Chapter Summaries

Li Chen weighed a harsh policy toward the sects after capturing Heaven-Topping High Person and pressured Orchid Fairy to make the Heavenly Evolution Divine Sect submit. Meanwhile, Crown Princess Yun Shang plotted to win Li Chen’s favor, and Li Chen ended the chapter by inviting Wu Nanzhi to accompany him on official business after she asked for help securing Wu Qi’s post.

• Pang Jin and the ministers debated how to control the sects, while Li Chen kept his own plan to compel them to submit or face destruction.
• Li Chen threatened Orchid Fairy with the Heavenly Evolution Divine Sect’s destruction and demanded that it submit, then left her to consider his proposal.
• News of Heaven-Topping High Person’s defeat spread through the Imperial Capital, prompting Yun Shang to seek a way into Li Chen’s favor by offering him a woman from the Yun Family.
• Wu Nanzhi worried about Wu Qi’s struggle to secure a permanent Ministry of War post until Li Chen visited her and invited her to eat.
• Wu Nanzhi asked Li Chen to help Wu Qi, and Li Chen offered to take her with him on official business outside the city.

Li Chen persuaded Wu Nanzhi to join his mission against Extraterrestrial Demons, then forced the Saint Tiger to submit as his mount while enabling Wu Nanzhi to control it. Back in the Imperial Capital, Lin Yue'e continued her work at the County Yamen as Zou Yi visited to investigate Xu Zifeng, unaware that someone was watching him from the shadows.

• Wu Nanzhi agreed to accompany Li Chen on his mission after he offered to help her control the Saint Tiger.
• Li Chen released the Saint Tiger in the woods and subdued it with overwhelming divine might until it accepted him as its mount.
• Li Chen trained the Saint Tiger, returned it to Wu Nanzhi, and left her able to communicate with and command it.
• Lin Yue'e helped Minister of Justice Pang Jin transfer the Second Prince's imprisoned followers for investigation into his past crimes.
• Zou Yi visited Lin Yue'e, claiming he wanted to investigate Xu Zifeng and earn merit, while an unseen watcher fixed its attention on him.

Xiao Ming uncovered evidence that Li Yang was secretly funding a private army, then became jealous of the Empress Dowager’s nephew and planned to undermine him. Li Chen trained Lin Yue'e and received a secret offer of cooperation from the Ice Bear Tribe, which was willing to submit if his army spared its people.

• Xiao Ming traced a former Crown Prince retainer’s purchases of military supplies and suspected Li Yang was maintaining a private army.
• Xiao Ming followed Zou Yi to an inn, discovered a White Jade Coffin, and learned from the Saint Remnant Soul that it was a Life Coffin.
• Lin Yue'e told Xiao Ming that Zou Yi was the Empress Dowager’s nephew, and Xiao Ming decided to deal with him after reporting to Pang Jin.
• Li Chen gave Lin Yue'e the Sword Dao Demon-Slaying Formation and personally trained her in swordsmanship and cultivation.
• Waganbu, an envoy of the Ice Bear Tribe, asked Li Chen to spare his tribe in exchange for opening a passage and submitting to the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty.

Li Chen rejected Waganbu’s offer of cooperation and demanded that the Ice Bear Tribe prove its loyalty by attacking the Snow Eagle Tribe. Orchid Fairy proposed gaining control of the Nine Abyss Sacred Domain through four women, while Xu Zifeng prepared to head north under his father’s secret plans; the chapter ended as Liu Hao entered his worried father’s study.

