Chapter Summaries

After Huang Feihu captured Su Hu and brought him back to Chaoge, Zi Shou brooded over his meager Foolishness Value and concluded Huang Feihu kept thwarting his plans. He devised a scheme to send Huang Feihu to a new Northwest Protectorate and secretly free Su Hu, hoping to reignite the rebellion and keep Daji in Chaoge.

• Huang Feihu caught Su Hu fleeing, arrested him, and escorted his family, including Daji, back to Chaoge.
• Zi Shou received only ten Foolishness Value points and lamented that his attempts to act like a foolish ruler kept failing.
• Zi Shou blamed Huang Feihu for preventing both the suppression of Su Hu’s rebellion and Su Hu’s escape, then decided to appoint him Northwest Protector.
• Zi Shou ordered You Hun to secretly release Su Hu so he could return to Jizhou and rebel again.
• Zi Shou planned to keep Daji in Chaoge and spent the night with Consort Huang in the Western Palace.

You Hun helped Su Hu escape from Earth Prison, and Su Hu mistook the emperor’s lost jade pendant for proof that Zi Shou supported him. At court, Zi Shou refused to send troops to Jizhou, while Ji Chang realized his attempt to prevent a campaign may have exposed him to a trap.

• You Hun told Su Hu when the prison guards changed shifts and left, dropping the jade pendant Zi Shou had given him.
• Su Hu found the pendant, assumed Zi Shou had secretly arranged his escape, and fled Earth Prison after the guards changed shifts.
• Zi Shou established the Northwest Protectorate and appointed Huang Feihu as Northwest Protector, prompting Wen Zhong to consider the emperor’s new approach to Gui Fang.
• After the court learned Su Hu had escaped, Chong Houhu urged Zi Shou to send troops to Jizhou, while Ji Chang argued that war would burden the people.
• Zi Shou declared that he would pardon Su Hu by welcoming Daji into the palace in three days, and Ji Chang realized he may have walked into a trap.

Zi Shou tried to prevent war with Su Hu and welcomed Daji into the palace, but his ministers interpreted his actions as wise and merciful. As Wen Zhong departed to station troops near Jizhou, Zi Qi summoned Zi Yan and declared that King Zhou was no true sovereign.

• Zi Shou compromised with his ministers by ordering Wen Zhong to station troops near Jizhou as a deterrent against Su Hu.
• Zi Shou arranged an elaborate ceremony to welcome Daji, hoping to reassure Su Hu and cultivate the image of a lecherous king, but the ministers saw the ceremony as compassionate and virtuous.
• Wen Zhong detected a demonic aura on Daji and urged Zi Shou to stop the ceremony, but Zi Shou refused and Wen Zhong left to lead his troops north.
• Zi Qi summoned Zi Yan to his residence and, holding a sword, told him that King Zhou was no true sovereign.

Zi Qi used a blood-written edict allegedly left by their father to persuade Zi Yan to help him seize the throne from King Zhou. Meanwhile, Daji grew concerned for Zi Shou’s rule and began considering how she could help him preserve the kingdom.

• Zi Qi argued that King Zhou was unfit to rule and showed Zi Yan a sword given to him by an immortal.
• Zi Qi revealed a genuine jade belt bearing a blood-written edict from Di Yi that authorized him to replace Zi Shou if Zi Shou proved incapable.
• Zi Qi asked Zi Yan to help him take the throne, citing the absence of Huang Feihu and Grand Tutor Wen and Su Hu’s rebellion.
• Zi Shou asked Daji to advise him on state affairs as they walked through the rear garden.
• Daji reflected on her lineage and her wish to help an enlightened ruler, then formed an idea for assisting Zi Shou.

Daji suggested reviving abandoned Shang fortifications as beacon stations, allowing Zi Shou to pass a beacon tower proposal at court without a major labor project. He gave Daji Shouxian Palace, while Zi Qi and his allies plotted to overthrow him, unaware that the beacon scheme targeted the rebellious lords.

• Daji advised Zi Shou to build a beacon tower in Chaoge and reuse abandoned earthen towns as signal stations.
• Zi Shou presented the proposal, won court approval after debate, and appointed You Hun to oversee construction.
• Zi Shou bestowed Shouxian Palace upon Daji, who began falling for him.
• Zi Qi gathered Zi Yan, Bi Gan, Mai Yun, Mai Zhi, and Lei Kai, denounced Zi Shou, and declared his intent to set the realm right.
• Bi Gan questioned whether Zi Shou was truly a foolish ruler, while Zi Qi resolved to proceed with his plot and rely on troops hidden beyond Chaoge.

