Chapter Summaries

Zi Shou staged a sacrifice at the Yellow Emperor’s Mausoleum, then used a bout of deliberately induced sneezing to claim that nearby Yintai Mountain damaged the tomb’s Feng Shui. He ordered the mausoleum relocated to Cloud Dream Mountain, secured Qiaoshan, and entered its underground palace, where his men opened a huge stone door with a casual push.

• Zi Shou halted the army at Qiaoshan, built an ancestral altar, and led a simplified ceremony honoring the Yellow Emperor.
• Zi Shou scattered Sichuan pepper powder to make the army sneeze, then blamed the disturbance on Yintai Mountain’s ill-omened Feng Shui.
• Zi Shou ordered the Yellow Emperor’s Mausoleum excavated and moved to Cloud Dream Mountain, sealed off Qiaoshan, and established extensive defenses against a possible attack by Ji Fa.
• Zi Shou and the tomb-relocation force descended into the underground palace and found that its enormous stone door opened easily when a soldier pushed it.

Zi Shou explored the Yellow Emperor’s Clothing Tomb and discovered brocade records of lost technologies, but a black mist swallowed Yintai Mountain and the mountain vanished. He led the troops out of the underground palace, reassuring them as they prepared to face whatever had happened outside.

• Zi Shou ordered the soldiers to leave the tomb’s treasures untouched and search for the Yellow Emperor’s clothing and headgear.
• The soldiers found brocade records describing lost inventions, military formations, and other technologies, and Shang Rong asked Zi Shou to secure them for Great Shang.
• Chao Tian saw black mist engulf Yintai Mountain, then watched the mountain disappear after the earth shook.
• Chao Tian entered the underground palace and urged Zi Shou to leave immediately; Zi Shou agreed and ordered the troops out.
• Zi Shou walked to the front of the departing army, while Ao Lie, Yin Pobai, and Shang Rong organized the soldiers and tried to protect him.

Zi Shou and his companions watched the Underground Palace rise to the surface, revealing the ruins of ancient Kunlun City. Ji Fa confronted Zi Shou over his treatment of ancestral rites, and Nezha arrived to accuse him of crimes against Heaven.

• Ao Lie proposed using an eight-gate formation to find an exit, but Zi Shou led the group through a breach in the Palace wall.
• The Underground Palace rose aboveground, revealing an ancient city centered on the Emperor-Climbing Platform, which Shang Rong identified as Kunlun City.
• Ji Fa arrived alone, paid his respects to Zi Shou, and accused him of disrespecting the ancestors through altered sacrifices, relocated graves, and claims about sage kings Yao and Shun.
• Zi Shou challenged Ji Fa to propose a remedy, while Ji Fa privately planned to use his growing forces to contend with Great Shang.
• Nezha flew in on his Wind-Fire Wheels, brandished his Fire-Tipped Spear, and demanded that Zi Shou confess his guilt.

Nezha used his magic to intimidate King Zhou’s army and pressed him to confess his guilt and surrender to Zhou. Ji Fa’s accusations weakened the soldiers’ loyalty, while Ao Lie’s attack on Nezha ended in a swift defeat.

• Nezha set fires with the Fire-Tipped Spear and declared that Heaven’s mandate favored Zhou, alarming Chao Tian and the army.
• Ao Lie charged Nezha to avenge Ao Bing, but Nezha struck him down with the Universe-Connecting Silk and injured him badly.
• Nezha threatened King Zhou and claimed he could defeat the 180,000 soldiers alone, while Zi Shou silently dismissed the threat as intimidation.
• Ji Fa repeated his accusations against King Zhou, causing the army’s soldiers to doubt their ruler and consider surrender desirable.
• Nezha offered King Zhou’s descendants Chaoge as a fief if King Zhou confessed and took his own life, while the Dare-to-Bear Army remained the Slave Army’s only truly useful force.

