Chapter Summaries

Lin Ke returned to his cave abode and discussed technology, food, and the Golden Crow race’s fire-element path with Jingang. The Snow-White Lynx then revealed a recipe for primordial heavy water, giving Lin Ke a new resource to produce and prompting him to consider expanding into other businesses.

• Lin Ke returned to find Jingang had refined the entire cave abode into a seamless, heavily defended structure.
• Lin Ke told Jingang he had ideas for advancing fire-element techniques but could not experiment with them yet, and explained that electrical energy could feed Fire God Mantises and serve other purposes.
• The Purple-Patterned White Tiger and Snow-White Lynx proposed using water-attribute shadowglow stone to supply Cold Pool water, but Lin Ke explained that the water was unusually cold without freezing.
• Snow-White Lynx offered a recipe from her inherited memories for making primordial heavy water from plants, trees, ores, and other materials.
• Lin Ke welcomed the recipe and began considering whether to produce other goods, acquire businesses, and expand beyond his profitable Milk Tea Shop.

Lin Ke began plans to uncover valuable innovations among Capital City's businesses while continuing to prepare Great Wilderness Weekly. The chapter ended with the newspaper's first edition announcing applications to Great Wilderness University, whose faculty would include officials from the Twelve Departments and whose titular head would be the Sage Emperor.

• Lin Ke considered acquiring businesses and their trade secrets but recognized that he lacked enough time and doppelgangers to manage another project.
• Lin Ke told Zhuge Li to gather information on distinctive products and businesses across every industry, including food.
• Lin Ke resumed drafting Great Wilderness Weekly, an official weekly newspaper featuring news, notices, policies, and other reports.
• Lin Ke divided the calendar into seven-day weeks and drafted the paper's first edition with the headline announcing that Great Wilderness University was accepting applications.
• Lin Ke listed entrance examinations, full-time instruction, officials from the Twelve Departments as teachers, and the Sage Emperor as the university's titular head.

Lin Ke completed the Great Wei Sacred Dynasty’s first newspaper and brought it to Wang Lin for review. After she approved it, Lin Ke asked Ye Jun to oversee printing, and Ye Jun asked whether Lin Ke would take the upcoming Child Scholar Examination.

• Lin Ke infused the finished newspaper with literary qi and carried it to Wang Lin for review.
• At the shop, Lin Ke found Ye Jun reciting poetry to Wang Lin, who was cracking walnuts.
• Wang Lin and Ye Jun praised the newspaper’s range of practical information and entertainment after reading it.
• Wang Lin recommended Ye Jun to handle printing, and Lin Ke recruited him to start the work while he hired more people.
• Ye Jun asked Lin Ke whether he planned to take the Child Scholar Examination, which was about to begin.

Lin Ke decided to take the Child Scholar Examination before attempting the higher examinations, despite the fierce competition expected in next year’s grand examination. Ye Jun invited him to a winter Poetry Gathering, where they could meet candidates preparing for the examinations.

• Lin Ke learned that all four examinations would be held next year and that the Zhuangyuan position had opened for the first time in a century.
• Ye Jun and Wang Lin warned Lin Ke that going directly to the Palace Examination could invite criticism, and Ye Jun cautioned that examinations granted literary qi but not insight.
• Lin Ke chose to start with the Child Scholar Examination, explaining that he needed more literary qi and had confidence in his learning.
• Wang Lin warned that hidden prodigies from great clans would make next year’s Child Scholar Examination difficult, but Lin Ke resolved to compete.
• Ye Jun invited Lin Ke to join him at a winter Poetry Gathering, and Lin Ke agreed.

Ye Jun invited Lin Ke to a gathering of young talents, where they learned that Sage Domains founded by Huo Qubing, Zhang Zhongjing, and Guan Yu had opened. Lin Ke then showed Ye Jun the new newspaper office, and Ye Jun used his Green Bamboo literary heart to print its first newspapers.

• Ye Jun told Lin Ke about the gathering for young talents and invited him to attend as his companion.
• Wang Lin revealed that the Sage Domains of Huo Qubing, Zhang Zhongjing, and Guan Yu had opened and that their visitors had met with the Three Dukes.
• Lin Ke accepted Ye Jun's invitation, and Wang Lin warned Ye Jun to protect him from anyone with malicious intentions.
• Lin Ke took Ye Jun to the newspaper office and checked that its rooms, supplies, and printing paper were ready.
• Ye Jun used his great Confucian literary heart to print newspapers until late at night, while Lin Ke waited in the office.

