Recaps

Wang Dashi explained to Wei Heng why the Jiangzhe tax affair should be handled by targeting corrupt officials rather than confronting the Bright Cult, while Yang Ge realized Yang Potian had stirred up trouble to consolidate his position. Yang Ge warned Yang Potian not to scheme against him again and pledged to protect Yang Tiansheng, the Yang Family of Fengyang, and the Tower Beyond Towers.

• Wang Dashi rejected Wei Heng’s idea of using tax silver as bait and urged him to punish the Court’s corrupt servants while leaving the Bright Cult’s affairs to Yang Ge.
• Wang Dashi revealed that he had suspected Yang Potian’s involvement after the attack on Wei Heng’s old patriarch and the presence of a Peerless Grandmaster.
• Flea explained that conflict over the Court’s amnesty offer and the Bright Cult’s succession had driven Yang Potian to provoke Yang Ge and the Court.
• Yang Ge reasoned that Yang Potian had found a powerful backer and ordered Flea to warn him that this was his one chance to escape settling their accounts.
• Yang Ge also told Flea to assure Yang Potian that Yang Tiansheng and the Yang Family of Fengyang must remain unharmed, and promised to protect the Tower Beyond Towers from anyone who retaliated over the affair.

Zhou Yin warned Yang Potian that backing the old man from Treasure Dharma Temple over Yang Erlang had been a mistake, while Yang Tiansheng led a growing faction of Bright Cult followers to Bright Summit to claim the right to succeed Yang Potian. Yang Potian agreed to let Yang Tiansheng become the foremost successor candidate if he could withstand three moves, setting their confrontation in motion.

• Zhou Yin urged Yang Potian to stop opposing Yang Erlang, then left after warning him that the man from Treasure Dharma Temple would not be satisfied with minor interference in the martial world.
• Yang Potian watched Yang Tiansheng's supporters climb toward Bright Summit and dismissed their loyalty as treachery, while Yang Tiansheng continued leading them uphill.
• Yang Tiansheng broke Po Jun's grip on his saber, entered Bright Summit, and subdued Lu Wuji when Lu Wuji confronted him.
• Yang Tiansheng greeted Yang Potian as Cult Master and declared that his hard work, martial skill, and the trust of his followers qualified him to succeed.
• Yang Potian proposed that Yang Tiansheng withstand three moves to earn the rank of first among four Dharma Kings and become the foremost candidate for Cult Master; Yang Tiansheng accepted before the assembled followers.

Yang Tiansheng challenged Yang Potian on Bright Summit over the Bright Cult’s succession and the Yang family’s hold on power. After Yang Tiansheng unleashed his sword technique, Yang Ge left with Zhang Xuansu, while the duel’s outcome remained unsettled.

• Yang Potian attacked Yang Tiansheng with Dragon-Seizing Hand, but Yang Tiansheng blocked it with his eight swords and survived uninjured.
• Yang Ge watched in disguise with Zhang Xuansu, and Yang Tiansheng was badly wounded when Yang Potian’s Iron-Refining Hands broke through his sword defense.
• Yang Tiansheng demanded that Yang Potian promise the next Cult Master would not be from the Yang family, then rallied Bright Cult members by challenging them to consider whom their sacrifices served.
• Yang Potian dropped his kindly facade and summoned the Demon-Subduing Dharma Aspect, while Yang Ge’s presence caused its intimidating demeanor to soften.
• Yang Tiansheng struck the Buddha phantom with Wrath of the Common Man, sending both fighters flying; Yang Ge and Zhang Xuansu then left the crowd.

Wei Heng received news of Yang Tiansheng’s rise in the Bright Cult and realized that his own palace-bred obedience had left him no hope of becoming a Peerless Grandmaster. He welcomed Zhou Fu, Nangong Feiying, Liu Tang, and their hardened veterans back from the Eastern Isles, then abandoned a victory parade when they refused to claim Yang Erlang’s credit.