Huang Feihu devised a peaceful strategy to win over the Gui Fang, while Su Hu prepared to move troops into Chaoge when the beacon towers were lit. Yun Zhongzi discovered a thousand-year-old white fox hiding in the royal palace and set out to eliminate it.

• Huang Feihu, Fei Lian, and Kong Xuan discussed the North Sea's food shortage and resolved to compete with the Gui Fang in strength and prosperity rather than attack them.
• Huang Feihu proposed borrowing grain from his father at Jiepai Pass to support the plan.
• Su Hu explained to Su Quanzhong that their apparent conflict with King Zhou was part of a scheme, then ordered him to prepare troops to rescue the king when the beacon smoke rose.
• Wen Zhong placed his army on alert after scouts reported activity in Jizhou's barracks.
• Yun Zhongzi divined that a thousand-year-old white fox had concealed itself in Chaoge's royal palace, carved a wooden sword, and departed for the city.

Yun Zhongzi explored Chaoge, learned that King Zhou’s reputation among the people was mixed, and discovered that the court’s calendar had been accurately calculated. After revealing himself as a Daoist to Yang Ren, Yun Zhongzi was asked to save Great Shang.

• Yun Zhongzi questioned a vegetable seller, then saw Yin Pobai and the former Royal Guards helping her and other townspeople.
• An oil seller told Yun Zhongzi that the former Royal Guards served their neighborhood and explained the people’s mixed rumors about King Zhou.
• Yun Zhongzi examined the calendar carved on a stone wall and found its calculations nearly flawless.
• Yun Zhongzi considered Yuanshi Tianzun’s mission to gain a foothold with Great Shang by removing the demon in King Zhou’s palace.
• Yang Ren met Yun Zhongzi, recognized him as a true cultivator, and asked him to save Great Shang.

Yun Zhongzi arrived in Chaoge to expose Daji as a demon and requested an audience with King Zhou, who refused to see him. Yun Zhongzi then began fortune-telling in the marketplace, while Fei Zhong and You Hun decided to report his growing influence to the king.

• Yang Ren asked Yun Zhongzi to save Great Shang from Daji, and Yun Zhongzi agreed to investigate the demonic aura in Chaoge.
• Zi Shou refused Yun Zhongzi an audience and continued dallying with Daji, who believed he was luring traitors into a trap.
• Yun Zhongzi set up a free fortune-telling stall in the marketplace after discussing his plan with Yang Ren.
• You Hun told Fei Zhong that Yun Zhongzi had gained public support and was claiming Daji had bewitched King Zhou.
• Fei Zhong and You Hun concluded they could not stop Yun Zhongzi and decided to report the matter to Zi Shou.

King Zhou welcomed rumors that Yun Zhongzi had exposed a demon in the palace because they could increase his Foolishness Value. Yun Zhongzi persuaded Fei Zhong to help him gain an audience with the king, leaving Fei Zhong preparing to act while Yun Zhongzi waited for his chance.

• Fei Zhong and You Hun told King Zhou that Yun Zhongzi had warned the people of a demon in the palace, and King Zhou chose to watch events unfold.
• Fei Zhong heard the marketplace rumors and worried that King Zhou’s behavior, including Lady Huang’s disappearance, showed something was wrong.
• Yun Zhongzi reasoned that Fei Zhong could help him enter the palace and win the king’s favor by removing the supposed demon.
• Yun Zhongzi identified Fei Zhong and convinced him that a demon had bewitched King Zhou and that helping would earn a reward.
• Fei Zhong agreed to proceed cautiously and seek support, while Yun Zhongzi waited for his opportunity; Fei Zhong turned back to ask the price of pork tomorrow.

Shang Rong and Bi Gan summoned King Zhou to court to remonstrate, while Zi Shou continued pretending to be a debauched ruler as part of his plan to expose the rebels. When Yun Zhongzi arrived, Zi Shou decided to accuse him of a ridiculous offense for entering the hall right foot first.

• Fei Zhong urged Shang Rong and Bi Gan to summon the court, and they ordered the bells and drums sounded.
• Zi Shou left a Go game with Noble Consort Huang to attend court, while Daji revealed that he had already turned the rebels into pieces in his larger plan.
• Bi Gan remonstrated with Zi Shou, who dismissed his concerns and claimed Shang Rong could manage the government.
• A court official announced that Yun Zhongzi had arrived with an important matter, and Zi Shou ordered him summoned.
• Yun Zhongzi entered the hall right foot first, and Zi Shou decided to charge him with an invented crime.

Yun Zhongzi accused the palace of harboring a demon and urged King Zhou to let him expel it, but Zi Shou rejected his claims and openly defended demons. The confrontation ended with Zi Shou challenging Yun Zhongzi to explain what Heaven’s mandate was.

