Chapter Summaries

Chen An explained how the Novelists' School used imagined worlds and characters to fight, and Lin Ke accepted Yu Chu's Miscellaneous Tales to begin qi induction. Inspired by the possibilities of his novels, Lin Ke eagerly decided to write more.

• Chen An gave Lin Ke Yu Chu's Miscellaneous Tales after completing qi induction himself.
• Chen An explained that he planned to build an imaginary world using Battle Through the Firmament to protect himself and avenge his father.
• Chen An described how novelists used traps, imagined techniques, and eventually characters from their books to fight opponents.
• Lin Ke realized his novels could let him summon powerful characters and grew excited about the prospect.
• Lin Ke declared that writing novels made him happy.

Lin Ke read Yu Chu's Miscellaneous Tales and discovered that fiction strengthened his Reformer School power. He used that power to alter his roof and door with images from A Leaf Shrouding Heaven, though he could only create faint likenesses for now.

• Lin Ke brought Yu Chu's Miscellaneous Tales home and began reading about Yu Chu and the Novelists' School.
• As Lin Ke read Yu Chu's short tales, his power of reform grew, and he achieved Qi Induction through the Novelists' School.
• Lin Ke realized that reading fiction strengthened his qi, while creating works such as A Leaf Shrouding Heaven increased his power of reform faster.
• Lin Ke channeled that power into A Leaf Shrouding Heaven and reshaped his roof into a likeness of the Heavenly Emperor Cauldron and his door into a likeness of the Bronze Gate leading to the Ruthless Empress.
• Lin Ke found he could not fully manifest the fictional objects' powers, but hoped to bring characters out of fiction once he reached the Novelists' School's Third Realm.

News of the competition between Qi Ye and Lin Ke spread throughout the Imperial Capital, where many people with servile status rallied behind Lin Ke. A Storyteller named an old man wondered where Chen Pingping had gone and considered asking Lin Ke for help.

• Lin Ke put off returning Yu Chu's Miscellaneous Tales to Chen An until the next day because he was exhausted and it was late.
• People across the Imperial Capital discussed the competition, learning that it would include poetry, coordination, and painting, with Lin Ke setting the topics.
• A man tried to praise Qi Ye and disparage Lin Ke, but an old Storyteller defended Lin Ke and inspired the diners to voice their support for him.
• After the man left, the diners praised Lin Ke's poems, case-solving, comics, and novels, while the competition remained the talk of the city.
• The old man wondered why he could no longer contact Chen Pingping and considered asking Lin Ke where he had gone.

Lin Ke remained on guard as the contest against Qi Ye approached, while the capital prepared for the event. On contest day, crowds gathered at a newly approved square on Chaoyang Street, where skyborne painting scrolls displayed the scene.

• Chen An ended his telling of Xiao Yan subduing the extraordinary flame, leaving the tea drinkers desperate to hear what happened next.
• Lin Ke returned to the comics shop and met an old Storyteller who said Chen Pingping had invited him to ask where Chen Pingping lived.
• Lin Ke stayed wary of the Storyteller, directed him to the Hanging Mountain Tea Shop, and later heard Butcher Zhang reassure him that the man meant no harm.
• Lin Ke worried about the coming contest, weighing his chances against Qi Ye in poetry, dance, and the Painting Path.
• On contest day, crowds converged on Chaoyang Street, where officials had prepared a square and hung painting scrolls in the sky to display the event.

Chaoyang Street was rebuilt as the venue for Lin Ke and Qi Ye’s contest, drawing spectators from across the Imperial Capital. Qi Ye arrived with an extravagant entourage and displayed his cultivation and treasures, but Lin Ke’s confident verse announced his own entrance.

• Two Great Confucians from the Works Department rebuilt Chaoyang Street and prepared seating for the contest between Lin Ke and Qi Ye.
• Qi Ye arrived at the square on the Wrathful Wisdom King's Palanquin, displaying embroidered Confucian robes and a Seven-Star Sword.
• Qi Ye’s entourage praised him as a future Sage, Zhuangyuan, Dao Heir, and Buddhist Heir, stirring excitement and gossip among the spectators.
• Qi Ye’s poem produced the hundred-li echo manifestation and gathered literary qi from the surrounding area.
• A calm, proud voice recited, “One day, the great roc would rise with the wind, soaring straight up ninety thousand li!”