• Wei Heng learned that Yang Tiansheng had become a Heavenly King and a leading candidate to succeed Yang Potian as Cult Master, and reflected on how conviction had shaped Yang Tiansheng and Yang Erlang.
• Wei Heng concluded that his ingrained palace training prevented him from becoming a Peerless Grandmaster, then received word that the fleet had arrived at Hangzhou Harbor.
• Nangong Feiying returned with six Western Factory elites, four of them in the Return to the True Realm, while Liu Tang’s group also included six Return to the True experts.
• Wei Heng offered the returning veterans a victory parade, but Zhou Fu and the others refused to claim the Eastern Isles’ achievements because they belonged to Yang Erlang.
• Wei Heng canceled the parade, told Zhou Fu that he would become deputy General-in-Chief of Jizhen, and heard that the Eastern Isles were under Great Wei’s control and following Yang Erlang’s plans.
• As they headed into Hangzhou, Wei Heng compared his well-equipped but timid Western Factory agents with the veterans and ordered the agents to straighten their posture.

Li Jincheng met Jiang Kui, Lei Heng, and Liu Meng in Ji Prefecture to arrange supplies for their forces beyond the passes and explain Yang Erlang’s support. They agreed on grain shipments and a plan to send Chain Wharf men north for training, while the three brothers remained determined to help their friends.

• Jiang Kui, Lei Heng, and Liu Meng welcomed Li Jincheng and hosted him at a tavern in Ji Prefecture.
• Li Jincheng explained that he had come to arrange supplies and help the brothers move their families inside the passes before winter.
• Li Jincheng defended Yang Erlang’s generosity, prompting Liu Meng and Li Jincheng to drink together until they smashed their wine jars.
• Lei Heng described Lu Mountain’s grain shortage, and Li Jincheng promised an initial shipment of one to two hundred thousand shi before winter while warning them not to let any supplies reach the Tartars.
• Jiang Kui, Lei Heng, and Liu Meng offered to raid Brocade Sail Wharf, but Li Jincheng declined and proposed that Lu Mountain train Chain Wharf’s men beyond the passes.
• Jiang Kui agreed to have Chain Wharf’s men trained in Liaodong before they joined Lei Heng’s band, and the four men sealed the arrangement with a toast.

Shen Fa brought Crown Prince Zhao Hong to the Welcome Inn to learn from Yang Ge, but Zhao Hong’s arrogance provoked Yang Ge into striking him and assigning him to work under Zhang Erniu. Yang Ge insisted that Zhao Hong would remain at the inn until he learned how ordinary people lived, and told Shen Fa to warn the emperor not to scheme against him again.

• Shen Fa brought Zhao Hong to the Welcome Inn, where Yang Ge refused to meet with them until Zhao Cha recognized the crown prince.
• Zhao Hong called Yang Ge a wicked subject, so Yang Ge slapped him twice and threatened to replace him as crown prince.
• Yang Ge made Zhao Hong wear Zhang Erniu’s apron, ordered him to learn inn work, and warned him to drop his royal airs.
• Zhao Hong apologized to Zhang Erniu and was taken to the rear courtyard to wash dishes, while Zhao Cha followed them.
• Yang Ge told Shen Fa that Zhao Hong would stay until he learned to behave and ordered him to warn the emperor against sending anyone else to the inn.

Zhao Miao brought Zhao Hong food and warned him to stop acting like an heir apparent and learn how ordinary people lived at the Welcome Inn. Zhao Hong began to understand how badly he had misjudged Yang Ge and ended the night still assigned to the stable-side room.

• After the Welcome Inn extended its hours, Zhao Hong worked until midnight and wept from exhaustion in his cramped room near the stables.
• Zhao Miao brought Zhao Hong food, reminded him that the inn had workers rather than princes, and challenged his belief that Yang Ge was no great threat.
• Zhao Miao exposed how Zhao Hong's advisers had misled him and showed him how little he understood about ordinary prices and daily life.
• Zhao Miao urged Zhao Hong to observe and learn at the inn, warned him not to provoke Yang Ge, and promised to help him with what he needed.
• Zhao Hong asked for a better room, but Zhao Miao refused and told him to scrub tables and sweep the front hall the next morning.
• After Zhao Miao explained that Yang Ge had once lived in the same room, Zhao Hong realized how foolishly he had behaved and feared the consequences of angering him.