• Fei Zhong accused Yun Zhongzi of breaking court protocol and called for his arm to be severed, while Yun Zhongzi declared the Dao superior to the throne and ministers.
• Yun Zhongzi told Zi Shou that demonic energy had gathered in Chaoge and offered a wooden sword to drive the palace demon away.
• Zi Shou pardoned Yun Zhongzi’s supposed crimes but offered him gold and silver, dismissing his warning as a bid for wealth and office.
• Yun Zhongzi condemned beings of impure origins, and Zi Shou defended the hundred spirits, invoking Fuxi, Nuwa, and his own descent from the Dark Phoenix.
• Yun Zhongzi proclaimed that expelling demons upheld Heaven’s mandate, and Zi Shou confronted him and demanded to know what that mandate was.

Zi Shou challenged Yun Zhongzi’s claims about Heaven’s mandate and declared that he would abolish the title Son of Heaven, rule as the Human King, and trust in human action rather than Heaven. He left court pleased that his defiance would earn Foolishness Value, while regretting that Yun Zhongzi departed before Zi Shou could keep him in Chaoge.

• Zi Shou questioned Yun Zhongzi about disaster relief, health, and war, arguing that people’s actions shaped what Yun Zhongzi called Heaven’s mandate.
• Zi Shou invoked Yu the Great, Jingwei, and Yi, then argued that his declaration that no demon was in the palace was also Heaven’s mandate.
• Zi Shou cited Cheng Tang’s deeds and announced that he would abolish the title Son of Heaven and rule as the Human King.
• Yun Zhongzi tried to admonish Zi Shou, but Zi Shou recited a poem declaring that his fate was his own, not Heaven’s.
• Shang Rong and the ministers urged Zi Shou to reconsider, but Zi Shou declared that if Heaven’s mandate existed, he himself was its embodiment.
• Zi Shou ordered his carriage and returned to the palace as Yun Zhongzi departed on a cloud; Zi Shou regretted not persuading him to stay.

Zi Shou’s challenge to Heaven’s mandate inspired supporters and reached powerful figures across the realm, even as rumors increased the public’s scorn for him. The chapter ended with Yang Jian vowing to overturn Heaven after learning that heavenly law had destroyed his family.

• Zi Shou learned that rumors comparing him to Wu Yi were spreading, while Daji grew more devoted to him and Yun Zhongzi continued telling fortunes in the marketplace.
• Fang Xiang and Fang Bi remembered how Zi Shou had changed their fate, and Wan Nian realized that human effort could shape harvests rather than leave them to Heaven.
• Yuan Hong proposed that the seven brothers travel to Chaoge, secretly drawn to King Zhou’s defiance of Heaven’s mandate.
• Ao Guang questioned whether the dragon race should keep bowing to Heaven, while a woman at Azure Luan Palace wondered whether her confinement was truly Heaven’s mandate.
• Yang Jian learned that the Heavenly Emperor had killed his father and imprisoned his mother, then vowed to overturn Heaven.

Shi Ji pursued justice after an arrow from Chentang Pass killed her disciple Biyun Boy, only to discover Nezha had fired it and then injured her other disciple, Caiyun Boy. She followed Nezha to Golden Light Cave to demand an explanation from his teacher, Taiyi Zhenren.

• Shi Ji found Biyun Boy dead from an arrow marked with Li Jing’s name and went to Chentang Pass to confront him.
• Li Jing recognized the arrow as the Xuanyuan Arrow and discovered that Nezha had fired it by accident.
• Li Jing brought Nezha to Skull Mountain, but Nezha struck Caiyun Boy with the Universe Ring before entering Shi Ji’s cave.
• Shi Ji healed Caiyun Boy, let Li Jing return home, and pursued Nezha to Golden Light Cave.
• Nezha hid inside Golden Light Cave, and Taiyi Zhenren came out to face Shi Ji.

Shi Ji rejected Taiyi Zhenren’s claim that Nezha’s violence was ordained by Heaven and left the Interception Sect, while the Three Human Saints questioned whether humanity needed to obey Heaven’s mandate. The chapter ended as the Shangqing Saint arrived at the Fire Cloud Palace to discuss the Dao.

