Chapter Summaries

Xiao Ming investigated Fan Kuai’s death and suspected the Crown Prince had colluded with the previous dynasty’s remnants, while Li Chen took the Kindling Combat Academy entrance exam under an alias and effortlessly excelled. After returning to the Imperial Palace, Li Chen was approached by the Empress Dowager.

• Xiao Ming and Pang Jin found evidence that Fan Kuai had fought remnants of the previous dynasty and may have been lured into a trap.
• Xiao Ming proposed that the Crown Prince had secretly colluded with the remnants to kill the emperor, and the Saint Remnant Soul suggested searching for survivors of the executed lineages.
• Xiao Ming encountered youths arriving for the Battle Academy admissions and reflected that he could outperform them, unaware that Li Chen was also taking the exam.
• Li Chen used the alias Cheng Li to take the Kindling Combat Academy exam in Qu Heng’s office, where he challenged the examiner’s answers and made Qu Heng complete his paper.
• Li Chen destroyed all ten targets in the afternoon aptitude test, then returned to the Imperial Palace to await his results.
• The Empress Dowager appeared before Li Chen as he considered visiting Heaven-Topping High Person.

Li Chen gathered intelligence about the Purple Firmament Heavenly Palace and the Piaomiao Immortal Alliance, while the Empress Dowager warned him that tribute women might pose a danger. Meanwhile, Lin Yue'e investigated the Crown Prince's case, and Xiao Ming discovered that Zou Yi's White Jade Coffin was a sealed Life Coffin that might hold a powerful figure.

• The Empress Dowager warned Li Chen that women presented to the Previous Emperor might have been involved in his death, and Li Chen asked her to find him more women of that type.
• Heaven-Topping High Person traded information for food, revealing that remnants of the previous dynasty hid in the Purple Firmament Heavenly Palace and describing the Piaomiao Immortal Alliance's leader.
• Li Chen learned that Li Ran had found the second volume of the Emperor Dragon Sutra and offered to help him obtain what he needed.
• Lin Yue'e continued working before her transfer to Shanghe City, while Xiao Ming shared investigative leads about Fan Kuai and Li Yang, the Heir of Prince Jing'an.
• Xiao Ming went to Zou Yi's inn room and examined the White Jade Coffin; the Saint Remnant Soul identified it as a sealed Life Coffin that only a Saint Realm cultivator could force open.

Li Chen completed his academy mission and accepted a new quest to explore the Ancient Ruins, then accompanied Wu Nanzhi to Tiger-Crouching City for her father’s saint-realm celebration. On the way, the two grew closer, Wu Nanzhi discovered Li Chen was the emperor, and they arrived at the city amid a festive atmosphere just as trouble began to loom.

• Xiao Ming grew suspicious of the importance of Zou Yi’s coffin, listened to Zou Yi complain about his father’s insistence that it be brought home, and followed it out of the city that night.
• Li Chen, using the alias Cheng Li, took first place in the Battle Academy results, completed his advanced-study mission, and received a quest to find a Saint Beast Egg in the Ancient Ruins with at least three helpers.
• Wu Nanzhi told Li Chen that her father had reached the saint realm and invited him to accompany her to the family banquet in Tiger-Crouching City.
• Li Chen and Wu Nanzhi traveled on the Saint Tiger, drove off a group of women who approached Li Chen at a town restaurant, and shared a room at an inn, where they became intimate.
• Wu Nanzhi realized Li Chen was the emperor after he spoke of his harem, and the two reached Tiger-Crouching City several hours late as trouble followed the festive celebrations.

Li Chen accompanied Wu Nanzhi to the Wu Family estate in Tiger-Crouching City, where he defeated two prodigies competing to recruit her newly advanced Saint Realm grandfather. Wu Nanzhi revealed that Li Chen was the emperor, and the city’s officials and guests knelt before him.

• Li Chen and Wu Nanzhi entered Tiger-Crouching City, where the townspeople admired Li Chen instead of recognizing Wu Nanzhi.
• Wu Nanzhi brought Li Chen to the Wu Family estate, where Lin Xun and Yi Yu were fighting over the chance to recruit Old Master Wu.
• Lin Xun and Yi Yu challenged Li Chen, and he knocked them both down with a slap apiece.
• Yi Yu asked Li Chen to identify himself, and Wu Nanzhi introduced him as the emperor of the Li Imperial Family.
• Li Chen revealed his Saint Realm power, and Yu Kai, Zhao Jichuan, Old Master Wu, and the gathered guests knelt to pay their respects.