Lin Ke searched for someone to manage the Great Wilderness Newspaper Office and offered the job to Xi He, whose interest in stories and the Novelists' School made him a suitable choice. Xi He accepted, and Lin Ke arranged for him to learn the work before taking charge.

• Lin Ke realized he needed staff for the newspaper office and decided Xi He's talkative nature might suit the work.
• Lin Ke found Xi He living in a poor quarter and was welcomed into his modest, tidy home.
• Xi He used a copy of Battle Through the Firmament to create a protective barrier around the room.
• Lin Ke explained the newspaper office's operations and asked Xi He to manage it.
• Xi He accepted the assignment, and Lin Ke told him to learn the work over the next few days before taking charge.

Lin Ke visited Xi He and learned that a local steward’s men were exploiting residents for extra lodging fees. After the collector boasted that his patron’s household knew Young Master Lin, Lin Ke questioned him about the steward’s background.

• Lin Ke praised Xi He’s abilities and prepared to leave, but a collector pounded on Xi He’s door demanding more lodging money.
• The collector threatened Xi He and claimed officials favored people of servile status, prompting Xi He to order him to stop and offer double payment later.
• Lin Ke stepped outside, and Xi He introduced him as an honored guest before Lin Ke questioned the collector.
• The collector said Steward Yu managed the neighborhood for Lord Wu, an eighth-rank official, and warned Lin Ke not to offend him.
• The collector revealed that Steward Yu had prostitute status and claimed Lord Wu had appointed him because Lord Wu knew Young Master Lin.

Lin Ke exposed Lu Renjia’s scheme to sell introductions to Steward Yu, Lord Wu, and Lin Ke himself. After sending Lu Renjia fleeing by claiming to be Lin Ke’s sworn younger brother Chen An, Lin Ke turned to Xi He to discuss the principles behind the new rites, but literary qi stirred when he began to explain them.

• Lu Renjia offered Lin Ke and Xi He an introduction to Steward Yu for one tael and bragged that connections could lead them to Lord Wu and Young Master Lin Ke.
• Lin Ke used his Word-Bound Law ability to draw Lu Renjia out, then asked him to summon Lord Wu and claimed to be Lin Ke’s sworn younger brother, Chen An.
• Lin Ke created and lit an incense stick as a deadline, frightening Lu Renjia into sprinting away to seek help from Steward Yu and Lord Wu.
• Lin Ke sat with Xi He and asked what the new rites should be, then began to explain that people should follow neither superiors nor books alone, but facts.
• Xi He feared Lin Ke’s principle was treasonous, while Lin Ke sensed the literary qi stirring and said he would explain the matter another time.

Lin Ke explained to Xi He that the new rites allowed people to question even Sages and the Sage Emperor, while insisting that speaking freely required fair judgment rather than reckless rumor-mongering. Xi He felt his literary qi surging after the lesson, and Lin Ke went with him to meet Wu Chujian so Xi He would know he had support.

• Xi He tentatively said the new rites meant everyone could speak freely, and Lin Ke pointed out that people were still forbidden to criticize Sages, the Sage Emperor, or their ancestors.
• Lin Ke argued that Sages could make mistakes and that people could point them out, while warning that scholars misused sages' names to serve selfish aims.
• Lin Ke explained that free speech did not excuse judging leaders without context or spreading malicious rumors, and Xi He said he had learned much.
• Xi He felt his literary qi surge and thought he was close to a breakthrough.
• Wu Chujian arrived to bow before Chief Steward Chen, and Lin Ke invited Xi He to accompany him outside to show that Xi He had his backing.

Lin Ke confronted Lord Wu Chujian over his steward’s extortion of poor residents and threatened to execute him if he refused to confess. The confrontation left Wu Chujian pleading ignorance, while Xi He realized the insult about begrudging a few taels had been aimed at him.

• Wu Chujian brought Lu Renjia and Steward Yu to Lin Ke’s door and begged Chief Steward Chen to punish them.
• Lin Ke revealed himself to Wu Chujian, who claimed he had only meant for his steward to help residents and denied knowing about the collected money.
• Lin Ke accused Wu Chujian of exploiting the neighborhood and warned that the Great Wilderness Council could investigate his finances and execute him.
• Wu Chujian defended his actions by saying only people who cherished money would live in the filthy neighborhood and that officials asking them for a little silver caused little harm.
• Wu Chujian glanced at Xi He, and Xi He realized Wu Chujian had called him stingy over a few taels.