As Taiyi Zhenren and Juliusun watched, Nezha denounced Zi Shou and demanded that he admit his guilt. Zi Shou rejected Heaven’s mandate and used Great Shang’s fortune-anchoring cauldron to strip Nezha of his cultivation, then ordered his forces back to court.

• Taiyi Zhenren and Juliusun dismissed King Zhou’s resistance and expected Shang’s fall to fulfill Heaven’s mandate.
• Shang Rong and Chao Tian urged Zi Shou to withdraw rather than confront Nezha and Ji Fa.
• Zi Shou accepted Nezha’s accusations in defiant terms, saying he would cling to evil without repentance and blame Heaven for the world’s troubles.
• Taiyi Zhenren and Juliusun left, while Nezha and Ji Fa took Zi Shou’s words as signs that he had alienated the nobles.
• Zi Shou raised Great Shang’s cauldron and declared that he would intercept Heaven if it decreed Shang’s fall.
• The cauldron’s power stripped Nezha of his cultivation, and Zi Shou ordered his forces back to court.

Zi Shou used the Human Race’s fortune to strip Nezha of his magical power, then captured him with Chi You’s ancient firearms. Afterward, Zi Shou warned Ji Fa that he would pay homage at Kunlun City’s Emperor-Climbing Platform next April, leaving Ji Fa to consider Great Shang’s newly discovered weapons and his own secret plans.

• Zi Shou’s command sent him fleeing, while Ji Fa and the others watched in shock as Nezha lost his magical power.
• Yin Pobai appeared with Bai Jian and fired a cannon at Nezha, then the Royal Guards joined in with Chi You’s firearms.
• Zi Shou took a cannon and shot Nezha, who protested that he was Lingzhuzi reincarnated and a disciple of the Chan Sect before the blasts knocked him unconscious.
• Ji Fa realized Chi You’s weapons could give Great Shang a decisive advantage and secretly touched the ring holding Jiang Ziya’s primordial spirit.
• Zi Shou put Nezha in the great cauldron and told Ji Fa he would pay homage at Kunlun City’s Emperor-Climbing Platform next April before departing in the Imperial Carriage.

While Zi Shou was still returning to Chaoge, Zhang San rushed his fainted wife to a physician and learned she was probably pregnant. He celebrated the news, unaware that the old physician believed the child was not necessarily his.

• Zhang San's wife fainted while pounding rice at home, and Li Si's wife alerted Zhang San in the fields.
• Zhang San took his wife to Chaoge for treatment, but the crowded Medical Academy sent him to a small clinic.
• The old physician examined Zhang San's wife and said her symptoms and slippery pulse made pregnancy highly likely.
• Zhang San rejoiced at the prospect of having a child, while the physician withheld his suspicion that the child might not be his.

Chong Houhu interpreted the sudden rise in pregnancies as a consequence of King Zhou’s circumcision policy, Little Liu Bei books, and troop demobilization, then argued that the resulting children could weaken rival noble clans and build ties to Chaoge. As the 180,000-strong army approached Chaoge, Zi Shou felt an inexplicable sense of dread.

• A clinic physician reported that unusually many women were seeking treatment for pregnancy, but Chong Houhu initially told him to keep treating patients and conceal the matter.
• Chong Houhu visited You Hun, who confirmed that he and Fei Zhong had suppressed news of the pregnancies until King Zhou returned.
• At the Medical Academy, Qian Bao confirmed the pregnancy surge but explained that circumcision did not increase fertility, prompting Chong Houhu to reconsider his theory.
• Chong Houhu linked the pregnancies to Little Liu Bei, increased intercourse after circumcision, and demobilized soldiers starting families, then persuaded You Hun and Qian Bao that these effects served King Zhou’s purposes.
• Chong Houhu argued that children born to Chaoge women and visiting nobles could divide powerful clans or create future ties to Great Shang.
• The 180,000-strong army neared Chaoge, Nezha remained in the cauldron, and Zi Shou sensed that he was approaching danger.

