Chapter Summaries

High Person Clear Void evacuated the spectators as Jun Wuhui and the Black-Clad Strongman prepared to clash. Li Chen intervened and effortlessly struck both fighters away, leaving the battle’s outcome uncertain.

• High Person Clear Void ordered the crowd to flee and threw Fang Shichuan into the distance, then assigned him a hundred thousand talismans to draw.
• Jun Wuhui and the Black-Clad Strongman gathered their power as Hong Qingshu and Xi Yushuang watched from afar.
• Li Chen appeared between the two charging fighters, and Jun Wuhui thrust his sword at him.
• Li Chen slapped Jun Wuhui into a ruined peak two thousand meters away.
• Li Chen punched through the Black-Clad Strongman’s blood crane and sent him flying backward as the crane shattered.

Li Chen effortlessly defeated two peak Saint Realm experts, revealing himself as the reigning Human Emperor and leaving the crowd and Yu Jing’s women in awe. He ordered High Person Clear Void to bring the defeated experts before him, while they struggled to accept how thoroughly he had surpassed them.

• Li Chen emerged unscathed from the explosion, and the crowd mistook him for an immortal until Fang Shichuan identified him as the Human Emperor of the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty.
• An onlooker began breaking through toward the Saint Realm after recalling Li Chen’s fighting techniques, while Yu Jing and the women of Autumn Moon Manor arrived and admired Li Chen.
• Lü Shanshan and the other women thanked Yu Jing for arranging their connection to Li Chen, kneeling and asking to become her adopted daughters.
• High Person Clear Void returned and praised Li Chen at length before Li Chen ordered him to fetch the two defeated experts.
• High Person Clear Void brought the two peak Saint Realm experts to Li Chen’s feet, and they blamed the world for making his strength seem impossible.

Li Chen stopped Jun Wuhui and Mu Wanshi’s duel and ordered them imprisoned under the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty’s environmental protection law for the damage they caused. As the crowd reacted and Luo Zixi and Luo Jiazhi worried about their children’s fathers, Luo Qimeng recognized the white-robed Jun Wuhui.

• Mu Wanshi and Jun Wuhui rose after Li Chen defeated them, exchanged introductions, and prepared to leave.
• Li Chen asked High Person Clear Void about laws governing battles, then ordered him to enforce the law against Mu Wanshi and Jun Wuhui for the damage their fight caused.
• High Person Clear Void escorted the two Saint Realm experts away, while the spectators were astonished that they would be imprisoned.
• Luo Zixi and Luo Jiazhi worried about their children’s fathers, while Luo Qimeng teased them for having urged them to serve Li Chen.
• Luo Qimeng looked at the white-robed man being escorted away and recognized him as Jun Wuhui.

Luo Qimeng teased Luo Zixi and Luo Jiazhi about their husbands before Qiu Qingxia found the unconscious Jun Zhantian and brought him back. Meanwhile, two nervous disciples guarded Jun Zhantian and Mu Wanshi in the Jade Void Immortal Manor dungeon.

• Luo Qimeng guessed that His Majesty had beaten Luo Zixi's husband, then realized Luo Jiazhi also had a mysterious husband and laughed at both sisters.
• Luo Zixi and Luo Jiazhi tickled Luo Qimeng before the sisters prepared to return to Hongmen Mountain Villa.
• Qiu Qingxia searched for Jun Zhantian, found him unconscious in a mountain hollow, and carried him back to Luo Zixi and the others.
• Luo Zixi took Jun Zhantian from Qiu Qingxia and led the group away.
• Two disciples nervously guarded Jun Zhantian and Mu Wanshi in the Jade Void Immortal Manor dungeon, fearing the prisoners' power.

Disciples of the Jade Void Immortal Manor exaggerated how close they had stood to Li Chen during the battle between two Saint Realm experts, angering Fang Shichuan when their boasts surpassed his. Meanwhile, High Person Clear Void learned that Hong Qingshu and Xi Yushuang had come to visit, and recognized the Jade Pendant Hong Qingshu sent as the token he had once given his lifesaving benefactor.