Yang Tiansheng visited Yang Ge at the inn, where Zhao Hong learned that powerful cult figures and other wanted martial artists gathered openly under Yang Ge’s protection. Yang Ge explained that he was trying to teach the crown prince how to govern well, and the two friends agreed to share a meal and drinks.

• Yang Ge won another maximum-scoring mahjong hand while Zhao Hong questioned Zhao Cha about his lack of martial arts practice.
• Yang Tiansheng arrived at the inn, greeted Yang Ge as an old friend, and invited the martial artists there to drink with him.
• Zhao Hong was shocked to learn that Yang Tiansheng was the Bright Cult’s next leader and that Zhao Cha knowingly welcomed members of rival cults and other factions.
• Zhao Cha explained that Road Pavilion belonged to Yang Ge, whose power kept his guests in line, and said he was unlikely to rebel unless ordinary people were driven to desperation.
• Yang Ge told Yang Tiansheng that the emperor had sent the crown prince and Princess Miaomiao to the inn, and that he hoped to teach the prince to improve the world.
• Yang Tiansheng thanked Yang Ge for helping him at Bright Summit, and Yang Ge invited him to dinner and drinks.

Yang Ge urged Yang Tiansheng to help end the Three Teachings’ conflict and offered to mediate, then faced his own uncertainty about marrying Zhao Miao. After Yang Tiansheng left for Jiangzhe, Yang Ge tasked Zhao Hong with building an open-air tearoom and barred officials from the inn for a month.

• Yang Tiansheng told Yang Ge that the Bright Cult, Five Poisons Cult, and White Lotus Cult profited from their fighting and that their followers were unlikely to support peace.
• Yang Ge warned Yang Tiansheng that the conflict threatened the Southern Martial World and offered to host a safe meeting among the Three Teachings’ leaders.
• Yang Tiansheng urged Yang Ge to consider marrying Zhao Miao, but Yang Ge said he was not ready to change their relationship.
• Yang Tiansheng left Road Pavilion for Jiangzhe after Yang Ge wished him well and invited him to visit with his wife.
• Yang Ge ordered Zhao Hong to clear the rear courtyard and build an inexpensive, sturdy open-air tearoom within one month.
• Yang Ge ordered an Embroidered Uniform Guard agent to keep official business and news away from the inn for a month, leaving Zhao Hong overwhelmed and sobbing.

Zhao Hong gradually transformed through the hard work of preparing a tea room at the Welcome Inn, while Yang Ge hosted Zhou Fu, Liu Tang, Nangong Feiying, and other Inner Court elites as they discussed their postings to the northern frontier. The chapter left Yang Ge concerned for his friends but reassured by their loyalty and camaraderie.

• Zhao Hong fell ill after trying to clear the courtyard alone, then resumed work and learned to ask others for help while continuing to refuse to bow his head to Yang Ge.
• Zhao Hong planned and furnished the courtyard as a tea room, while Zhao Miao noticed his change and suspected Yang Ge deliberately stayed away whenever Zhao Hong went out.
• Zhou Fu, Liu Tang, Nangong Feiying, and twelve others returned through Road Pavilion, where Yang Ge welcomed them with a feast.
• Zhou Fu told Yang Ge that he had arranged land, farmland, and a residence near Mount Fuji for him, and the group toasted the news.
• Zhou Fu, Liu Tang, Nangong Feiying, and the other elites revealed that they were being posted to northern frontier regions, and Yang Ge warned them to be cautious and contact him if they needed help.
• Nangong Feiying advised Yang Ge to avoid sensitive political matters, and Liu Tang and Zhou Fu teased him until Yang Ge laughed.