Li Chen accompanied Wu Nanzhi to Tiger-Crouching City, won the Wu Family’s allegiance, and refined a divine saber for its patriarch before returning toward the Imperial Capital. In the Hidden Dragon Mountains, he rescued Pei Wanyu from an ancient beast tide, and she agreed to pledge herself to him.

• Yi Yu and Lin Xun learned Li Chen was the emperor, knelt before him, and left vowing to grow stronger before facing him again.
• Li Chen was welcomed by the Wu Family, enjoyed Wu Nanzhi’s cooking, and received the patriarch’s pledge of allegiance.
• Li Chen refined the Wu Family patriarch’s saber into a divine weapon, and the patriarch swore to serve him.
• Li Chen and Wu Nanzhi traveled through the Hidden Dragon Mountains, where an ancient beast tide erupted around the Dragon Essence.
• The Eight-Armed Demon Bear chased Pei Wanyu, but Li Chen’s Saint Tiger killed it and devoured the Dragon Essence.
• Li Chen rescued Pei Wanyu, and she agreed to pledge herself to him when he asked.

Li Chen rescued Pei Wanyu, the eldest princess of the Heavenly Martial Dynasty, and brought her and Wu Nanzhi back to the Imperial Capital, where Pei Wanyu began getting to know him and Wu Nanzhi received a consort title. At court, Li Chen heard reports on the northern war and the upcoming homages, then considered a proposal to strengthen his control over the sects.

• Li Chen and Wu Nanzhi met Pei Wanyu after the Saint Tiger defeated the Eight-Armed Demon Bear, and Pei Wanyu agreed to travel with Li Chen after revealing she was the eldest princess of the Heavenly Martial Dynasty.
• Li Chen released the Saint Tiger from Wu Nanzhi, explained the risks of that summoning method, and brought both women to the Imperial Capital.
• Li Chen introduced Pei Wanyu and Wu Nanzhi to the Imperial Harem, where Wu Nanzhi received an official consort title while Pei Wanyu decided to get to know him before returning to inherit her throne.
• Chu Ruoyan held a tea gathering for Wu Nanzhi, Pei Wanyu, and Xia Qing, while Xia Qing wondered why the Imperial Harem lacked the power struggles she had expected.
• At Morning Court, the Minister of War reported victories in the north, the Minister of Rites presented the homage list, and officials noted that the Prince of the South and the four great sects would send representatives.
• Pang Jin proposed expanding the court's control over the sects to prepare for Li Chen's dealings with the Purple Firmament Heavenly Palace and the Misty Alliance, and the court officials supported him.

Pang Jin reported his investigation into the Former Dynasty Remnants, while Li Chen demonstrated his overwhelming strength to the women in the Imperial Harem. As the Imperial Capital prepared for the All Nations Paying Court, Mu Qingrou arrived at the Hundred Refinement Sect to see its Thousand-Blade Divine Weapon.

• Pang Jin presented Li Chen with leads on nobles and officials connected to the Former Dynasty Remnants and reported evidence of their presence in the Purple Firmament Heavenly Palace.
• Li Chen reviewed the intelligence, considered his growing strength and powerful allies, and expected a golden age of cultivation to arrive.
• Chu Ruoyan asked to train outside the palace, but Li Chen displayed his swordsmanship, frightening the women and giving them a taste of a life-and-death trial.
• Chu Ruoyan and the others asked Li Chen to teach them his sword move, and he invited them to his room that night; Xia Qing left in embarrassment.
• Mu Qingrou arrived in the Imperial Capital with a female elder and visited the Hundred Refinement Sect to see its Thousand-Blade Divine Weapon.
• Bai Zhanfei told Mu Qingrou that the sect's Thousand-Blade Divine Weapon had been bestowed by an unnamed divine swordsmith rather than forged by him.

Mu Qingrou asked Li Chen to help her obtain the Thousand-Blade Sword, while Li Chen set his sights on Shi Yingying and secretly seduced her. The chapter ended with Li Chen slipping into Shi Yingying’s room after she returned to the inn, as she anxiously warned him that Mu Qingrou must not find out.

• Bai Zhanfei showed Mu Qingrou the Thousand-Blade Sword but refused to let her try or buy it, so she decided to ask Li Chen for help.
• Mu Qingrou offered to do something for Li Chen in exchange for the sword, and he told her to report to his Imperial Harem once he obtained it.
• Li Chen kept Shi Yingying behind, took her shopping and to Marriage Mountain, then brought her to an inn, where she gave herself to him and agreed to keep their affair secret.
• Shi Yingying returned to the inn she shared with Mu Qingrou and claimed Li Chen would take them to the Hundred Refinement Sect the next day, then hurried back to her room to avoid further questions.
• Li Chen secretly entered Shi Yingying’s room, and she warned him to leave before Mu Qingrou discovered them.