• Square-Faced told two junior disciples that he had watched the Saint Realm battle from five hundred meters away, and they later spread even more extravagant claims about their own proximity to Li Chen.
• Fang Shichuan grew furious when disciples claimed they had stood closer than he had and beat up those who bragged ahead of him.
• A disciple told High Person Clear Void that Hong Qingshu and Xi Yushuang had arrived and presented him with a Jade Pendant.
• High Person Clear Void recalled giving the pendant to the woman who had saved his life decades earlier, then ordered the visitors admitted.
• Hong Qingshu and Xi Yushuang entered the Main Hall, where the Bearded Elder and the other elders greeted them with adoration.

Hong Qingshu asked High Person Clear Void to release Jun Wuhui, but he said only Li Chen could decide. At Autumn Moon Manor, Li Chen indulged the women’s efforts to please him, then transformed Yu Jing’s hairpin into a spirit treasure and gave it to her.

• Hong Qingshu asked High Person Clear Void to release Jun Wuhui, and he said he could not overrule Li Chen’s decision.
• Lü Shanshan, the younger Mo Yan'er, and Liu Yu each tried to impress Li Chen with their talents.
• Yu Jing waited for the women’s performance to end, then told Li Chen that the evening banquet was ready.
• Li Chen ordered the food brought to the courtyard and ate while Yu Jing attended to him.
• Li Chen stroked Yu Jing’s hairpin until it became a spirit treasure, then confirmed she could keep it.

Hong Qingshu and Xi Yushuang visited Yu Jing at Autumn Moon Manor to seek an audience with Li Chen and plead for Jun Wuhui’s release. Yu Jing suggested that offering themselves to Li Chen might be their only way to persuade him, and they left without agreeing to do so.

• Hong Qingshu and Xi Yushuang found Autumn Moon Manor crowded with Western Region leaders seeking ties to Li Chen and went to the back entrance to visit Yu Jing.
• Yu Jing welcomed her old friends, and Hong Qingshu explained that they wanted Li Chen to pardon Jun Wuhui, the Divine Son of Jun.
• Yu Jing agreed to announce them to Li Chen but asked what valuable treasures they could offer to persuade him.
• When Xi Yushuang asked what Li Chen liked, Yu Jing hinted that the two women might appeal to his taste for beautiful women in his harem.
• Hong Qingshu and Xi Yushuang left without accepting Yu Jing’s suggestion, and Yu Jing remarked that Jun Wuhui did not return their devotion.

Xi Yushuang and Hong Qingshu visited Jun Wuhui in prison, where he urged them to pay whatever price was needed to free him. They sought Yu Jing’s help in gaining an audience with the Human Emperor, and she offered them revealing gauze garments to wear.

• Xi Yushuang and Hong Qingshu visited Jun Wuhui, who encouraged them to boldly make the sacrifice needed to secure his release and promised to repay them.
• After leaving the prison, Xi Yushuang and Hong Qingshu agreed to seek help from their families before deciding what to do.
• Xi Yushuang and Hong Qingshu separately went to Autumn Moon Manor to ask Yu Jing for a chance to gain the Human Emperor’s favor.
• Yu Jing told the two women their outfits were unsuitable and led them to a side courtyard.
• Yu Jing produced two sheer gauze garments, and Xi Yushuang blushed at the thought of wearing them.

Luo Jiazhi and Luo Xi visited the imprisoned Mu Wanshi, who asked his wife to seek a sentence reduction from Li Chen. At Autumn Moon Manor, they joined Xi Yushuang and Hong Qingshu in competing to please Li Chen.

