquet, and sparred with them over whether she should call Long Xiyue her aunt.
• Qiqi privately challenged Hu Xiaotian about the Gold and Jade Alliance, and he said it was formed so smaller powers could survive rather than to oppose Great Kang.
• Hu Xiaotian warned Qiqi that Hong Beimo, Ren Tianqing, Murong Zhan, and Quan Dean might be using her to uncover the Blue Skull’s secrets.
• Xue Lingjun tried to provoke Qiqi by questioning Hu Xiaotian’s alliance and suggesting Long Xiyue was Princess Anping, but Qiqi rebuked her for stirring up an old political dispute.

Qiqi abandoned her plan against Hu Xiaotian and Long Xiyue, while disasters and political tensions shook the region. After his honeymoon, Hu Xiaotian oversaw flood preparations along the Yong River and wondered whether Great Yong could survive its mounting crises.

• Qiqi accepted Long Xiyue’s bouquet, wished her happiness, and ordered Hong Beimo to cancel all operations against Hu Xiaotian and Long Xiyue.
• Hu Xiaotian and Long Xiyue celebrated their wedding, while the Gold and Jade Alliance drew attention from the realm’s major powers.
• Black Hu attacked Great Yong, storms and hail caused floods, and an earthquake in Western Sichuan sent refugees toward Great Kang.
• Hu Xiaotian returned to Eastern Liang Commandery and inspected the Yong River’s embankments with Yu Tianxing and Li Mingcheng.
• Hu Xiaotian ordered another three hundred thousand taels of silver for flood prevention and compensation for farmers whose fields had flooded.
• Liang Yinghao reported that Wang Boxi’s water-management measures helped keep the Yong River’s embankments intact.

Xue Daoming agreed to let Li Chenzhou negotiate peace with Black Hu as floods and regional threats strained Great Yong. In Yunyang City, Su Yuchi faced nearly thirty thousand Western Sichuan refugees barred from entering by imperial order, with the chapter ending as Yuan Qingshan warned that many would starve.

• Li Chenzhou urged Xue Daoming to seek peace with Black Hu, citing floods, heavy casualties, and shifting alliances in the Central Plains.
• Li Chenzhou explained that Black Hu was distracted by unrest in Yulan Kingdom and the threat of Shajia Kingdom, and Xue Daoming tasked him with peace talks while forbidding him to yield Great Yong's interests.
• Su Yuchi surveyed the refugees gathered outside Yunyang City after an earthquake devastated Western Sichuan and caused more than two hundred thousand deaths.
• Su Yuchi and Yuan Qingshan provided limited food and medicine but kept the city gates shut in accordance with the Imperial Court's order.
• Yuan Qingshan warned Su Yuchi that the refugees' needs exceeded their supplies and many might starve outside the gates.