Lin Ke challenged the idea that Resting in Supreme Goodness meant living in a pleasant place, then began composing a work for the poor residents of the alley. As Xi He recited its opening lines, the winds and clouds shifted and faint dragon cries sounded across a vast distance.

• Lin Ke explained that Resting in Supreme Goodness meant cultivating and maintaining supreme virtue, alarming Wu Chujian with his interpretation.
• Lin Ke let Wu Chujian and his companions go, but warned that kneeling would no longer settle future wrongdoing.
• Lin Ke asked Xi He to bring paper and a brush, then told him to recite aloud for the neighbors.
• Lin Ke wrote "Ode to the Humble Abode" as the hidden residents listened from behind their doors.
• Xi He recited, "A mountain need not be high; with an immortal, it gains renown. Water need not be deep; with a dragon, it gains spirit," and winds, clouds, and faint dragon cries stirred across a hundred thousand li.

Lin Ke wrote Ode to the Humble Abode after seeing Xi He mistreated, producing a Wind and Clouds Stir manifestation that spread literary qi across the Capital City. He left the residents with returned silver and a wish that no one under heaven would feel ashamed of a humble abode.

• Lin Ke wrote Ode to the Humble Abode for Xi He, and its literary qi reached the Wind and Clouds Stir level.
• Wu Chujian and others recognized Lin Ke as the author while voices from the Sage Domains belittled his achievement.
• Lin Ke ordered Wu Chujian, Steward Yu, and Lu Renjia to return the residents’ improperly collected silver without charging them extra.
• People discovered that Ode to the Humble Abode could reinforce buildings and soothe the spirit, while Lin Ke’s literary qi spread throughout the Capital City.
• Lin Ke wished that no one under heaven would feel ashamed of a humble abode.

Lin Ke poured the Wind and Clouds Stir manifestation into the Capital City, helping residents focus on learning, and Ode to the Humble Abode inspired students to study with greater determination. The next day, Lin Ke and Ye Jun launched a newspaper that quickly spread through the city.

• Lin Ke released the Wind and Clouds Stir manifestation over the Capital City, allowing its houses to help residents concentrate and gain insight.
• Lin Ke told Xi He to come to work the next day, then left for home while thought projections discussed his actions.
• Students inspired by Ode to the Humble Abode stopped blaming their surroundings and studied with renewed determination.
• Young men began selling newspapers written by Lin Ke and printed by Ye Jun for one copper coin each on the first day.
• Newsboys, including muscular men from Clear Stream Academy, sold papers throughout the Capital City, spreading the idea of newspapers across the city.

Yu Kong and the Sage Domain heirs discussed Lin Ke and his growing influence before the Assassin branch brought them his new newspaper. The heirs became engrossed in its mix of government notices, local news, entertainment, and fiction.

• Yu Kong and the other heirs debated whether to oppose Lin Ke, while the Eastern Family's holy son urged caution.
• A seductive woman from the Assassin branch arrived with copies of Lin Ke's newspaper, prompting the heirs to question her organization's ties to the assassination attempt.
• Yu Kong defended the Assassin branch and urged everyone to examine the newspaper.
• Yu Kong read notices about a public university and the Demon Department's lessons for wild beasts, along with warnings for the coming winter holidays.
• The heirs explored the newspaper's gossip, advertisements, regional reports, fiction, and comics, while the woman watched them with a smile.

Sage Domain heirs planned to use their connections to stir up denunciations of Lin Ke and his newspaper, while Lin Ke said goodbye to Wu Daozi and watched the newspaper become a Rare Treasure. Wang Lin then visited Lin Ke and said she had brought him a Heavenly Treasure.

• Yu Kong and the other heirs condemned Lin Ke’s newspaper and agreed to recruit their relatives and acquaintances to denounce it.
• The Eastern Family’s heir admitted he could not divine Lin Ke’s fate because Great Wei’s fortune obscured it.
• Gu Kaizhi collected Wu Daozi, who promised Lin Ke he would study painting and carry the Comics Path forward.
• Lin Ke watched the handwritten newspaper slowly transform into a Rare Treasure and set it aside.
• Wang Lin visited Lin Ke, joked with him, and revealed that she had brought him a Heavenly Treasure.

Wang Lin gave Lin Ke a rare pill that strengthened his Doppelganger and helped him condense a Thought ahead of schedule. After taking it, Lin Ke gained a Thought and sensed that he might soon break through to the Third Realm.