• Luo Jiazhi and Luo Xi went to the Jade Void Immortal Manor to visit Mu Wanshi, using Luo Xi's status as Li Chen's consort to gain entry.
• Mu Wanshi reunited with Luo Jiazhi and Luo Xi, felt guilty for abandoning them, and asked Luo Jiazhi to offer Li Chen gifts in hopes of shortening his sentence.
• Luo Jiazhi agreed to approach Li Chen, while she and Luo Xi wondered how Xi Yushuang and Hong Qingshu had won Jun Wuhui a reduced sentence.
• At Autumn Moon Manor, Luo Jiazhi and Luo Xi learned that Xi Yushuang and Hong Qingshu had been attending to Li Chen and joined them in competing to please him.

Mu Wanshi and Jun Wuhui competed over sentence reductions while Li Chen finalized the rebuilding of Luo Water Manor and prepared to return to the Imperial Capital. There, Wei Manying managed rival suitors as Xu Zifeng tried to prove himself useful amid rising tensions with the Southern Kingdoms.

• Luo Xi visited Mu Wanshi with news that his sentence had been reduced by a year, and he smugly compared his success with Jun Wuhui's.
• Xi Yushuang and Hong Qingshu arranged another year off Jun Wuhui's sentence, but Li Chen ultimately limited both men's sentences to one year.
• Luo Qimeng completed the rebuilt Luo Water Manor with help from Hongmen Mountain Villa and gifts from regional clans, while the three Luo sisters celebrated their family's new standing.
• Li Chen left for the palace with Lü Shanshan, Mo Yan'er, Xi Yushuang, and Hong Qingshu, while the Imperial Capital's political undercurrents continued in his absence.
• Wei Manying urged Wei Manping to hurry in her efforts against Li Chen, while Xiao Ming, Lin Mo, and Fang Qian competed for Wei Manying's attention.
• Xu Zifeng began stopping Xiao Ming and Fang Qian from fighting after Guo Poyun hinted that he needed to earn Li Chen's approval before a possible war with the Southern Kingdoms.

Wei Manping learned from Jiang Rong that rising prices in the Southern Kingdoms threatened the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty’s trade, and she planned to use the issue to win Li Chen’s favor. Meanwhile, Li Chen returned to the palace to face piles of memorials.

• Wei Manying met with Xiao Ming while Wei Manping returned to the Imperial Palace.
• Wei Manping visited Jiang Rong and helped review ledgers showing that nearby countries had raised trade prices by more than thirty percent.
• Jiang Rong explained that pressure from the Eternal Day Empire could disrupt trade routes, and Wei Manping trusted Li Chen to resolve the problem.
• Jiang Rong and Wei Manping prepared to welcome Li Chen, mindful of the Empress Dowager’s strict expectations.
• Wei Manping decided Wei Manying could use the Wei Family’s Southland businesses to help address the trade problem and gain Li Chen’s favor.
• Li Chen returned to the palace and saw the towering piles of memorials awaiting him.

Li Chen confronted envoys from the Southern Kingdoms who sought benefits in exchange for their allegiance, and he refused to buy their support. He left the court debating his hard line, insisting that the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty would secure obedience through fear and reverence rather than gifts.

• Li Chen reviewed a large backlog of memorials and learned that affairs involving the Southern Kingdoms had increased.
• At court, Li Chen received envoys from more than a dozen Southern Kingdoms, who conveyed their rulers’ greetings and sought to learn what benefits he would offer.
• Li Chen told the envoys their greatest benefit would be that he would not destroy their countries if they obeyed him, frightening them into retreat.
• Liu Minghan warned that Li Chen’s hard line could bring trouble, while the Minister of War said the Southern Army Corps stood ready to strike.
• Li Chen argued that allies bought with handouts could not be trusted and declared that he wanted the Southern Kingdoms to fear and revere the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty.

After court, Li Chen heard Zhu Zhuying plead for mercy for the Starfall Kingdom and considered requests from Ji Lianyu and the Princess of the South on Xu Zifeng’s behalf. The chapter left him considering whether the Southern Kingdoms could be undermined from within.