• Shi Ji demanded that Nezha apologize for killing Biyun Boy and injuring Caiyun Boy, but Taiyi Zhenren defended him as acting under Heaven’s mandate.
• Taiyi Zhenren confronted Shi Ji with the Nine Dragon Divine Fire Cover, and she abandoned the fight and went toward Chaoge.
• Shi Ji sent Sect Master Tongtian a Jade Slip announcing that she was leaving the Interception Sect rather than implicating it in her defiance of Heaven’s mandate.
• Fuxi, Shennong, and Xuanyuan discussed King Zhou’s challenge to Heaven’s mandate and argued that human effort had shaped humanity’s survival and history.
• A boy announced that the Shangqing Saint had arrived at the Fire Cloud Palace to discuss the Dao.

Tongtian left the Fire Cloud Palace resolved to protect the Interception Sect and defy heaven’s mandate. In Chaoge, Zi Shou ordered the beacon fire lit to provoke the feudal lords, while Daji mistook his plan for a scheme to expose villains.

• Tongtian recalled the dispute over the Investiture List and Shi Ji’s treatment, then declared that the Interception Sect would seize heaven’s escaped thread of hope and change fate.
• Daji made Zi Shou green plum and turtle soup, which he enjoyed while secretly welcoming reports of worsening rumors calling for his removal.
• A Eunuch reported that You Hun had completed the beacon towers and stationed men there, so Zi Shou took Daji and the Royal Guards to inspect one.
• Zi Shou ordered the soldiers to light the beacon fire, and Daji praised him for drawing out villains to capture them, leaving him confused.

Zi Shou lit the beacon fires to amuse Daji, but the vassals and rebels interpreted the signal as a call to action. As Su Hu marched to Chaoge in the king’s defense, Zi Qi’s conspirators prepared to seize the throne before the vassals arrived.

• Zi Shou told Daji he had lit the beacon fires merely to win her smile, and she accepted his explanation as a display of royal power.
• Su Hu ordered his army to march south and defend the king, appointing Su Quanzhong to lead the vanguard and Zheng Lun to command the central army.
• Zi Qi brought Chong Heihu into the rebel group and concluded that King Zhou had discovered their plot by lighting the beacons.
• Zi Qi, Lei Kai, Bi Gan, Mai Yun, and Mai Zhi debated whether to attack the palace, then agreed they had to seize King Zhou before reinforcements arrived.
• Zi Qi gave Chong Heihu three days to take command of the Marquis of the North’s troops, and Chong Heihu said he could do it.

Chong Heihu seized Chong Houhu’s Military Tally and rebelled, while Chong Houhu escaped to warn Zi Shou. Zi Shou tried to turn the crisis into a chance to appear foolish, but Lu Xiong rallied the court’s soldiers to defend Chaoge to the death.

• Chong Heihu revealed that he was a rebel, took Chong Houhu’s Military Tally, and left Chong Houhu pinned in his residence.
• Chong Houhu tore his sleeve to disown Chong Heihu, then went to the palace to report the rebellion to Zi Shou.
• Zi Shou summoned the court and proposed relocating the capital, hoping the officials would see him as a coward.
• Lu Xiong rejected Zi Shou’s proposal and vowed to lead the troops against Chong Heihu’s army.
• The military officers joined Lu Xiong in shouting that they would fight to the death, while Zi Qi lowered his head.

Zi Shou delayed Lu Xiong’s deployment by teaching him Go, hoping the rebels would reach Chaoge and give him a reason to flee. Lu Xiong mistook his losses for a deliberate lesson in building military momentum, then arrived at the barracks to find the troops assembled under another commander.

• Zi Qi believed King Zhou’s challenge was a trap but remained committed to overthrowing him and seize the throne with the Late King’s Edict.
• Zi Shou summoned Lu Xiong to the palace, intending to delay the army’s deployment so he could escape if the rebels entered Chaoge.
• Zi Shou explained Go to Lu Xiong and lost three games, while Lu Xiong interpreted the victories as encouragement to lead the army confidently.
• Lu Xiong left for the barracks convinced he had understood Zi Shou’s strategy, but found the troops assembled and another person assigning commands.

As rebel forces threatened Chaoge, Huang Feiying took command of the city’s army and ordered the generals to defend all four gates. She chose to lead the defense at the South Gate herself, with Lu Xiong at her side.

• Huang Feiying used King Zhou’s Dark Phoenix Jade Pendant to order the army out through all four gates and warned that disobedient soldiers would be executed.
• Huang Feiying assigned Xu Gai to the North Gate, Chao Tian to the East Gate, and Chao Lei to the West Gate, then named herself to lead the South Gate defense.
• Lu Xiong objected to Huang Feiying facing the strongest rebel force, but she allowed him to accompany her and protect her.
• Huang Feiying declared that defending the state was every woman’s duty and issued strict orders against retreat and disobedience.
• Huang Feiying recalled her years of martial training and her childhood ambition to become a female general as she prepared to fight for Great Shang.