• Li Chen insulted Waganbu’s proposed cooperation and ordered the Ice Bear Tribe to attack the Snow Eagle Tribe or face destruction.
• Waganbu left the palace to report Li Chen’s demand, while the Ice Bear Tribe’s envoy secured the Khan’s promise to send troops to help them resist the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty.
• Orchid Fairy offered to help Li Chen take control of the Heavenly Evolution Divine Sect and named Mu Qingrou, the Azure Nether Immortal Sect’s sect master’s wife, and the Spiritflame Dao Sect’s sect master’s daughter as the other three women he needed to win over.
• Li Chen agreed to Orchid Fairy’s plan and said they would visit the Heavenly Evolution Divine Sect in a few days.
• The Prince of the South urged Xu Zifeng to build his own military following in the north, while Guo Poyun planned how to use him without letting him grow too powerful; Xu Zifeng reassured Ji Lianyu before preparing to leave.
• Liu Hao went to his father’s study after being summoned and found him weighed down with worries.

Liu Hao received his father’s plan to take Xu Zifeng’s military credit, while Li Chen traveled with Wu Nanzhi to Falling Star Mountain and completed his mission by destroying the mountain with one attack. Li Chen returned to the Imperial Capital, leaving the townspeople to discover the destruction and struggle to believe what had happened.

• The Liu Family head told Liu Hao to cooperate with Xu Zifeng during the war, then accuse him of seeking power so Guo Poyun would remove him from command.
• Wu Qi celebrated his new post in the Ministry of War, unaware that Li Chen had arranged his appointment, and Li Chen set out with Wu Nanzhi for Falling Star Mountain.
• Li Chen and Wu Nanzhi encountered two hunters fighting a Corpse Ghoul, and Li Chen destroyed it with a snap of his fingers.
• After learning that monsters had grown stronger around Falling Star Mountain, Li Chen unleashed Heavenly Dao Golden Light and razed the mountain, completing his mission and killing the Demon Spirit there.
• Wu Nanzhi complained that Li Chen had defeated the Extraterrestrial Demon without her, while the hunters failed to convince the mayor of what they had witnessed.
• The mayor and townspeople went to inspect the devastation, but Li Chen had already returned to the Imperial Capital.

Li Chen prepared for the northern war, tested Atad’s willingness to aid the dynasty, and confronted Heaven-Topping High Person about Orchid Fairy’s plan to bring the Nine Abyss Sacred Domain under his control. The chapter ended with the Heavenly Evolution Divine Sect hearing that Heaven-Topping High Person had been captured.

• Li Chen reviewed his rewards and new academy mission, then allowed Ji Lianyu to stay in the palace while Xu Zifeng marched north.
• The Northern Court’s Khan accepted the declaration of war, and Guo Poyun prepared to lead the northern expedition.
• Zhou Ye offered Atad a chance to earn his release by sharing intelligence about the Northern Court, but Atad refused to betray it.
• Li Chen visited Heaven-Topping High Person in the Imperial Prison and revealed Orchid Fairy’s plan, convincing him that she might have betrayed him willingly.
• The Heavenly Evolution Divine Sect received a report that Heaven-Topping High Person had been defeated and captured near the Imperial Capital.

Orchid Fairy convened the Heavenly Evolution Divine Sect’s elders and persuaded them to seek peace with Li Chen after revealing Heaven-Topping High Person’s defeat and her own saint realm cultivation. She prepared to travel to the Imperial Capital with Ling Tian High Person and Moonlight Fairy, while Li Chen returned to the palace and received word that envoys from the Ice Bear Tribe wanted an audience.

• Li Chen and Orchid Fairy arrived at the Heavenly Evolution Divine Sect, and Orchid Fairy went to brief its elders while Li Chen returned to the Imperial Palace.
• Orchid Fairy revealed her saint realm cultivation and confirmed that Heaven-Topping High Person had been captured after secretly helping Li Xian seize the throne.
• The elders argued over rescuing Heaven-Topping High Person or confronting the imperial court, but an Intelligence Hall elder urged them to negotiate with Li Chen.
• Orchid Fairy persuaded the elders to contact the Nine Abyss Sacred Domain’s sects and personally visit the Imperial Capital to negotiate, with Ling Tian High Person and Moonlight Fairy accompanying her.
• Li Chen reviewed reports about the northern front, the Third Prince, and the Prince of the South before Eunuch Cui announced that people from the Ice Bear Tribe requested an audience.