Lin Ke answered Qi Ye’s Hundred-Li Echo with a Heaven and Earth Stirred poem dedicated to his teacher, Fang Yun, whose delighted explanation provoked jealous Great Confucians across the Capital. As Lin Ke greeted his ordinary neighbors on the screens, a crowd of powerful voices declared that they had arrived to support him, leaving the contest poised to begin with his masters’ help.

• Lin Ke recited a poem that summoned a vast ocean of literary qi and a great roc whose wings covered the Imperial Capital and its surroundings.
• Fang Yun praised the poem, explained its lines, and asked Lin Ke to dedicate it to him; Lin Ke titled it “Presented to My Teacher Fang Yun.”
• Great Confucians erupted in jealous outrage at Fang Yun’s newly celebrated name.
• Lin Ke appeared on the screens greeting Butcher Zhang, Wu Daozi, Chen An, Matchmaker, Shopkeeper Tong, Bai Zhantang, and other neighbors, whose warmth won over many spectators.
• More than two hundred voices announced that they had arrived to support Lin Ke, and he froze at their declarations.

Lin Ke’s masters appeared in the Capital City, displaying their power and drawing astonished crowds. Kumarajiva and Ge Hong both offered to make him the Buddhist Heir and Daoist Heir, and Lin Ke asked whether accepting them would interfere with his businesses and creative work.

• Sui Gu and An Xiaoniao appeared among Lin Ke’s masters, and other formidable teachers made their presence known across the Capital City.
• Kumarajiva offered to take Lin Ke as his disciple and make him the Buddhist School’s Buddhist Heir.
• Ge Hong offered Lin Ke tutelage and the position of the Daoist School’s Dao Heir.
• Lin Ke asked whether he could become both heirs while continuing to run his shops and create his books and comics.
• Lin Ke’s question left the Capital City speechless.

Lin Ke became Ge Hong’s disciple and demonstrated another powerful poem that affected time, prompting Ge Hong and Kumarajiva to both claim him as a disciple. The spectacle turned toward the coming contest when a Daoist on Qi Ye’s side suggested they concede if more important figures appeared.

• Lin Ke completed his disciple ceremony, then recited a poem whose Manifestation slowed time across the Capital City before he absorbed it.
• Confucian scholars across the realm tested the poem and celebrated its practical effect on time.
• Ge Hong returned and accepted Lin Ke as his disciple, and Kumarajiva promised to make him the Buddhist Heir after the Succession Palace Examination.
• Lin Ke noticed the assembled opposing group and heard a Daoist tell them Qi Ye might as well concede if another important figure appeared.

Lin Ke and Qi Ye met at a public contest that would determine who earned eligibility to compete for next year’s palace examination Zhuangyuan. After Lin Ke rejected an attempt to shame him with filial piety, a eunuch announced the contest’s rules and stakes.

• Zhang Wuji stopped talking after a monk and Qi Ye warned him that his remarks might bring trouble.
• Lin Ke and Qi Ye arrived at the arena with their supporters, while General Li Pozhu told Lin Ke not to lose.
• A tipsy Confucian Scholar tried to pressure Lin Ke with filial piety, but Lin Ke said he hoped Minister Lin would lose and challenged the scholar’s conduct.
• A eunuch arrived with the Sage Emperor’s decree and announced that fifty Fifth Realm cultivators would judge the contest, whose victor would qualify for next year’s Zhuangyuan palace examination.

Lin Ke and Qi Ye began the literary contest, with Lin Ke choosing aspiration as the theme for their poetry duel. As Qi Ye prepared with an extravagant writing setup, Lin Ke realized he had not expected to write a poem, but Butcher Zhang and Lin Ke’s companions arrived to support him with their own makeshift supplies.

• The eunuch announced that the contest had begun and declared literature the first event, with one poem deciding the result.
• Lin Ke chose aspiration as the theme and offered to compete with as many poems as Qi Ye wanted, but Qi Ye insisted that one poem would suffice.
• Qi Ye set up an elaborate writing table while Qing'er ground his ink and two women tended the lamp and fanned him.
• Lin Ke realized he had expected to recite poetry rather than write it, and the eunuch offered to help.
• Butcher Zhang arrived with a crowd, and Matchmaker, Chen An, Shopkeeper Tong, and Bai Zhantang brought Lin Ke a table, ink, a lamp, and a fan.