• Wang Lin explained that she had advanced after reading Lin Ke’s Newspaper and offered him a pill she had taken from her brother’s palace.
• Wang Lin revealed that the Dao Venerable had given her the Essence Elixir in hopes that Lin Ke would gain insight into artifact refining and trade the Wood Refining Method.
• Lin Ke set up the Novelists' Imaginary Realm and swallowed the pill, which strengthened his Doppelganger and filled his mind with a profound aura.
• Lin Ke condensed a Thought ahead of time and felt his power of reform stirring toward a possible breakthrough to the Third Realm.
• Lin Ke wondered what kind of Thought he had formed and what abilities it would give him.

Lin Ke formed a thought of righteousness and received two sea-mirage pills from Wang Lin, which gave him two new External Incarnations. He sent them off to work while heading to the Newspaper Office, leaving the poison incarnation to visit his experimental fields.

• Lin Ke identified his emerging thought as righteousness, and Wang Lin explained how thought incarnations differed from doppelgangers.
• Wang Lin gave Lin Ke Poison-Illusion and Mist Sea Mirage pills, which he swallowed to create two External Incarnations.
• Lin Ke sent the mist incarnation out of Capital City and directed the poison incarnation to his orchard’s experimental fields.
• Lin Ke took the Rare Treasure newspaper and left for the Newspaper Office, while Fang Yuan oversaw crop experiments focused on higher yields and mutation.

Lin Ke inspected the breeding farm and experimental fields he had established, confirming they were ready to support agricultural research and production. He left Fang Yuan to begin finding buyers for the farm’s insects and other promising products.

• Lin Ke’s poison-path doppelganger went to the orchard hill and met Fang Yuan, who initially mistook him for an impostor.
• Lin Ke proved his identity by releasing the power of reform, and Fang Yuan suggested cultivating the doppelganger along the poison path.
• Fang Yuan told Lin Ke that the experimental fields and breeding farm were ready, with pigs, dogs, vegetation, mushroom caves, and insect houses already in place.
• Lin Ke learned that Daoist School formations were nourishing the livestock and plants, while Great Confucians had prepared simulated environments for different terrains and climates.
• Lin Ke approved Fang Yuan’s preparations and told him to look for buyers, especially insect enthusiasts interested in mantises such as the Fire God Mantis.

Lin Ke and Fang Yuan discussed breeding insects and the challenges of transporting creatures from Cloud Dream Marsh while inspecting the research grounds. Wang Qingshan arrived after breaking through to the Gentleman Realm and offered Lin Ke ten spirit beasts for biological research.

• Lin Ke told Fang Yuan to buy only a modest number of field-caught insects and discussed breeding mealworms and cockroaches for feed and waste processing.
• Lin Ke inspected the mushroom caves and insect habitats with Fang Yuan, who asked about preparations for demon beasts and demonic Gu from Cloud Dream Marsh.
• Lin Ke rejected Daoist spatial-translocation methods as an unreliable solution to transporting creatures and wished for teleportation formations.
• Wang Qingshan visited Lin Ke and announced that he had broken through to the Gentleman Realm, crediting Lin Ke's teaching in the Beast-Taming Path and biology.
• Wang Qingshan gave Lin Ke a Golden-Wing Nest containing ten spirit beasts with traces of Ancient Exotic Species bloodlines, and Fang Yuan wondered if the artifact looked like a beehive.

Lin Ke received a spirit-beast hive from Wang Qingshan and discussed plans to recruit Beast-Taming Studio disciples for his farms and slaughterhouses. Meanwhile, another doppelganger met Ge Hong outside the Capital City, ready to begin the Dao Heir Trial.

• Wang Qingshan gave Lin Ke's steward Fang Yuan a hive containing ten spirit beasts with ancient bloodlines and told Lin Ke that Beast-Taming Studio disciples had agreed to leave the mountain.
• Lin Ke explained that his farms and slaughterhouses would improve food safety and support breeding experiments, while Wang Qingshan dismissed concerns about killing animals.
• Wang Qingshan pointed out that the hive also held a cat and a dog with traces of Heaven-Swallowing Beast and Golden-Maned Suanni bloodlines, which Lin Ke could breed for the pet market.
• Lin Ke toured the site with Wang Qingshan and Fang Yuan while his poison doppelganger inspected it.
• Ge Hong appeared before Lin Ke's other doppelganger near the Capital City, recognized it as an External Incarnation, and asked whether Lin Ke was ready for the Dao Heir Trial.