After inspecting Zhao Hong’s tea-room renovations, Yang Ge assigned him the task of improving public toilets across Luting County. Zhao Hong accepted the work rather than let Third Brother take his place, and began steeling himself for the challenge.

• Yang Ge inspected the four themed tea rooms and their renovation accounts, then approved Zhao Hong for a Yellow-Class Guest Room.
• Yang Ge told Zhao Hong that Luting County’s eight public toilets could no longer serve its growing population and ordered him to build more.
• Yang Ge gave Zhao Hong a Banner Captain’s squad, three months, and detailed requirements for designing and constructing public toilets.
• Zhao Hong complained to Zhao Miao that the job would earn him a humiliating reputation, but refused to let Third Brother take his place.
• Zhao Hong watched the street and silently resolved to carry out the work, declaring that the Excrement Emperor was still an emperor.

Yang Tiansheng persuaded Yang Yinghao to let him surrender Greenwood Hall to the Court as part of an amnesty, then Yang Erlang’s planned mediation between the Three Teachings stirred controversy in the Southern Martial World. As Wei Heng traveled toward Fengyang, Xu Hongru attacked his ships and smashed him through the deck.

• Yang Tiansheng told Yang Yinghao that Yang Erlang had helped him at Bright Summit and asked his father to arrange a meeting between the leaders of the Three Teachings.
• Yang Tiansheng proposed handing Greenwood Hall over to the Court first to test the amnesty, and Yang Yinghao eventually let him proceed after a heated argument.
• News spread that Yang Erlang would mediate between the Bright Cult, White Lotus Cult, and Five Poisons Divine Sect, prompting sharply divided reactions across the Southern Martial World.
• Wei Heng received Yang Tiansheng’s letter in Western Hunan and led Western Factory elites downstream toward Fengyang.
• Xu Hongru blocked Wei Heng’s ships near Jiujiang, identified himself as the White Lotus Cult’s Western Heavenly King, and attacked.
• Xu Hongru overwhelmed Wei Heng’s defenses and smashed him through the ship’s deck into the cabin below.

Yang Ge learned that Wei Heng had been assassinated and mourned the old eunuch, whose quiet help had repeatedly protected him and his allies. Xiao Baoqi and Hooligan rushed to warn their organizations, while Yang Ge was left thinking of Wei Heng as an old friend gone on a long journey.

• Flea told Yang Ge that Wei Heng had been killed on the Yangtze and that the Western Factory had found his body but not his head.
• Yang Ge crushed his rocking chair's armrest when he heard Wei Heng's head was missing, then ordered Flea to report any new information.
• Flea explained Wei Heng's importance to Yang Ge, and Xiao Baoqi and Hooligan hurried off to check whether their cults were involved.
• Yang Ge remembered how Wei Heng had helped him in earlier cases and regretted treating him coldly the last time they met.
• Zhao Miao found Yang Ge staring at his upside-down book, and he told her he was thinking of an old friend who had gone on a long journey.

At Road Pavilion Wharf, Yang Ge mourned Wei Heng and learned that a mysterious attacker had killed him while he traveled to meet Yang Tiansheng. Despite Shen Fa warning that the attack was a trap aimed at Yang Ge, Yang Ge resolved to go to Bright Summit in seven days, leaving Road Pavilion and the Old Liu Family in Shen Fa’s care.

• Yang Ge met Fang Ke at the wharf and boarded the emperor’s ships to pay respects to Wei Heng’s coffin.
• Yang Ge demanded Cao Ying’s account, and Cao Ying described how a man claiming to be Xu Hongru intercepted Wei Heng near Jiujiang and attacked him with Bright Cult martial arts.
• Yang Ge and Shen Fa concluded that Wei Heng’s killing was likely part of a trap meant to draw Yang Ge out, though Shen Fa warned him not to go.
• Yang Ge insisted he would pursue the attackers to repay Wei Heng and protect others, and told Shen Fa to prepare to take Zhao Miao and Zhao Hong from the inn.
• Yang Ge gave Shen Fa seven days to make arrangements before he set out for Bright Summit, and Shen Fa confessed that he had once sent Ding Man to Yang Ge’s inn.