Huyan Lan offered to serve Li Chen and claimed command of a hundred thousand Ice Bear tribesmen, but Li Chen required him to prove his usefulness first. Meanwhile, Li Sining’s description of Li Chen’s preferences led Yun Shang to think of Yun Yuehua, who arrived at the Crown Princess’s residence seeking help with the Heavenly Evolution Divine Sect’s crisis.

• Huyan Lan told Li Chen that he wanted to become king of the north and offered his army as an advance force against the Snow Eagle Tribe.
• Li Chen told Huyan Lan to accomplish something to prove his ability, then ordered Eunuch Cui to investigate his background.
• Li Sining complained to Consort Yi that she wanted to leave the palace and gain experience, but Consort Yi urged her to focus on cultivation.
• Consort Yi asked Li Sining what kind of woman Li Chen liked, and Li Sining described a beautiful, curvaceous woman with a gentle temperament.
• Yun Shang heard about Yun Yuehua and considered her a possible match for Li Chen before Yun Yuehua arrived to discuss the Heavenly Evolution Divine Sect’s crisis.

Yun Yuehua asked Yun Shang to arrange an audience with Li Chen for the Heavenly Evolution Divine Sect, and Li Chen agreed to negotiate with the sect leaders after confronting their delegation. Moonlight Fairy then discovered Orchid Fairy secretly visiting the palace at night and concluded her senior sister was sacrificing herself to protect the sect and Heaven-Topping High Person.

• Yun Yuehua told Yun Shang that her cultivation partner was dead, learned that the Crown Prince had also died, and asked her to arrange an audience with the emperor about Heaven-Topping High Person's imprisonment.
• Li Chen agreed to meet the Heavenly Evolution Divine Sect's delegation, and Yun Shang brought Ling Tian High Person, Moonlight Fairy, and Orchid Fairy to the Imperial Study.
• Li Chen frightened the delegation with his overwhelming presence, then accepted Ling Tian High Person's offer to gather the Nine Abyss Sacred Domain's sect masters for negotiations.
• Moonlight Fairy followed Orchid Fairy to the Imperial Palace on several nights and found marks missing from her senior sister, leading her to believe Orchid Fairy was visiting Li Chen willingly to protect the sect.
• Moonlight Fairy decided Orchid Fairy must have made the sacrifice to secure Heaven-Topping High Person's safety and wondered how she could ease her senior sister's burden.

Yun Yuehua joined Orchid Fairy in serving Li Chen at the palace, believing she was sacrificing herself to protect the Heavenly Evolution Divine Sect, while Li Chen welcomed the unexpected company. Meanwhile, Ling Tian High Person built ties in the capital, Lin Yue'e pursued the Crown Prince Case with Xiao Ming's help, and Xu Zifeng advanced in the military camp.

• Li Sining questioned Chu Ruoyan about Yun Shang's efforts to attract Li Chen, but Chu Ruoyan chose to focus on cultivation instead of intervening.
• Yun Shang told Yun Yuehua that Li Chen liked beautiful, mature women, prompting Yun Yuehua to decide to accompany Orchid Fairy to the palace and share her supposed burden.
• Orchid Fairy and Yun Yuehua knelt before Li Chen and explained why they had come, and Li Chen welcomed their request for his favor.
• Ling Tian High Person befriended Pang Jin and asked for help visiting Heaven-Topping High Person in the Imperial Prison, while Orchid Fairy and Moonlight Fairy urged him not to rush his arrangements.
• Lin Yue'e investigated the Crown Prince Case and sought Zhou Ye's help, but he refused; Xiao Ming then appeared as a promising source of clues.
• Xu Zifeng continued making rapid progress in the military camp.