Li Chen forged a new Thousand-Blade Sword for Mu Qingrou and brought her and Shi Yingying back to the Imperial Palace, where Mu Qingrou discovered Shi Yingying was already involved with him. The next day, Orchid Fairy, Moonlight Fairy, and Dai Hongling arrived in the Imperial Capital for the National Celebration, and Dai Hongling argued with Moonlight Fairy over their plans to visit Li Chen.

• Shi Yingying hid her night with Li Chen from Mu Qingrou, who believed her excuse that she had expelled impurities while meditating.
• Li Chen took Mu Qingrou and Shi Yingying to the Hundred Refinement Sect, where Bai Zhanfei recognized him as the master who had forged the Thousand-Blade Sword.
• Li Chen accepted a Separation Sword from Bai Zhanfei and forged a new Thousand-Blade Sword, which he withheld from Mu Qingrou until she returned with him to the Imperial Palace.
• Shi Yingying encouraged the nervous Mu Qingrou to go with Li Chen, and Li Chen brought both women into his Bedchamber Palace.
• Orchid Fairy, Moonlight Fairy, and Dai Hongling arrived in the Imperial Capital, where Moonlight Fairy teased Dai Hongling about coming to share Li Chen's bed.

Mu Qingrou and Shi Yingying met Li Chen’s other women in the Bedchamber Palace, while Li Chen prepared a trap for forces targeting the Imperial Capital and considered threats from abroad. The chapter left Li Chen moving to deal with the gathered women as the Prince of the South continued preparing for a possible conflict.

• Chu Ruoyan welcomed Mu Qingrou and Shi Yingying, praised Mu Qingrou as her idol, and learned that Pei Wanyu was Tang Mengyou’s daughter and a descendant of the Purple Cloud Immortal Abode.
• Orchid Fairy, Moonlight Fairy, and Dai Hongling arrived, and Chu Ruoyan revealed their connections to Li Chen, leaving Mu Qingrou and Shi Yingying stunned.
• Li Sining and Ji Lianyu joined the women, and the group shifted its conversation away from Li Chen’s private affairs.
• The Minister of War warned Li Chen that the Sasanian Dynasty was moving its garrisons east, and Li Chen summoned Pang Jin and Li Sixing to prepare a trap for hidden forces during the National Celebration.
• Li Chen returned to the Bedchamber Palace and found the women gathered there, while the Prince of the South continued building alliances and arranging a delegation for the National Celebration.

The Prince of the South planned to exploit the conflict between Li Chen and Li Yu, while Pang Jin and Li Sixing pursued separate investigations in the Imperial Capital. As Amir and Qasim plotted to steal the Li family's Emperor Weapon, Li Chen secretly appeared in their courtyard.

• The Princess of the South planned to visit the Imperial Capital to see the Ji Family and ask Ji Lianyu about Xu Zifeng.
• Pang Jin suspected Wang Tengfeng had attacked Fan Kuai and planned to use the location of Fan Kuai's lost saber to draw out the culprit.
• Li Chen warned Li Sixing that Imperial Guards might be leaking information, then said he would visit the forbidden grounds that night.
• Amir and Qasim continued mapping a route into the Imperial Clan Forbidden Grounds to steal the Emperor Weapon for the Nasser Family.
• As Amir and Qasim studied their diagrams, Li Chen appeared beside them unnoticed and suggested a route into the forbidden grounds.

Li Chen captured Sasanian spies who had mapped flaws in the Imperial Clan Forbidden Grounds, then ordered war against the Sasanian Dynasty after learning its armies were already moving east. Back at the palace, Li Sining successfully broke through to the origin condensation realm and received Li Chen’s guidance and precious pills.

• Li Chen followed Amir from the Imperial Clan Forbidden Grounds to a safehouse, killed Amir instantly, and knocked Qasim unconscious.
• Li Sixing arrested more than thirty suspected Sasanian spies, and Li Chen ordered the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty to declare war on the Sasanian Dynasty.
• Li Chen returned to the Bedchamber Palace as Li Sining completed her breakthrough to the origin condensation realm amid a brief storm.
• Li Chen told Li Sining to follow her own instincts while cultivating the Nine Heavens Dragon Meridian Art and gave her ten Heaven-Grade Dragonblood Origin Condensation Pills.
• Mu Qingrou explained the pills’ extraordinary value, and Li Sining realized how generously Li Chen had treated her.