Elder Si learned that four women in the impoverished Si family were likely pregnant and decided they would welcome King Zhou to thank him for allowing the family line to continue. On the road back to Chaoge, Zi Shou learned that women throughout the city had become pregnant after undergoing circumcision, and he broke down as officials credited him with the population boom.

• Elder Si learned that four women in the Si family were likely pregnant and resolved to protect the unborn children despite the family’s poverty.
• Elder Si and the pregnant women prepared to welcome King Zhou, while officials and crowds gathered outside Chaoge to celebrate the pregnancies.
• You Hun met Zi Shou on the road and reported that women across Chaoge, including those previously considered infertile, had conceived.
• You Hun attributed the pregnancies to the circumcision Zi Shou had promoted, and Zi Shou unsuccessfully tried to give the credit to Grandee Qian and the surgeons.
• Zi Shou wept as You Hun said the pregnant women and officials were waiting to welcome him, then asked whether the palace consorts were pregnant and learned they were not.

Zi Shou tried to rig the first Civil Service Examinations to recruit obedient, mediocre officials, but Li Ye and the other candidates gave persuasive reasons for their answers, and the ministers praised Zi Shou’s plan as wise. Zi Shou accepted the new officials and pinned his hopes on the upcoming Martial Civil Service Examinations.

• Zi Shou revised the examination plan by publishing the questions and answers and adding multiple-choice questions designed to screen out self-sacrificing officials.
• Fei Zhong discovered the questions and answers in the official newspaper, then concluded that publishing them ensured fairness and selected steady candidates.
• Candidates took the three-day examination, and 430 Provincial Graduates entered the Palace Examination in Chaoge.
• Zi Shou questioned Li Ye, who defended every answer with practical reasoning that undermined Zi Shou’s intended screening criteria.
• Fei Zhong and the ministers praised Zi Shou for supposedly selecting practical officials and rejecting those who sought empty fame.
• Zi Shou realized he could not dismiss candidates he had personally selected and decided the upcoming Martial Civil Service Examinations would go better.

Zi Shou changed the martial examinations to favor tests of physical strength, while using civil examination questions to screen candidates. Gao Jieneng passed the written test and martial rounds through Fei Zhong’s secret intervention, and the chapter left him facing Wei Ben in the final matches as spectators bet on the outcome.

• Zi Shou replaced military strategy and formations with strength and archery tests, made Fei Zhong chief examiner, and required candidates to pass a civil-style written screening test.
• Gao Jieneng attended the examination despite expecting to fail, while Gao Lanying urged him to earn his place through the tests.
• Fei Zhong secretly replaced Gao Jieneng’s blank paper with model answers because Zi Shou had designated him the Martial Top Scholar.
• Gao Jieneng passed the written examination in first place and earned the best marks in all three martial rounds.
• Gao Jieneng and Wei Ben entered the paired fighting round as spectators favored Wei Ben in their bets.

Zi Shou named Gao Jieneng the military Top Scholar despite Wei Ben’s superior performance, then declared that every warrior had to learn the Ten-Thousand Dance before entering the army. Fei Zhong interpreted the dance as a pledge of loyalty to the sovereign, easing the candidates’ objections and leaving them considering whether to learn it.

• Wei Ben outperformed Gao Jieneng in the military examination’s strength and archery trials, but Gao defeated him after Wei Ben’s bronze saber broke.
• Fei Zhong declared Gao Jieneng the winner of all three rounds, and Zi Shou confirmed him as military Top Scholar amid the crowd’s protests.
• Zi Shou announced that no successful candidates would be appointed until they learned the Ten-Thousand Dance, then ordered Wu Long to demonstrate it.
• Fei Zhong linked the dance to the Shang ancestors and declared it a pledge of loyalty to the sovereign.
• The candidates accepted that loyalty mattered for military service and reconsidered learning the dance, while Zi Shou wondered whether Fei Zhong’s explanation was true.