Xu Zifeng won over the northern army with a series of fights, while Chen Xuannan challenged him before the Northern Expedition began. As the war unfolded, Li Yu plotted against Li Chen and Ji Lianyu worked to turn the Ji Family toward the emperor; Li Chen prepared to bring the Nine Abyss Sacred Domain under his control, culminating in a gathering at Cloudsea City.

• Xu Zifeng defeated a succession of soldiers in the camp and beat Liu Hao particularly badly, earning the vanguard's respect.
• Chen Xuannan challenged Xu Zifeng for command of the vanguard, but an assembly horn interrupted them before they could fight.
• Li Yu urged the Northern Court to support his plans, offering to march west once the northern war intensified and to arrange an assassination in the Imperial Capital.
• Ji Lianyu urged her sister and the Ji Family to prepare for the Prince of the South's possible defeat, prompting the Princess of the South to summon the family head.
• Li Chen prepared to take control of the Nine Abyss Sacred Domain and discussed its sect leaders with Orchid Fairy, who offered to help win them over.
• The Nine Abyss Sacred Domain's leaders and representatives gathered in Cloudsea City.

Li Chen arrived at the Heaven and Earth Terrace with overwhelming force, compelling the Nine Abyss Sacred Domain’s sect leaders and assembled cultivators to kneel before him. He then proposed integrating sects into the court’s plans through missions and rewards, while privately judging the women Orchid Fairy had arranged for him.

• The sect leaders gathered to negotiate over imprisoned Heaven-Topping High Person, confident they could pressure the emperor into releasing him.
• Li Chen arrived with the Imperial Guards and displayed nine divine halos and five celestial phenomena, overpowering the three Saint Realm cultivators’ auras.
• Orchid Fairy, Mu Qingrou, Late Breeze True Person, and the assembled sect cultivators knelt under Li Chen’s pressure, and he allowed them to rise before taking the seat of honor.
• Li Chen announced that the meeting would address the sects’ future, and Ling Tian High Person outlined court missions that would reward sect cultivators for serving in regional conflicts.
• The sect leaders discussed Li Chen’s proposal to let sects operate freely while tying their interests to the court, and Li Chen concluded that Orchid Fairy’s selection of women was excellent.

Li Chen secured the sect leaders’ cooperation with the court and began inspecting the major sects, while Orchid Fairy’s scheme drew Dai Hongling into Li Chen’s circle. At the Spiritflame Dao Sect, Late Breeze True Person offered his daughter a path to the Imperial Capital, unexpectedly advancing Li Chen’s plans.

• Late Breeze True Person agreed to cooperate with Li Chen but warned that the Purple Firmament Heavenly Palace could attack his sect if its forces went north; Li Chen said he would deal with the rival sect.
• The sect leaders endorsed the court’s policies at a banquet, where Li Chen announced plans to inspect the major sects and Late Breeze True Person and Dai Hongling welcomed his visits.
• Orchid Fairy lured Dai Hongling into discovering Li Chen with Moonlight Fairy, then trapped her; the next day, Dai Hongling joined the women in teasing and arguing about Li Chen.
• Li Chen visited the Spiritflame Dao Sect, where Late Breeze True Person toured him around and arranged a painting to commemorate the emperor’s visit.
• Late Breeze True Person asked Li Chen to help his daughter pursue a future in the Imperial Capital, surprising Li Chen because she was already the woman he had intended to approach.

Li Chen visited the Spiritflame Dao Sect, Azure Nether Immortal Sect, and Heavenly Evolution Divine Sect, securing their support for the court while Xia Qing, Dai Hongling, and the Heavenly Evolution Divine Sect’s women drew closer to him. At the Purple Cloud Immortal Abode, Mu Qingrou requested a sword spar with Li Chen, and they prepared to fight before the gathered sect members.