Lin Ke and Qi Ye competed in a poetry contest on the theme of aspiration. Lin Ke’s poem caused a far greater literary manifestation than Qi Ye’s, leaving the eunuch to recite it and prepare to announce Lin Ke’s victory.

• Shopkeeper Tong gave Lin Ke a sheet of yellow paper, while Bai Zhantang told him he had wagered everything on Lin Ke winning.
• Qi Ye completed a poem that produced a ten-thousand-li chant, impressing the crowd.
• Lin Ke wrote a poem about Mount Tai and ascending the highest summit, triggering the greater manifestation of wind and clouds stirring.
• The eunuch tried to lift Lin Ke’s paper, but the literary qi had made it too heavy to move.
• Qi Ye destroyed his own poem and conceded the round to Lin Ke.
• The eunuch began reciting Lin Ke’s poem, which ended with his resolve to climb the highest summit and see the other mountains dwarfed below.

Lin Ke’s poem about Mount Tai won widespread acclaim and manifested in the sky, prompting a noisy scramble over who would receive it. As the contest shifted to martial prowess, Lin Ke chose dance as his event, leaving Qi Ye’s side to face an unexpected challenge.

• The audience praised Lin Ke’s Mount Tai poem, and the eunuch gave an elaborate appraisal of its imagery and ambition.
• Literary Qi manifested a phantom Mount Tai in the sky, and Lin Ke absorbed it with his Bamboo Staff.
• Academy heads and others argued over the poem, so Lin Ke titled it “Gazing at Mount Tai.”
• Qi Ye urged the contest to move on to martial prowess, and his supporters regained their confidence in his martial skills.
• When asked what discipline he wanted to compete in, Lin Ke politely chose dance.

Lin Ke and Qi Ye’s martial contest became a dance competition after Dean Wu argued that dance could demonstrate martial coordination. Lin Ke began performing his prepared sword dance, “Sword Dance Silver Snake.”

• Dean Wu arrived in person and asked Lin Ke for the sheet of yellow paper, offering secret treasures as a welcoming gift.
• Lin Ke gave Dean Wu the paper without asking for anything in return.
• Dean Wu defended dance as a valid form of martial arts, and the eunuch declared that the second contest would test martial coordination through dance.
• Lin Ke called for Matchmaker, and Bingbing stepped forward to hand him the White Longsword.
• Lin Ke caught the sword and began his solo performance, “Sword Dance Silver Snake.”

Lin Ke performed his sword dance, and his master Qi Kaishan accompanied him on the guzheng, creating a rare qin-dance manifestation. The chapter ended with Lin Ke completing his dance as the audience recognized its significance.

• Lin Ke danced with his sword, evoking a silver snake striking toward the moon.
• Qi Kaishan revealed that she had been Lin Ke’s master under the alias Xiao Xun'er and began accompanying him with Thousand Mountains Flying Snow.
• Lin Ke’s dance and Qi Kaishan’s music produced a vision of a white snake dancing through snow beneath the moon.
• Dean Wu explained that the qin-dance manifestation was a rare appearance of the Great Dao, unseen since the age of the philosophers.
• Lin Ke settled his stance, cupped his hands, and announced that his dance, Sword Dance Silver Snake, was complete.

After Lin Ke defeated Qi Ye in poetry and dance, Qi Ye insisted on continuing to a third round. Lin Ke accepted and announced that he would compete in oil painting, a new Painting Path he had created, leaving Qi Ye questioning whether heaven and earth recognized it.

• Lin Ke's dance won over the crowd, and the eunuch confirmed that he had won the round after Qi Ye forfeited.
• Qi Ye, unwilling to accept his losses in poetry and dance, agreed to compete in the third round, and Lin Ke accepted.
• Lin Ke called for milk tea and told the crowd that drinking it had helped him grow stronger and develop his talents.
• Lin Ke announced that he would compete in oil painting, prompting widespread curiosity.
• Qi Ye challenged Lin Ke to prove that oil painting was a Painting Path recognized by heaven and earth.

Lin Ke challenged Qi Ye’s followers to judge oil painting for themselves and created a vividly colored painting called “Sunrise.” As the crowd reacted to the unfamiliar art, literary qi appeared over the Capital City before midnight.