Yang Ge persuaded Liu Mang to leave his martial hall and start a grain business in Capital City with his family, while arranging for Zhao Miao to return there early. As Yang Ge and Zhao Miao walked home, she pressed him about their future, but he remained wary of her father and refused to spend New Year in Capital City.

• Yang Ge told Liu Mang that his martial hall brought little reward and considerable risk, then proposed that he open a grain business in Capital City.
• Liu Mang agreed to consider the grain trade, and the old innkeeper approved Yang Ge's plan for the family to travel to Capital City with Fang Ke and the others.
• The old innkeeper said he would wait in Capital City for Yang Ge, who expected to return to Road Pavilion in ten days or a fortnight if his plans went smoothly.
• Zhao Miao questioned Yang Ge about sending her back to Capital City early and asked him to spend New Year with her there.
• Yang Ge said he distrusted Zhao Miao's father and postponed discussing their relationship; Zhao Miao threatened to return to Road Pavilion, then ran as Yang Ge chased after her.

Yang Ge sent the Liu Family and Zhao siblings toward the capital, then confronted the threat at Bright Summit with Duke Tang Xiong. He faced Yang Potian and the Black-Robed Monk, leaving Tang Xiong to fight Yang Potian while he advanced toward the Sacred Fire Hall.

• Yang Ge escorted the Liu Family and Zhao siblings out of Road Pavilion, giving Zhao Miao a bundle of money and tearfully parting from her.
• Zhao Miao discovered the silver notes in her bundle and insisted on returning to the inn, so Shen Fa agreed to send her back with guards.
• Yang Ge met Tang Xiong, Duke of Xin, who said he had come to kill Yang Potian; Yang Ge carried him toward Bright Summit.
• Yang Ge arrived at Bright Summit and questioned Yang Potian, who admitted he had helped lure Yang Ge there and pointed out Eunuch Wei's head atop the Sacred Fire Hall.
• Yang Ge struck the hillside with the Cold Moon Saber, exposing the Black-Robed Monk, then left Yang Potian to Tang Xiong and headed for the Sacred Fire Hall.

Yang Ge fought two Earthly Immortal monks at Bright Summit, breaking their coordination and killing the red-robed elder despite suffering serious injuries. Zhang Xuansu briefly appeared but fled when Yang Ge attacked him, and Yang Ge continued after the retreating black-robed elder while struggling to recover his strength.

• Yang Ge attacked the black-robed and red-robed monks, whose combined Lion's Roar and Life-Reaping Buddhist Chant drove him back and disrupted his mind.
• Yang Ge shifted between ranged attacks and close combat, but the monks' complementary techniques and the black-robed elder's Indestructible Vajra Divine Art gave them the upper hand.
• Yang Ge used flying weapon fragments and rapid changes of direction to break the monks' coordination, then pierced the red-robed elder's Dantian and hacked him into eight pieces.
• Zhang Xuansu offered to join the fight, but Yang Ge threatened him and chased him away; the black-robed elder also fled.
• Yang Ge pursued the black-robed elder, but his depleted True Qi and injuries forced him to fall behind and recover as he went.

After pursuing the black-robed old monk for weeks, Yang Ge finally killed him in the Grasslands and took his Golden Skull Bone. A majestic old man in a black Roundel Dragon Robe appeared, and Yang Ge faced him with his Killing Intent surging.

• Tang Xiong returned to Bright Summit with Yang Potian's severed head, but the two men searching the ruins ignored his boast and left to find Yang Ge.
• Yang Ge chased the black-robed old monk across the eastern plain for seven days, unable to penetrate his Indestructible Vajra Divine Art.
• Yang Ge severed one of the monk's arms near Road Pavilion, then pursued him through Shaolin Temple and north toward the Grasslands.
• The one-armed monk fled into a Tartar tribe, where Yang Ge fought the cavalry and summoned the Black Dragon from the battlefield's broken weapons.
• Yang Ge caught the monk in the Grasslands and crushed him beneath the Black Dragon, then picked up a Golden Skull Bone from the crater.
• A golden-lit old man in a black Roundel Dragon Robe approached Yang Ge, who confronted him with blood-red eyes and surging Killing Intent.

