Chapter Summaries

Li Chen brought He Ying and the women from the Eternal Day Empire to the Heavenly Strategy Imperial Palace, where they learned he was the emperor and settled into the harem. He returned to court, swiftly handled accumulated state affairs, and heard that the empire’s Floating Immortal Isles project had succeeded and was under construction.

• He Ying and the women from the Eternal Day Empire discovered that Li Chen was the emperor of Heavenly Strategy after the Imperial Guards welcomed him back to the palace.
• Ophelia advised the women to follow the identities Li Chen had assigned them and to observe quietly.
• He Ying reunited with her daughter Zhu Zhuying, who arranged nearby palace residences for her and the other newly arrived women.
• Li Chen reunited with He Ying and Zhu Zhuying in the palace chambers.
• Li Chen attended court the next morning and efficiently reviewed the accumulated memorials, silencing officials who had worried about his absence.
• Officials announced the successful Floating Immortal Isles project, whose rising islands would hold government offices, Royal Academy branches, and a new Imperial Harem district.

Li Chen received news that Charles had made his Cardinal Guard identity State Preceptor of Everlasting Day, then visited Li Sining, Consort Yi, and the Empress Dowager. The chapter ended with Li Chen massaging the Empress Dowager’s shoulders as she welcomed his attention.

• The Ministry of Works presented Li Chen with the Sky Throne, a powerful airborne warship.
• Li Chen learned that Charles had appointed the Cardinal Guard as State Preceptor and decided to watch the resulting conflict between Everlasting Day’s Imperial House and the Holy See.
• Li Chen checked Li Sining’s cultivation, rewarded her with a Heaven Grade Void-Breaking Pill and a Spatial Illusion Bell, and carried her to Consort Yi after she fell asleep.
• Li Chen stayed with Consort Yi in her bedchamber while Li Sining slept.
• Li Chen visited the Empress Dowager after her bath and began massaging her shoulders.

Li Chen dealt with the upheaval over his Cardinal Guard identity while the Pope named him First-in-Line Papal Heir, intensifying the struggle between the Holy See and the Imperial House. He explained the Pope’s political maneuver to Ophelia, then punished her for speaking out of turn.

• Li Chen massaged the Empress Dowager, left before crossing any boundaries, and later joined the Orchid Fairy, the Princess of the South, and He Ying in roleplay.
• Charles’s appointment of the Cardinal Guard as State Preceptor stirred political debate throughout the Eternal Day Empire, while Carlos asked Li Chen what to do.
• Li Chen told Carlos to stay hidden, improve his strength, and claim he had been an undercover agent acting on Li Chen’s orders if his past came to light.
• The Pope named the Cardinal Guard First-in-Line Papal Heir, shocking the Eternal Day Empire and further complicating the contest between the Holy See and Charles.
• Li Chen explained to Ophelia that the Pope was asserting the Holy See’s influence over the empire, then told her she would still be punished for speaking out of turn.
• Li Chen led an unclothed Ophelia through the Imperial Palace on a rope that night.

Li Chen received a quest to travel incognito to the northern border, serve with the First Army Group, earn military merit, and win veteran generals’ recognition. He set out with Tuoba Anyu, rejecting her plea to spare her son Tuoba Zhen and making clear that his decisions could not be swayed.

• Li Chen reviewed the Northern Frontier Tempering quest and decided to inspect the northern border and the Northern Tribes’ development.
• Li Chen visited Li Xueying in the Northern Garden and asked her to accompany him north, but she declined and recommended Tuoba Anyu as his guide.
• Li Chen summoned Tuoba Anyu, and the two spent time together before discussing the journey.
• Three days later, Li Chen left the Imperial Capital by Railway Train with Tuoba Anyu, who pleaded with him to recognize that her son Tuoba Zhen was not evil.
• Li Chen teased Tuoba Anyu but remained determined not to spare Tuoba Zhen, whom he considered a dangerous rival.

Li Chen and Tuoba Anyu arrived at Cold Iron Pass under assumed identities so Li Chen could experience life as an ordinary officer. After settling into their assigned residence, Li Chen reported to the garrison and met its commander and his new guide.

• Li Chen and Tuoba Anyu reached Cold Iron Pass and checked into an inn before reporting under the names Cheng Li and Anyu.
• Bater processed Li Chen’s transfer to the Third Garrison Battalion and assigned the couple a private courtyard.
• A clerk disparaged Li Chen as a privileged newcomer, but Bater warned him not to cause trouble with someone from the Imperial Capital.
• Tuoba Anyu tidied their new home and told Li Chen she had learned to manage household chores while raising her child alone.
• Li Chen inspected the disciplined military camp and met Garrison Commandant Zhou Meng, who assigned Feng Shuo to show him around.
• Feng Shuo welcomed Li Chen as a fellow Imperial Capital officer and complained about the cold and lack of entertainment at Cold Iron Pass.