After the Martial Civil Service Examinations denied Wei Ben the Martial Top Scholar title, he set out to take revenge on Fei Zhong before leaving Chaoge. Fei Zhong met him on the road and persuaded him to visit the Prince of Jin’s Residence, where Chong Houhu might explain King Zhou’s intentions.

• Wei Ben brooded over losing the Martial Top Scholar title and decided to confront Fei Zhong before leaving Chaoge.
• Fei Zhong, fearing Wei Ben’s revenge, disguised himself with pig’s blood and thorns and rode toward Wei Ben’s Temporary Residence.
• Wei Ben mistook Fei Zhong for someone pursuing him and fled, while Fei Zhong chased after him on horseback.
• Wei Ben stopped Fei Zhong and prepared to beat him, but noticed the blood and heard Fei Zhong claim he had come bearing thorns to beg forgiveness.
• Fei Zhong urged Wei Ben to go with him to the Prince of Jin’s Residence so Chong Houhu could interpret King Zhou’s intentions.

Chong Houhu explained to Wei Ben that King Zhou had publicized the military examination scandal to make him a suitable, renowned leader for Liangshan. Wei Ben left for Liangshan to become its Bandit King, while Zi Shou continued dreaming about the coming wool-sweater profits.

• Wei Ben and Fei Zhong visited Chong Houhu, who challenged Wei Ben to consider why King Zhou had allowed the military examination controversy to spread.
• Chong Houhu argued that the scandal had made Wei Ben famous and revealed that King Zhou intended him to lead Liangshan as the Bandit King.
• Chong Houhu explained that Liangshan was meant to protect the people and remain independent of Great Shang, even if the dynasty fell.
• Wei Ben accepted the explanation enough to leave for Liangshan beneath the stars, while Fei Zhong resolved to keep relying on King Zhou.
• Chong Houhu lamented that war harmed the people, while Zi Shou slept and dreamed of sheep eating people.

Zi Shou encouraged the nobles to lease commoners’ land while secretly sending Li Jing and the Ministry of Punishments to investigate their abuses and arrest offenders. After learning that a monster’s assassination attempt stemmed from the shrinking habitats caused by hunting, Zi Shou considered changing his approach to relations between humans and monsters; the chapter ended as he arrived at the Ministry of Punishments during an argument between Li Jing and Li Sui.

• Zi Shou refused to lease court fields to the nobles but gave their representatives land registers and publicly encouraged them to lease fields from commoners.
• Zi Shou spoke with Daji about the nobles, the snake monster who had tried to assassinate him, and the conflict caused by the Hunting Team’s encroachment on monster habitats.
• Daji explained that rumors of monsters harming people made peaceful relations between humans and monsters difficult, and Zi Shou resolved to reconsider his policies on hunting and coexistence.
• Li Jing and the Ministry of Punishments investigated land leases, arrested nobles and their servants, and brought many suspects to Yuan Prison.
• Yao Qi fled west toward Li City to escape arrest over his land-leasing schemes.
• Zi Shou visited the Ministry of Punishments and found Li Jing arguing with the literary examination’s Top Scholar, Li Sui.

Zi Shou established the Court of Judicial Review to share oversight of criminal cases with the Ministry of Punishments and appointed Li Sui as its minister. He sent Li Sui to investigate claims of wrongful convictions in Yuan Prison, expecting him to find nothing and lose credibility.

• Li Jing told Zi Shou that a noble had committed suicide in Yuan Prison and that Li Sui had accused the Ministry of Punishments of coercive interrogation.
• Zi Shou praised Li Sui for defending possibly wronged prisoners, then argued that the nobles’ unrest and the risk of unjust sentences needed to be addressed.
• Zi Shou created the Court of Judicial Review, expanded the Censorate’s supervisory duties, and appointed Li Sui to lead the new court and review capital cases jointly with the Ministry of Punishments.
• Li Jing accepted the division of authority, believing that cross-review would reduce wrongful convictions and ease the burden on the Ministry of Punishments.
• Zi Shou ordered Li Sui to search Yuan Prison for wrongfully convicted prisoners, privately expecting the investigation to find no problems and undermine Li Sui’s reputation.