• Zhu Zhuying told Li Chen that the Starfall Kingdom’s king had acted alone and asked permission to write home and persuade its ministers to correct his course.
• Li Chen said he would decide what to do about the Starfall Kingdom, and Zhu Zhuying left without pressing him further.
• Ji Lianyu asked Li Chen to help Xu Zifeng, while the Princess of the South asked him to let her son join the campaign.
• Li Chen said he would consider the request but wanted to review Xu Zifeng’s recent performance first.
• After the women left, Li Chen considered using the Southern Kingdoms’ internal divisions against them.

Li Chen summoned Xu Zifeng and took him on an outing to assess his conduct and introduce him to an important minister. Xu Zifeng realized Li Chen was parading him before influential officials, leaving him anxious about how the emperor would judge him.

• Li Chen ordered Eunuch Cui to summon Xu Zifeng, while Xu anxiously awaited word about his chance to join the southern campaign.
• Xu Zifeng received an imperial edict summoning him to Li Chen, and his mother and aunt urged him to behave carefully.
• Li Chen questioned Xu Zifeng about returning south and his reputation, then took him outside the palace.
• At the Ministry of Sect Affairs, Lin Yue'e praised Xu Zifeng's recent improvement after listing his past misdeeds.
• Xu Zifeng realized Li Chen had brought him along to parade him before important ministers.

Li Chen took Xu Zifeng on a tour of the ministries, where officials exposed his many past misdeeds and one military officer praised his battle record. Xu Zifeng returned home unsure whether he would be allowed to join the Southland expedition, while Ji Lianyu believed Li Chen was testing him.

• Li Chen visited the Ministry of Sect Affairs with Xu Zifeng, then heard lukewarm assessments of Xu from officials at the Ministry of Rites.
• Pang Jin listed Xu Zifeng’s past offenses at the Ministry of Justice, and Xu knelt to admit his wrongdoing.
• Officials at the Ministry of Revenue recounted the damage Xu had caused, while Lin Mo could only describe him as strong at the Ministry of Works.
• Fang Qian detailed Xu’s misconduct at the Ministry of Personnel, and Li Chen praised Fang’s attention to detail without addressing Xu.
• Wu Qi praised Xu’s military achievements at the Ministry of War, but Li Chen left without saying whether Xu could join the expedition.
• Xu returned home unable to explain Li Chen’s intentions, and Ji Lianyu said Li Chen might be testing Xu’s character.

Xu Zifeng received orders to lead cavalry south at a deliberately slow pace, while Li Chen investigated the Yin-Yang Gu and considered visiting the Southern Kingdoms. In the Starfall Kingdom, Dai Wuchang rejected Zhu Zhuying’s appeal and favored an alliance with the Eternal Day Empire despite his chancellor’s warning.

• Xu Zifeng received an imperial edict ordering him to lead three hundred thousand cavalry south in three days and advance one thousand meters each day, and Ji Lianyu explained that the march was meant to pressure the Southern Kingdoms.
• Li Chen received rewards for completing the Luo Water Orphan mission and gave the Thunder Marrow Pills and Thunderclap Bracelet to Li Sining, who then went into seclusion.
• Li Chen asked Ma Hei about the Yin-Yang Gu, and Ma Hei said it was buried near the Witch Gu Holy Land with its creator.
• Li Chen decided to investigate the Southern Kingdoms and summoned Noble Consort Zhu, who had grown up in the region.
• Dai Wuchang heard Zhu Zhuying’s letter proposing an alliance with the Heavenly Strategy Empire, but dismissed it and favored the Eternal Day Empire’s offer to station troops in the Starfall Empire.

Dai Xiaoyao tried to find a way for the Starfall Kingdom to secure the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty’s favor, despite his brother Dai Wuchang choosing to ally with the Eternal Day Empire. He visited Zhu Yingxiong to discuss the matter, leaving their conversation about to begin in private.