Li Chen toured Cold Iron Pass with Feng Shuo and met Batu, his new captain in the Third Garrison Battalion. Over drinks, Batu explained the camp’s factional tensions and urged Li Chen and Feng Shuo to stay out of trouble, while both men quietly realized Li Chen was no ordinary officer.

• Feng Shuo showed Li Chen around Cold Iron Pass and explained the garrison battalion’s duties amid rising tensions with the Great Luo Dynasty.
• Feng Shuo introduced Li Chen to Batu, the Northern Tribes captain of the Third Garrison Battalion, who warmly welcomed them and offered to treat them at Northwind House.
• Batu told Li Chen and Feng Shuo that Commandant Zhou Meng and Military Supervisor Wang were at odds, dividing the garrison battalions into rival factions.
• Batu advised Li Chen and Feng Shuo to avoid taking sides and focus on staying safe until they could return to the Imperial Capital.
• Batu and Feng Shuo became drunk while Li Chen remained clear-eyed, leading them to conclude that he was no ordinary man.

Li Chen learned more about the rivalries within Cold Iron Pass and enjoyed Tuoba Anyu’s warm welcome at home. After arriving late to camp the next morning, he escaped punishment with Batu’s help and was assigned to inspect the South Gate.

• At the welcoming feast, Li Chen observed tensions between the commandant and military supervisor and the factions within the garrison.
• Li Chen returned to Tuoba Anyu, who had prepared food, hot water, and a warm bed for him.
• Military Supervisor Wang caught Li Chen arriving late, but Batu claimed he had sent him to investigate suspicious activity at Cloud Creek Ridge before dawn.
• Li Chen backed Batu’s explanation, and Military Supervisor Wang let him off with a warning.
• Batu reminded Li Chen to follow camp rules, then Li Chen went to assist with inspections at the South Gate.

Li Chen intervened when Chu Xiang assaulted a gate soldier, then used his authority as Commandant to arrest and punish him despite his ties to the Chu Lineage. The chapter ended with Chu Xiang beaten and bound while Chu Pengzhan watched, and the soldiers’ view of Li Chen changed.

• Chu Xiang slapped a gate soldier after guards demanded to inspect his carriage’s wooden chest.
• Li Chen approached and slapped Chu Xiang to the ground when Chu Xiang began cursing at him.
• Li Chen pinned Chu Xiang under his boot and dismissed Chu Pengzhan’s attempt to reason with him.
• Li Chen ordered the soldiers to arrest Chu Xiang and his guards under military law, threatening to kill anyone who resisted.
• Li Chen told the assaulted soldier to return the blow tenfold, and the soldier slapped Chu Xiang more than a dozen times.

Li Chen beat Chu Xiang and Chu Pengzhan after they challenged his authority, then inspected their carriage and ate some of its precious provisions. Back at camp, Batu offered to defend him, while Feng Shuo asked who was backing him; Li Chen said he had no backing.

• Li Chen had Chu Xiang and his guards taken away, earning the garrison soldiers’ respect for standing up for them.
• Chu Pengzhan tried to avoid an inspection, but Li Chen slapped him and ordered the chest on his carriage opened.
• Li Chen found delicacies in the chest, sampled the fruit and pastries, and let Chu Pengzhan proceed into Cold Iron Pass.
• Batu told Li Chen he would explain the incident to Military Supervisor Wang and stood by him as one of their own.
• Feng Shuo asked which powerful figure’s son Li Chen was, and Li Chen replied that he had no backing.

Chu Pengzhan demanded that Military Supervisor Wang and Zhou Meng punish Li Chen for humiliating Chu Xiang and destroying tribute goods meant for the palace. After the officers summoned Li Chen, he refused to come and continued celebrating at a tavern, where Chu Xiang and his injured guards arrived.

• Feng Shuo guessed that Li Chen was hiding powerful backing, and Li Chen played along.
• Chu Pengzhan hosted a banquet for Military Supervisor Wang and Zhou Meng, then demanded severe punishment for Li Chen and insisted the palace must receive an explanation for the ruined tribute goods.
• Wang and Zhou Meng agreed to investigate Li Chen and sent a guard to summon him after hours, but Li Chen refused to come.
• Li Chen drank and celebrated with Feng Shuo, Batu, and the soldiers who admired him, while Batu worried about the Chu Lineage's retaliation.
• Chu Xiang and his injured guards entered the tavern after Zhou Meng ordered their release.

Li Chen punished Chu Xiang for leaving the camp without his approval, then defied Zhou Meng and Military Supervisor Wang when they tried to release him. Unable to determine whether Li Chen had powerful backing, the two officials asked their superiors for instructions, while Li Chen remained frustrated by the lack of opportunities to earn military merit.