Li Chen became involved with Ji Lianxiang after she mistook his intentions at the Ji Family residence, while Ji Lianyu accepted the situation because it could help protect Xu Zifeng. The next day, the court debated war with the Sasanian Dynasty, and Pang Jin considered confiscating the Wang Family’s wealth to fund the campaign.

• Li Sining let Xia Qing admire her pill and arranged to use it to help Li Chen win Xia Qing over.
• Ji Lianyu asked Li Chen to visit the Ji Family Ancestral Site, where he met Ji Lianxiang, who had mistaken him for a man courting her sister.
• Li Chen took Ji Lianxiang to Ji Lianyu’s room, and Ji Lianxiang learned his identity after their encounter; Ji Lianyu then accepted the relationship and invoked Xu Zifeng to keep her sister from fleeing.
• A Ji Family elder met Li Chen and praised his power, while Li Chen returned to the sisters after the elder left.
• The court debated whether to declare war on the Sasanian Dynasty, and Zhao Wenyuan proposed securing gains in the north before opening another front.
• Pang Jin considered confiscating the Wang Family’s estate to finance the war, suspecting that this might be Li Chen’s plan.

Li Chen advised Lin Yue'e on how to take office as Shanghe City's City Inspector, then questioned Zhou Ye about the Sasanian Dynasty after hearing Lin's recommendation. He left Zhou Ye in the Prison for now, but expressed hope that he would someday serve at the Imperial Court.

• After court, Li Chen visited Lin Yue'e and learned that refining the Black-Scaled Nether Serpent's inner core had sharpened her senses and advanced her cultivation.
• Li Chen advised Lin Yue'e to take office in Shanghe City with a public display of authority and bring trusted Battle Academy friends to help manage her jurisdiction.
• Lin Yue'e told Li Chen about Zhou Ye's abilities and urged him to recognize the former Battle Academy top student, who preferred his prison guard post.
• Li Chen questioned Zhou Ye in the Prison about the Sasanian Dynasty's heavy cavalry, four great lineages, Savaran Guard, and relative strength.
• Li Chen praised Zhou Ye's detailed knowledge but left him at his post, saying he hoped to see him at the Imperial Court someday.

Li Chen visited Zhou Ye and then returned to the Ji Family, while Xu Zifeng ventured into the Great Snow Mountain seeking the Snow Leopard God's sacred blood. In Green Mound City, Zou Chong persuaded Li Yu to turn against the Prince of the South, and Li Yu agreed to offer Li Chen his support in exchange for the title of Prince of the South.

• Li Chen left Zhou Ye at his post after encouraging him, then went to the Ji Family, where Ji Lianyu and the Princess of the South challenged him to tell them apart.
• Xu Zifeng and Ma Hei learned that the Snow Eagle Court's warriors drew their strength from the Snow Leopard God, and Xu Zifeng decided to seek its sacred blood and unite the northern tribes.
• Xu Zifeng's vanguard entered the Great Snow Mountain, survived its forbidden grounds, and found ice spirit snow pears that helped them withstand the cold.
• Li Yu grew angry when the Prince of the South rejected his envoys, while Zou Chong urged him to pay tribute to Li Chen and seek the title of Prince of the South instead.
• Li Yu accepted Zou Chong's reasoning and ordered an envoy to tell Li Chen that he would march south if Li Chen granted him the title of Prince of the South.

Li Yu postponed his plan to kill Li Chen and prepared to target the Prince of the South, while Li Chen kept the Princess of the South in the Imperial Capital. At the National Celebration, Li Chen received powerful guests whose awe turned the banquet into a flood of praise for the emperor.

• Li Yu told Zou Chong to suspend the plan involving the Imperial Capital until he had eliminated the Xu fellow and secured his position as Prince of the South.
• Li Chen persuaded the Princess of the South to remain in the Imperial Capital, and the court completed preparations for the National Celebration.
• Envoys and leading figures from across the dynasty and neighboring nations gathered at the palace, boasting about its refreshments as they awaited Li Chen.
• Li Chen entered the great hall, and his overwhelming aura drove the guests to kneel and acclaim him before he welcomed them and began the banquet.
• Officials, scholars, and cultivators toasted Li Chen with praise, and Late Breeze True Person hailed him as the Eternal One Emperor Saint.

Li Chen celebrated the National Celebration before learning that the Empress Dowager had sewn him new imperial clothes, while the Northern Region army captured the Ice Bear Tribe’s city with Li Ling’s help. In the Imperial Capital, Xiao Ming uncovered evidence that Lan Yuchen had helped cause the Previous Emperor’s death and that the Crown Prince had known about it.