• Late Breeze True Person offered Xia Qing a position in the Imperial Capital, and Li Chen agreed to arrange suitable employment for her.
• Dai Hongling guided Li Chen around the Azure Nether Immortal Sect while its sect master Yue Yang stayed in seclusion; Li Chen and Dai Hongling later met privately.
• Li Chen visited the Heavenly Evolution Divine Sect, where elders eagerly courted his favor while Orchid Fairy and Moonlight Fairy regretted being unable to attend him.
• Mu Qingrou welcomed Li Chen to the Purple Cloud Immortal Abode and asked him to instruct her in swordsmanship.
• Li Chen accepted Mu Qingrou’s request, and the pair prepared to spar inside a protected formation as the sect’s disciples and elders gathered to watch.

Li Chen defeated Mu Qingrou in a sword duel, then pursued her as a potential consort and persuaded her elder to help bring her to the Imperial Capital. After returning there, he resumed overseeing imperial affairs, and Eunuch Cui reported that someone from the Spiritflame Dao Sect was seeking an audience.

• Mu Qingrou unleashed her Heaven and Earth Sword, but Li Chen overwhelmed it with heavenly dao sword qi and accidentally—or, as he intended, deliberately—destroyed her clothes without harming her.
• Li Chen told Mu Qingrou he was willing to take responsibility and asked when she would report to the Imperial Palace, but she fled before giving him an answer.
• Li Chen gave a female elder his Sidearm Sword to enlist her help; Mu Qingrou agreed to consider visiting the Imperial Capital after learning that the Thousand-Blade Sword was there.
• The female elder encouraged the other elders to help match Li Chen with Mu Qingrou, while some female disciples considered stripping to attract his attention.
• Li Chen returned to the Imperial Capital, where Pang Jin continued investigating the Crown Prince Case and Xiao Ming helped with his workload while nearing a breakthrough to the Six Harmonies Realm.
• Two days after Li Chen returned, Eunuch Cui reported that a visitor claiming to represent the Spiritflame Dao Sect had requested an audience.

Li Chen brought Xia Qing of the Spiritflame Dao Sect into the Imperial Palace and arranged for her to teach at the Kindling Combat Academy, where Chu Ruoyan mistakenly assumed she was joining the harem and offered her intimate advice. Minister of Justice Pang Jin then presented new leads in the Crown Prince Case, including a meeting between Fan Kuai and the Zou clan of Western Liang, and asked Li Chen whether to investigate the clan further.

• Li Chen summoned Xia Qing, learned she had arrived alone at her father Late Breeze True Person’s request, and offered her a residence in the Imperial Palace.
• Xia Qing chose a secluded palace and asked to teach at the Kindling Combat Academy; Li Chen agreed and said he would take its entrance exam as an applicant.
• Chu Ruoyan welcomed Xia Qing and explained Li Chen’s preferences, leaving Xia Qing embarrassed when she realized Chu Ruoyan thought she was becoming his consort.
• Pang Jin told Li Chen that Fan Kuai had contacted Li Yang before meeting the Zou clan of Western Liang and disappearing, then asked whether he should continue investigating the clan.

Pang Jin presented Li Chen with possible explanations for the Crown Prince’s death, and Li Chen asked the Empress Dowager directly whether she had ordered it. After she denied it and told him to continue investigating, Li Chen rewarded a bold official at court by exchanging his position with the Minister of War.

• Pang Jin told Li Chen that the investigation had reached the Zou Family and outlined how the Empress Dowager might be involved, while Li Chen postponed his decision until the next day.
• Pang Jin considered proposing a new department to manage the Sects and recommending Lin Yue'e to oversee it.
• Li Chen visited the Empress Dowager and asked whether she had killed the Crown Prince; she denied it, said she could not control every faction in the Zou Family, and urged him to keep investigating.
• Li Chen stayed for dinner with the Empress Dowager, then returned to his palace, where Chu Ruoyan was waiting to share what she had learned about Xia Qing.
• At court, the Vice Minister of War impeached Zou Chong for failing to report from Green Mound City and accused him of incompetence and possible ties to the Third Prince.
• Li Chen praised the Vice Minister of War and exchanged his position with Zou Chong, prompting the newly promoted official to thank him.