At court, Shang Rong reported that Hou Yan of Li Commandery had condemned King Zhou’s punishments of nobles. Zi Shou rejected calls for caution and insisted on reprimanding Hou Yan and possibly sending troops, leaving the ministers opposed to his aggressive course.

• Shang Rong reported that Hou Yan had submitted a memorial denouncing the punishment of nobles and warning of its harm.
• The ministers recognized that the Hou clan’s wealth, troops, and influence made Li Commandery a serious concern.
• Shang Rong and Yang Ren urged Zi Shou to investigate or act gradually rather than punish Hou Yan over his memorial.
• Zi Shou declared that Hou Yan would be reprimanded and could be arrested with Jiang Wenhuan’s help if he refused to submit.
• Zi Shou defended the new law as the foundation of the state, while the ministers remained silent and opposed to his plan.

Li Sui proposed publishing the dispute over punishing the nobles in newspapers, arguing that public discussion would reveal the truth, but the court postponed the idea. Zi Shou sent him to Li Commandery to confront Hou Yan, expecting Li Sui’s inexperience to make the mission fail.

• Li Jing argued that Hou Yan’s memorial did not justify sending troops and urged Zi Shou to balance strict punishment with reassurance.
• Li Sui proposed airing the dispute in newspapers, insisting the court had nothing to fear if its actions were lawful.
• The ministers debated without reaching a decision, and Zi Shou continued to insist that Hou Yan be held accountable.
• Zi Shou privately tasked Li Sui with going alone to Li Commandery to rebuke Hou Yan and decide whether to charge him, giving him the Dark Phoenix Jade Pendant and authority to mobilize troops.
• Li Sui accepted the mission and was ordered to leave that night, while Zi Shou expected the nobles to outmaneuver him and send him back empty-handed.

Yao Qi found comfort and profit in Li City after giving the Hou Family the methods for producing Wool Sweaters. Hou Yan grew wealthy and planned to expand his grazing lands, while Ehe continued pressing him to persuade Jiang Wenhuan to send troops against the Qiang.

• Yao Qi settled into a comfortable life in Li City and saw how Qiang sheep, plentiful pasture, and Qiang herders made Wool Sweater production highly profitable.
• Yao Qi gave Hou Yan the methods for spinning wool and making Wool Sweaters in exchange for the Hou Family's protection, and the family quickly grew rich.
• Hou Yan renovated his residence, bought lavish carriages, and planned to seize more grazing land if King Zhou eased restrictions on nobles leasing land.
• Ehe visited Hou Yan and continued asking him to persuade Jiang Wenhuan to send troops against the Qiang.
• Hou Yan dismissed Ehe's request, confident that Li Commandery lacked the provisions needed for a military campaign and unconcerned about an imperial envoy's arrival.

Li Sui confronted Li Commandery’s nobles over their objections to the New Law, then focused on Yao Qi, a surviving member of the Yao family involved in land enclosures. To save himself, Yao Qi urged Li Sui to launch a campaign against the Qiang, leaving the nobles and the envoy facing an unexpected proposal.

• Li Sui met Hou Yan and the other nobles, praised their governance, and quickly challenged their claim that the New Law’s punishments were too harsh.
• Li Sui recognized Yao Qi and questioned him about his elder brother, who had died in Yuan Prison after claiming he was wronged.
• Yao Qi admitted that leasing land for sheep and Wool Sweater production was a mistake, then argued that the nobles should seize Qiang wool instead.
• Yao Qi claimed that Bo Yikao’s rise as King of the Qiang made the Qiang a threat and urged Li Sui to authorize a campaign against them.
• Yao Qi hoped the proposed campaign would divert Li Sui from arresting him and enlist the nobles’ private soldiers, money, and provisions.