• Li Chen ordered his soldiers to beat Chu Xiang and his guards and send them back to prison, despite their claim that Commandant Zhou and Military Supervisor Wang had released them.
• Chu Pengzhan complained to Zhou Meng and Military Supervisor Wang, who promised to release Chu Xiang and confront Cheng Li.
• Chu Xiang begged to remain in his cell, and Li Chen refused to come when the officials summoned him, sending back an insulting message instead.
• Zhou Meng and Military Supervisor Wang investigated Cheng Li's file but found no evidence of powerful connections, so they decided to ask their superiors for guidance.
• Li Chen lay on his bed, displeased that the Great Luo Dynasty had caused no trouble and offered him no battles in which to earn military merit.

Li Chen learned about the expanding Great Luo Dynasty and began patrolling Cold Iron Pass, where he encountered a confrontation between Huyan Xun’s northern nobles and disciples of the Mount Sumeru Skyward Pavilion. When Huyan Xun ordered Li Chen around, someone slapped him before he could finish speaking.

• Tuoba Anyu described the Great Luo Dynasty’s people, harsh homeland, and recent territorial expansion to Li Chen.
• Li Chen arrived at the military camp and found that soldiers and officers treated him with awe after he had insulted Commandant Zhou and Military Supervisor Wang.
• Captain Batu assigned Li Chen a twenty-man patrol squad, and Li Chen patrolled Cold Iron Pass with them.
• Li Chen’s patrol found Huyan Xun and other northern nobles confronting the Mount Sumeru Skyward Pavilion after their horses nearly injured a disciple.
• Huyan Xun ordered Li Chen to summon his commandant and surround the sect’s disciples, but a sharp slap cut him off.

Li Chen punished Huyan Xun for nearly hitting a Mount Sumeru Skyward Pavilion disciple, then dismissed the sect’s offer of help. Huyan Xun’s guards reported the beating, while the Pavilion’s elder and disciples stayed in Cold Iron Pass in case Li Chen faced repercussions.

• Li Chen slapped Huyan Xun off his horse and ordered his soldiers to beat him for nearly colliding with a young woman from Mount Sumeru Skyward Pavilion.
• The young woman recounted the incident, and Li Chen’s soldiers admitted they had beaten Huyan Xun without asking for his account.
• Huyan Xun threatened Li Chen, who kicked him and ordered the soldiers to keep beating him until he was barely conscious.
• Chu Xiang saw Huyan Xun being taken through the prison and realized Li Chen’s earlier beatings of him had been merciful.
• Commandant Zhou and Military Supervisor Wang inspected Huyan Xun, while the Pavilion elder decided to keep his group in Cold Iron Pass to watch over Li Chen.
• Li Chen refused the young woman’s jade token and left with his patrol, unconcerned about Huyan Xun’s status or possible retaliation.

After Li Chen finished his patrol, Military Supervisor Wang backed down from reprimanding him and praised his handling of the incident. Li Chen and Feng Shuo went to the Entertainment Bureau to see the former sect Holy Maiden Lianxing, where an auction began for a meal with her and a hot-blooded young officer rose to his feet.

• Military Supervisor Wang changed his planned reprimand into praise after Li Chen gave him a cold look.
• Feng Shuo celebrated Li Chen's victories, while Batu worried that the Khan would retaliate over his nephew's beating.
• Feng Shuo invited Li Chen to the Entertainment Bureau to see its new attraction, Lianxing, and Batu declined to join them.
• Lianxing performed a song on the guqin, and the madam announced that the highest bidder could share a meal with her.
• Li Chen and Feng Shuo watched the bidding without participating, then a hot-blooded young officer stood up.

Li Chen attacked Han Zhen at the Entertainment Bureau, ordered Feng Shuo to beat him and imprison him, and rejected Miss Lianxing’s invitation. The chapter ended with Batu confronting Feng Shuo at the Military Camp Prison over the consequences of assaulting Grand General Han Wu’s son.

• Feng Shuo told Li Chen that Han Zhen was Grand General Han Wu’s spoiled son who avoided duty and regularly caused trouble.
• Li Chen kicked Han Zhen across the Entertainment Bureau and insulted him for being an uneducated son of Han Wu.
• Feng Shuo defeated Han Zhen’s attendants, then beat Han Zhen and took him to the Military Camp Prison on Li Chen’s orders.
• The madam offered Li Chen a private meeting with Miss Lianxing, but Li Chen dismissed the invitation and left as Miss Lianxing watched him.
• Batu saw Han Zhen in the prison and urgently asked Feng Shuo why he had dared to attack Han Wu’s son.