Yang Ge fought a powerful dragon-robed old man, survived their devastating clash, and escaped the snow after driving his foe away. Seven days later, he returned to Luting County and was reunited with Little Yellow and his friends at the Welcome Inn.

• Yang Ge attacked the dragon-robed old man and found that the elder's powerful techniques countered his saber arts.
• Yang Ge used his moves 'Cold' and 'Regret,' breaking the old man's palace defense and leaving both men badly wounded.
• The dragon-robed old man fled after Yang Ge wounded his back, and Yang Ge hid in the snow before stealing a horse from Tartar cavalrymen and escaping.
• Seven days later, Yang Ge returned to Luting County and found Little Yellow and his friends waiting for him at the Welcome Inn.
• Yang Ge embraced the person who sobbed that they had feared he would abandon them, while everyone in the hall laughed.

Yang Ge reunited with his friends over a farewell feast, then traveled to Dragon-Tiger Mountain to ask Zhang Xuansu why the monks at Bright Summit had targeted him. Zhang Xuansu identified the monks and explained that Dao Dan saw Yang Ge as an obstacle to his plans to overthrow the dynasty.

• Yang Ge drank and reminisced with his friends, including Jiang Kui, Zhou Fu, Wang Cheng, and Li Qing, while learning that Jiang Kui and Zhou Fu might be involved in an uncertain mission.
• Yang Ge urged Wang Cheng to bring useful foreign goods and technologies back from overseas, and he agreed to watch over the inn and Road Pavilion for Li Qing.
• Yang Ge told the gathering that he had killed two powerful monks at Bright Summit but had encountered an even stronger unknown opponent farther north.
• After the feast, Yang Ge left Little Yellow with Zhao Miao and flew south through the night toward Dragon-Tiger Mountain.
• Yang Ge asked Zhang Xuansu about the monks, and Zhang Xuansu identified them as Nan Jia, the Tartars' state preceptor, and Dao Dan of Treasure Dharma Temple.
• Zhang Xuansu explained that Dao Dan had opposed Yang Ge because he had disrupted Dao Dan's plans in Jiangzhe, was close to the Zhao Family, and stood in the way of his attempt to overthrow the dynasty.

Yang Ge questioned Zhang Xuansu about Dao Dan’s rebellion, the limits on Earthly Immortals, and the balance of power between Great Wei and the Tartars. Zhang Xuansu explained that dynastic fortune had constrained Dao Dan and revealed that Senior Jiang Ping had helped hold the northern threat in check, leaving Yang Ge ready to fight without restraint.

• Zhang Xuansu explained that Dao Dan had become a Peerless Grandmaster by drawing on Zhou Tang’s dynastic fortune and owed the Zhou Family a karmic debt.
• Yang Ge revealed that he had killed Dao Dan, prompting Zhang Xuansu to explain that Zhao Wei’s allotted reign had prevented Dao Dan from acting sooner.
• Zhang Xuansu said that he knew of five Earthly Immortals, including himself, the two elders at Bright Summit, the Tartar ruler in dragon robes, and Senior Jiang Ping.
• Yang Ge learned that Senior Jiang had held the line against the two Tartar Earthly Immortals alongside Zhang Xuansu and had the edge over the dragon-robed ruler in their only witnessed fight.
• Yang Ge said Senior Jiang’s presence meant he could fight future opponents with everything he had, and Zhang Xuansu resolved never to fight him again.

Yang Ge spoke with Shen Fa about verifying a report, then spent the day joking and playing mahjong with Yang Tiansheng, Li Jincheng, and Xiang Wudi. As Yang Ge left after being fleeced again, Zhao Miao took his seat to challenge the three.