• Li Chen attended the National Celebration banquet, where envoys and clan representatives toasted him while Li Sixing and Pang Jin oversaw security.
• The Empress Dowager gave Li Chen a robe she had sewn for him, and he later returned to his palace with Orchid Fairy.
• Li Ling gave Guo Poyun a solution for dissolving unmelting ice, following Chen Xuannan’s secret guidance, and the Northern Region army breached the Ice Bear Tribe’s main city.
• Xiao Ming arrived in the Imperial Capital and told his Saint Remnant Soul that he had traced the woman inside Zou Yi’s Life Coffin to Lan Yuchen, Zou Yi’s mother and an agent of the Former Dynasty Remnants.
• Xiao Ming discovered that Lan Yuchen had secretly altered the consorts’ bodies, causing the Previous Emperor’s fatal abnormalities, and that the Crown Prince had known about the plot.

Xiao Ming traced the Crown Prince's death to a possible plot involving Li Yang, reported his findings to Pang Jin, and earned a promotion and permission to claim an Otherworldly Flame. After following Lin Yue'e to make sure she was not meeting another man, he went to Kindling Combat Academy to collect the flame but froze at what he saw.

• Xiao Ming concluded that the Crown Prince and the Former Dynasty Remnants had worked together against the Previous Emperor before turning on each other, and he suspected Li Yang had used the Crown Prince's authority to move his guards.
• Xiao Ming told Pang Jin about his findings and the evidence hidden in the Zou Family's secret chamber in Western Liang.
• Pang Jin promoted Xiao Ming to Criminal Investigation Commissioner and sent him to investigate the Wang Family, while Xiao Ming planned to claim an Otherworldly Flame from Kindling Combat Academy.
• Xiao Ming visited Lin Yue'e before she left for Shanghe City, invited her to dinner, and learned she had plans; he followed her and found she was dining with her girlfriends from the Battle Academy.
• Xiao Ming received Qu Heng's approval to collect an Otherworldly Flame, then froze when he reached the alchemy area, prompting the Saint Remnant Soul to suspect his old bad habit had returned.

Xiao Ming pursued Xia Qing while Li Chen considered the Third Prince’s offer, heard Pang Jin’s findings, and let the Empress Dowager decide how to respond to the Crown Prince’s death and the Former Dynasty Remnants. The Empress Dowager ordered a thorough investigation and a purge, while Li Chen headed to Shanghe City and Xiao Ming began investigating the Wang Family and the Former Dynasty Remnants.

• Xiao Ming met Xia Qing, became infatuated with her, and decided she was another possible target despite her dislike of him.
• The Third Prince’s adviser persuaded Li Chen that Li Yu would eliminate the Prince of the South, and Li Chen agreed to appoint Li Yu in his place if he succeeded.
• Pang Jin reported his investigation into the Crown Prince’s case to Li Chen, who passed the decision on to the Empress Dowager.
• The Empress Dowager revealed that Lan Yuchen had been Yuan Kexin, a member of the Former Dynasty Remnants, and ordered the Wang Family investigated and the remnants purged.
• Li Chen approved the Empress Dowager’s plan, then set out for Shanghe City to investigate the Purple Firmament Heavenly Palace and another major sect.
• At Pang Jin’s direction, Xiao Ming began investigating the Wang Family and the Former Dynasty Remnants in the Imperial Capital.

Li Chen arrived in Shanghe City to investigate its major sects and visited the Jiang Family to learn more about Li Sining’s constitution. After revealing that he was the emperor, he heard how the Previous Emperor had once visited the family and accepted Jiang Ningyi as his consort, then received Jiang Ningyue’s offer of help.

• Lin Yue'e arrived in Shanghe City, greeted local officials and citizens, and began arranging the handover of her City Inspector duties.
• Li Chen entered Shanghe City with Wu Nanzhi and planned to investigate the Sunken Sand Dao Sect and Jade Void Immortal Manor.
• Wu Nanzhi reminded Li Chen that Li Sining’s ancestors came from Shanghe City, so he decided to visit the Jiang Family with Consort Yi’s token.
• Li Chen and Wu Nanzhi found the Jiang Family recruiting male servants and were welcomed inside by Jiang Ningyue after she saw the token.
• Li Chen introduced himself as the emperor, and Jiang Ningyue knelt to pay her respects.
• Jiang Ningyue recounted how the Previous Emperor had visited the family and taken Consort Yi as his consort, then offered to help Li Chen with whatever he needed.