• A drunken scholar mocked Lin Ke, but Dean Wu challenged him to Tongue-and-Sword Combat and defended Lin Ke’s use of the Imperially Sanctioned Staff.
• Lin Ke addressed Qi Ye by name, angering his followers, and accepted a drawing board and easel from the Matchmaker.
• Lin Ke painted a child watching a flowering tree as a red sun rose, using vivid oil paints and specialized brushes.
• Lin Ke named the painting “Sunrise,” and the crowd was overwhelmed by its colors and realistic scene.
• Literary qi appeared in the sky and faint red spread over the Capital City before midnight.

Lin Ke won the contest against Qi Ye after his painting created a rare Painting Path Manifestation, and the victory stirred celebration across the Capital City. He absorbed the Manifestation and used the citywide broadcast to announce discounts and invite more people to become his masters.

• Lin Ke's painting produced a Painting Path Manifestation, astonishing the spectators and prompting Qi Ye to recognize him as a worthy opponent.
• Lin Ke said his servile status did not limit his heart or aspirations, while Qi Ye treated him as an enemy who challenged his worldview.
• The eunuch declared Lin Ke the winner, and people across the Capital City celebrated his victory.
• Lin Ke absorbed the Painting Path Manifestation and announced twenty-percent discounts at his businesses.
• Lin Ke told the spectators he had taken more than two hundred people as masters and invited others to claim the roughly eighty remaining places.

Lin Ke announced a mass disciple recruitment scheme that promised food, lodging, monthly leave, firewood, and rewards for recruiting others. The crowd eagerly planned to join, and Dean Wu tried to calculate how many points Clear Stream Academy could earn.

• Lin Ke announced that he would accept disciples of good character without distinction and let disciples earn points by recruiting others.
• Lin Ke explained that points could buy discounts and perks, while disciples would study with him daily and receive food, lodging, one day off each month, and two bundles of firewood at year's end.
• A young Daoist proposed that he and Qi Ye become Gold Alliance Disciples and buy Lin Ke's comics in bulk to bankrupt him, but the young monk pointed out they would lose money too.
• Lin Ke noticed the crowd staring eagerly at him and said recruitment would officially open at noon the next day.
• Dean Wu asked whether he could take Lin Ke as his master and how many points he might earn by bringing Clear Stream Academy's students.

After the contest, Lin Ke agreed to take disciples from Clear Stream Academy, the palace eunuchs, and the people of Chaoyang Street. He made Butcher Zhang his eldest disciple and sent Wu Daozi to register the new disciples.

• Lin Ke welcomed Dean Wu's prospective disciples and invited the eunuch and other young eunuchs to join his sect.
• The Chaoyang Street crowd surrounded Lin Ke to demand disciple spots, so Butcher Zhang helped him escape back to the courtyard.
• At the courtyard, Shopkeeper Tong objected when Butcher Zhang announced he was Lin Ke's eldest disciple, and the crowd beat Butcher Zhang.
• Lin Ke decided to recruit the people of Chaoyang Street because he trusted their loyalty and people skills.
• Lin Ke ordered Wu Daozi to register the junior disciples.

Lin Ke learned that a Fifth Realm Great Confucian could help create communication items and asked Li Chungang to use the Buddhist Heart-to-Heart Communion method. Li Chungang exposed the hidden identities of several Chaoyang Street residents, and Shopkeeper Tong revealed he was the chief disciple of Bodhi Temple’s abbot as his Buddhist heart manifested.

• Matchmaker told Lin Ke that communication items cost about twenty taels and required a Fifth Realm Great Confucian to make.
• Li Chungang returned with a Heart-Guard Mirror and a Literary Heart Jade Pendant for Lin Ke, then Lin Ke asked him to stay and help.
• Matchmaker asked Li Chungang to perform the Buddhist School’s Heart-to-Heart Communion method, and Li Chungang warned that it could strain his literary heart.
• Li Chungang exposed the concealed backgrounds of Shopkeeper Tong, Matchmaker, Bai Zhantang, Bingbing, Wang Lin, and Minister Qi.
• Shopkeeper Tong admitted he was the chief disciple of Bodhi Temple’s abbot, and his Buddhist heart began to manifest.