• Dai Wuchang dismissed his ministers’ objections and committed to seeking the Eternal Day Empire’s support, while Dai Xiaoyao stayed silent about the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty’s strength.
• Dai Xiaoyao consulted trusted ministers, and Minister Liu suggested using Zhu Yingxiong to improve relations with the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty through Zhu Zhuying.
• Dai Xiaoyao accepted the suggestion and went to the Zhu residence, setting aside his personal humiliation for the sake of the Starfall Kingdom.
• Zhu Yingxiong recalled his dispute with Dai Wuchang over the Eternal Day Empire’s garrison and received Dai Xiaoyao in his home.
• Dai Xiaoyao asked Zhu Yingxiong to speak privately, and Zhu Yingxiong led him into an inner room.

Dai Xiaoyao persuaded Zhu Yingxiong to secretly contact the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty, hoping to save the Starfall Kingdom from war. As Yun Xu led the Southern Expedition with Xu Zifeng as vanguard, the army advanced unopposed while Xu Zifeng kept his distance from his father, the Prince of the South.

• Dai Xiaoyao begged Zhu Yingxiong to appeal to the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty through Noble Consort Zhu, and Zhu Yingxiong agreed to send a secret letter after recalling the Late Emperor's instructions.
• Dai Xiaoyao accepted that he might be branded a traitor if his plea could spare the people of Starfall Kingdom from war.
• Li Chen appointed Yun Xu to command the Southern Expeditionary Army, with Xu Zifeng serving as Vanguard General; Xu Zifeng resolved to follow the Emperor's orders exactly.
• The Prince of the South met Yun Xu at the border after seeing the Railway Trains deliver the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty's troops and supplies with striking efficiency.
• Xu Zifeng formally greeted his father as the Prince of the South, then departed without lingering, while Yun Xu declined the Prince's offer of assistance.
• Xu Zifeng followed Li Chen's orders by advancing one thousand meters and pitching camp, as the Southern Kingdoms' garrisons withdrew rather than obstruct the army.

The Heavenly Strategy Dynasty’s advance prompted Rode to overthrow his brother Roka after Roka imprisoned merchants from the dynasty. As Li Chen and Zhu Zhuying traveled toward the Starfall Kingdom, bandits blocked their road in the Tasha Kingdom.

• Qian Zaili refused to kneel to King Roka, so Roka ordered his guards to imprison the merchants from the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty.
• After the dynasty’s army crossed the border, Rode’s allies forced him to rebel, and he imprisoned Roka and freed Qian Zaili’s group.
• Rode apologized to Qian Zaili and gave the merchants gold, silver, and jewels at a banquet.
• Li Chen and Zhu Zhuying crossed the dynasty’s border and traveled toward the Starfall Kingdom, where bandits confronted them in the Tasha Kingdom.

Li Chen and Zhu Zhuying traveled through the impoverished Tasha Kingdom, where the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty’s reputation frightened off bandits. At the Cloud Arrival Pavilion in the prosperous Royal Capital, they learned that the powerful Zhao Lineage outranked the local Imperial Clan, and its leader noticed Li Chen.

• Bandits surrounded Li Chen and Zhu Zhuying, but fled from confrontation after Li Chen said he came from the Imperial Capital of the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty.
• The bandit leader warned his men not to provoke anyone from the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty, unaware that Li Chen was its Emperor.
• Li Chen saw widespread poverty outside the Tasha Kingdom’s prosperous Royal Capital, where Zhu Zhuying explained the region’s wealth gap and its cultivators.
• At the Cloud Arrival Pavilion, Zhu Zhuying identified members of the Tasha Kingdom’s Imperial Clan and explained that the Zhao Lineage’s financial power placed it above them.
• The Zhao Lineage’s procession entered the inn, and its leader paused when he saw Li Chen.