After Cheng Li beat Han Zhen and imprisoned him, powerful figures across the Northern Region reacted, while Li Chen remained untroubled. Huyan Lan marched toward Cold Iron Pass, and Han Wu sent Han Qi to invite Cheng Li to meet him as the chapter ended.

• Feng Shuo told Batu that Cheng Li had ordered Han Zhen beaten and imprisoned, and Military Supervisor Wang warned them to hold Cold Iron Pass and wait.
• The Mount Sumeru Skyward Pavilion elder advised Lü Mumu not to intervene because Cheng Li seemed confident he could face the powerful figures he had angered.
• Li Chen reflected that he had personally appointed Han Wu and felt justified in punishing Han Zhen, while Tuoba Anyu resolved to find him more consorts after enduring another difficult night.
• Huyan Lan learned that Cheng Li had beaten and imprisoned his nephew, then mustered his Personal Guards and set out for Cold Iron Pass.
• Han Wu ordered Han Qi to invite Cheng Li to meet him, cautioning his captain to be courteous because Cheng Li might have talent and backing.

Chu Ruoyan realized that the officer called Cheng Li was the emperor in disguise, and her father rushed to Cold Iron Pass to prevent the Chu family from worsening the offense. Meanwhile, Li Chen's reputation made the camp fear him, until he encountered Xu Zifeng's elite cavalry and a new confrontation seemed imminent.

• Chu Ruoyan recognized Cheng Li as Li Chen's favorite alias, and Chu Jingsong panicked over the danger to the Chu family.
• Chu Ruoyan warned Chu Jingsong not to expose Li Chen's identity, and he hurried toward Cold Iron Pass.
• Li Chen found the soldiers and officers unusually deferential, while Feng Shuo explained that his recent actions had frightened them.
• Li Chen led a routine patrol with Batu as a deferential subordinate.
• Xu Zifeng arrived at Cold Iron Pass with about five hundred battle-hardened cavalry, and his force met Li Chen's patrol as onlookers anticipated a clash.

Xu Zifeng recognized Li Chen during an incognito inspection at Cold Iron Pass and treated him with extreme deference. After hearing about the border clashes, Li Chen urged Xu to respond more aggressively to Great Luo’s incursions, and Xu believed he had understood the emperor’s plan to provoke a war.

• Xu Zifeng recognized Li Chen, hid his identity as emperor, and introduced himself as he reported on his recent battle with Great Luo cavalry.
• Xu Zifeng ordered his troops to settle in without disturbing civilians, while the soldiers at Cold Iron Pass wondered why he had bowed to Commandant Cheng.
• Xu Zifeng warned his deputy general not to pry about Li Chen, then changed into a plain officer’s uniform and waited for Li Chen to finish his shift.
• Li Chen recalled his Northern Frontier Tempering mission and questioned Xu about the recurring Great Luo raids along the border.
• Li Chen told Xu to pursue incursions deeper into Great Luo territory and retaliate heavily, while leaving no obvious grounds for complaint.
• Xu Zifeng concluded that Li Chen wanted to provoke a war while keeping the moral high ground and promised to handle it beautifully.

Li Chen met An Ling, the widowed proprietress of the Worry-Free Tavern, and visited her bustling establishment with Tuoba Anyu. As they enjoyed her wine, a rough-looking man and his attendants caused a commotion downstairs.

• Xu Zifeng left after discussing the growing possibility of war with Li Chen.
• Huyan Lan, Chu Jingsong, and Han Qi traveled by different routes toward Cold Iron Pass.
• Tuoba Anyu introduced Li Chen to An Ling, who explained her difficult past and praised his reputation as an officer.
• Li Chen asked An Ling about her business, and she urged him to avoid the supposedly powerful officer who had beaten the Khan's nephew.
• An Ling invited Li Chen and Tuoba Anyu to the Worry-Free Tavern, where she served them fine wine.
• A burly man entered the tavern with several fierce-looking attendants, stirring up a commotion.

Li Chen punished Zhou Liang after he tried to attack him at the tavern, and Zhou Liang’s cousin Zhou Meng hurried him into prison. Ren Ling learned that Li Chen was the feared Commandant Cheng and grew admiring of him, while Tuoba Anyu invited her to their home.

• Zhou Liang stormed into the tavern and tried to seize Li Chen, who struck him and knocked his attendants downstairs.
• Li Chen ordered Zhou Liang to report to the military prison, and Zhou Liang obeyed after recognizing his reputation.
• Zhou Meng realized Zhou Liang had offended Commandant Cheng and personally escorted him to a private cell.
• Ren Ling discovered that Li Chen was the Commandant she had been discussing and relaxed when he reassured her.
• Ren Ling admired Li Chen’s willingness to confront injustice, and Tuoba Anyu invited her to their home for more wine.