• Yang Ge warned Shen Fa to verify the report himself and urged him to tell Zhao Hong to return and finish building the public latrines.
• Yang Tiansheng explained that he was staying away from Bright Summit while the Cult discussed its next Cult Master, and he said Yang Ge's killing of Yang Potian had earned little criticism from the disciples.
• Yang Ge asked whether the amnesty deal could still proceed, and Yang Tiansheng said it had to be shelved for now and admitted he felt responsible for Old Wei's death.
• Yang Ge urged Li Jincheng to offer Brocade Sail Wharf a chance to end their feud, and Li Jincheng sent Wu Eryong to invite Zhuang Chu for tea.
• Xiang Wudi revealed his plan to sail to the South Seas and establish a foothold abroad, and Yang Ge proposed that the group meet to plan and prepare supplies.
• After Yang Ge lost several mahjong hands, he stormed off, and Zhao Miao took his seat to face the three players.

Yang Ge escorted Zhao Miao from Road Pavilion to Capital City for the New Year, where she returned to the palace as Princess Lin'an. After Tang Xiong stopped the Imperial Guards from attacking them, Yang Ge declined the emperor’s banquet and flew away.

• Yang Ge teased Zhao Miao after she lost at mahjong, then agreed to bring her home and pick her up after the New Year.
• Yang Ge and Zhao Miao flew to Capital City, while Flea revealed his promotion to Fire Envoy and provoked the other members of the Four Bears of Welcoming Inn.
• Yang Ge brought Zhao Miao to Heavenly Authority Gate, where the Imperial Guards surrounded them before she could identify herself as Princess Lin'an.
• Tang Xiong arrived with the Golden Token and ordered the Imperial Guards to withdraw.
• Tang Xiong invited Yang Ge to the emperor’s banquet, but Yang Ge refused and flew away while Zhao Miao watched him go.

Yang Ge praised Zhao Hong for completing plans for Road Pavilion’s public toilets, then assigned him a six-month project to design and build a drainage system. Flea brought news that Yang Tiansheng had become Bright Cult’s thirty-eighth Cult Master and showed Yang Ge the new martial rankings, which Yang Ge asked to be removed from.

• Zhao Hong tried to startle Yang Ge, who kicked him away, then demanded to inspect the plans for the public toilets.
• Yang Ge checked Zhao Hong’s detailed plans, praised his work, and promised him a room and a hot-pot meal.
• Yang Ge challenged Zhao Hong to design and build a drainage system for Road Pavilion within six months, assigning him local recruits and Embroidered Uniform Guards.
• Zhao Hong accepted the task and gathered his guards for a meal, but Zhao Miao told him the inn had run out of the food and liquor he requested.
• Flea told Yang Ge that Yang Tiansheng had become the Bright Cult’s thirty-eighth Cult Master and that the Flame-Passing Assembly would be held on May sixteenth.
• Flea showed Yang Ge the new Wulin rankings, and Yang Ge asked him to remove his name and the Cold Moon Saber from the lists.

Shen Fa was denied an audience with the emperor and went to investigate the officials’ response to Wang Jiangling’s Performance Assessment Law. Outside Road Pavilion, Yang Ge met Chen Zhenlong, who had brought sweet potato vines from Luzon, and arranged to send him to the capital for recognition.

• A Junior Eunuch told Shen Fa that the emperor was unwell and could not receive him, so Shen Fa left for the Grand Secretariat to investigate the officials’ plans.
• Yang Ge transplanted chili seedlings outside town while Little Yellow played nearby.
• Wu Eryong brought Chen Zhenlong and a pot of sweet potato vines to meet Yang Ge.
• Chen Zhenlong explained how he had secretly carried sweet potato vines from Luzon to Great Wei, hoping to help the people escape famine.
• Yang Ge praised Chen Zhenlong’s deed, invited him to the inn, and promised to send him to the capital to receive a noble title.