Li Chen’s court established a modest Ministry of Sect Affairs under the Ministry of Revenue and prepared for the National Celebration while investigating a mysterious intruder in the Imperial Clan Forbidden Grounds. He arranged for Xia Qing to teach at the Kindling Combat Academy, where its headmaster mistakenly believed she was his consort.

• Pang Jin proposed a Ministry of Sect Affairs, but Liu Minghan and Zhao Wenyuan persuaded Li Chen to place it under the Ministry of Revenue and send Lin Yue'e to gain provincial experience first.
• The Minister of Rites asked how to handle the rebellious Prince of the South at the National Celebration, and Li Chen ordered that he be notified.
• Li Sixing reported that an unidentified foreign-looking expert had entered the Imperial Clan Forbidden Grounds and escaped after fighting its guards, so Li Chen told Pang Jin to investigate and monitor foreigners in the capital.
• Li Chen asked Pang Jin to continue investigating the Crown Prince’s death, then visited Xia Qing and agreed to take her to the Kindling Combat Academy.
• Li Sining eagerly accepted Xia Qing’s offer to teach her pill refinement, while Li Chen summoned headmaster Qu Heng to arrange Xia Qing’s teaching post.
• Qu Heng agreed to welcome Xia Qing as a teacher and mistakenly concluded that she had joined Li Chen’s Imperial Harem.

Li Chen arranged to take the Kindling Combat Academy entrance exam, while Xia Qing joined its staff and learned about the school. He also granted Lin Yue'e her choice of a City Inspector posting in Shanghe City, where he planned to investigate local sects, and returned to the palace to hear that Huyan Lan had brought gifts and requested an audience.

• Li Chen asked Qu Heng to arrange his participation in the Kindling Combat Academy entrance exams, then sent Xia Qing with Qu Heng to complete her employment paperwork.
• Qu Heng showed Xia Qing around the academy and warned its teachers that she was a palace consort, prompting them to abandon plans to pursue her.
• Lin Yue'e told Li Chen that she had reached the late Void-Breaking Realm, and he let her choose a City Inspector posting in Shanghe City.
• Lin Yue'e described the Sunken Sand Dao Sect, the Jade Void Immortal Manor, the Purple Firmament Heavenly Palace, and local demon cultivators, and Li Chen planned to investigate the area with her.
• Li Chen taught Lin Yue'e about Spirit Communication techniques and returned to the palace, where Eunuch Cui told him Huyan Lan had arrived with two gifts and requested an audience.

Li Chen accepted Huyan Lan’s pledge after the northern warlord offered him two captured royal women, then reviewed the Northern Region campaigns and dealt with reports of a mysterious intruder near the Imperial Clan Forbidden Grounds. He summoned Orchid Fairy and Moonlight Fairy to investigate, while Xiao Ming found evidence of a powerful saber user’s battle in the western city.

• Huyan Lan presented Huyan Yu’s wife and the Snow Eagle Court Khan’s mother as gifts, and Li Chen accepted his allegiance and ordered him to await orders at the border.
• Li Chen reviewed Guo Poyun’s campaigns, including Xu Zifeng’s advances into enemy territory and Liu Hao’s clash with Altai.
• Li Chen spoke with Xia Qing, then received a register of the Ji Clan’s southern-city positions from Ji Lianyu, who said her clan planned to send representatives to the national celebration.
• Li Sixing reported that a peak heavenly abyss realm cultivator had repeatedly probed the Imperial Clan Forbidden Grounds, and Li Chen summoned Orchid Fairy and Moonlight Fairy to investigate.
• Xiao Ming discovered traces of a battle in the western city and judged that they had been left by an expert in saber techniques at or above the heavenly abyss realm.