Chapter Summaries

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.

Shen Fa brought Chen Zhenlong’s high-yield sweet potato before Emperor Xiping, only to discover the emperor was gravely ill after a plot inside the Purple Tenuity Palace. Emperor Xiping urged Shen Fa not to act rashly, determined to expose his enemies and pass the throne to the Crown Prince, then collapsed unconscious.

• Shen Fa read Yang Ge’s letter and brought Chen Zhenlong and the sweet potato plant to seek an audience with Emperor Xiping.
• A junior eunuch led Shen Fa to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, where he saw that Emperor Xiping had grown dangerously thin and weak.
• Shen Fa presented the sweet potato’s promised yields, and Emperor Xiping rejected the idea that its discovery was a heavenly omen.
• Emperor Xiping told Shen Fa that he had fallen into a trap within the Purple Tenuity Palace and warned that the conspirators would silence anyone who investigated.
• Shen Fa realized the plot had been a feint east and strike west, while Emperor Xiping insisted he would endure until he could hand the throne to the Crown Prince.
• Emperor Xiping told Shen Fa not to act rashly, then lost consciousness, prompting the attendants and Imperial Secret Guards to rush to his bedside.

Yang Ge urged Zhao Hong to recover from his failed drainage plans and face the hardship of leadership rather than give up. Zhao Hong recommitted to the project and asked Yang Ge to support him if he became a good emperor for life.

• Fang Ke told Yang Ge that Shen had seemed furious after returning from the palace, though he did not know why.
• The Court announced policies establishing a Capital Army, dismissing surplus officials, and reducing land taxes, provoking fierce debate and memorials while Emperor Xiping ignored the protests.
• Yang Ge returned from a visit to the Bright Summit, and torrential rain flooded half of Road Pavilion after Zhao Hong's drainage canals failed.
• Zhao Hong confessed that he had designed the canals incorrectly and feared the wasted labor, money, and time meant the project was lost.
• Yang Ge persuaded Zhao Hong to recruit more workers and extend work hours, and Zhao Hong admitted there was enough time to finish.
• Yang Ge warned Zhao Hong that becoming a good emperor would demand lifelong perseverance, and Zhao Hong asked whether Yang Ge would help him if he achieved it.

Zhang Xuansu visited Yang Ge at the Welcome Inn, where news arrived that Emperor Xiping had died and Yang Ge suspected foul play. Yang Ge took Zhao Miao and Zhao Hong to the Purple Tenuity Palace and vowed to kill whoever had caused the emperor’s death and endangered the people’s hopes.

• Zhang Xuansu came to the Welcome Inn, and Yang Ge warned him to behave himself before inviting him upstairs.
• Zhang Xuansu discussed the inn’s auspicious feng shui and asked what power Yang Ge believed in; Yang Ge declared, “Sacrifice kindles boundless resolve; we dare command sun and moon to remake the heavens!”
• A messenger announced Emperor Xiping’s death, and Zhao Miao rushed to Yang Ge in tears.
• Yang Ge accused Zhang Xuansu of knowing about or causing the emperor’s death, but Zhang Xuansu denied involvement and said he had learned of it by reading the stars.
• Zhao Hong arrived, and Yang Ge warned that whoever had killed the emperor would die before taking Zhao Miao and Zhao Hong to the Capital City.
• Yang Ge brought Zhao Miao and Zhao Hong to the Purple Tenuity Palace, where Tang Xiong received them as Luoyang mourned in white.

Yang Ge entered the palace after Emperor Xiping’s death and learned that Shen Fa suspected him of poisoning the emperor. After examining the body, Yang Ge agreed to investigate independently and made clear that his future support would depend on whether the next emperor cared for the people.

• Shen Fa told Yang Ge that Emperor Xiping had died from a slow-acting poison and explained why he suspected Yang Ge, while Yang Ge angrily denied responsibility.
• Yang Ge examined Emperor Xiping’s body with his Supreme Ultimate True Qi and confirmed that the emperor had died from a vicious poison that was difficult to remove.
• Yang Ge told Tang Xiong and the other four elders that Zhao Hong could succeed to the throne, provided Zhao Hong was sent safely back to Road Pavilion if he could not become emperor.
• Yang Ge offered to share his findings with the elders and said he would help the next emperor only if he cared about the common people.
• Yang Ge comforted Zhao Miao, urged Zhao Hong to care for his sister and remember his teachings, then left the palace as a streak of golden light.

After Emperor Xiping’s poisoning was discussed, Zhao Hong became Emperor Gaozong of Wei and began a harsh purge of senior officials. Yang Ge investigated the poisoning and received a new title, while learning that Shen Fa had been ambushed; he agreed to accept the appointment and told Nangong Feiying to report his warning to the emperor.

• Yang Ge told Zhang Xuansu that Emperor Xiping had died from a slow-acting poison and asked the Five Poisons Cult to investigate, while they considered how the plot might have exploited the palace’s weakened defenses.
• After twenty-seven days of mourning, Zhao Hong ascended the throne as Emperor Gaozong of Wei, reduced taxes, declared an amnesty, and arrested the leaders of the Qi and Chu Factions.
• Nangong Feiying visited Yang Ge as the new director of the Western Factory and revealed that an imperial edict would grant Yang Ge the title Duke of Road Pavilion and the rank of Grand Preceptor.
• Nangong Feiying said the authorities were being kept from investigating Emperor Gaozong’s poisoning and that Shen Fa had survived an ambush in which his escort was killed.
• Yang Ge agreed to accept the edict, sent Emperor Gaozong a message about remaining calm under pressure, and offered to intervene if a Peerless Grandmaster or greater caused trouble.

Zhao Hong met with Zhao Miao and Zhao Run to discuss the threat facing Great Wei and offered Zhao Run a choice between remaining in the capital as his potential successor or leaving for a distant fief. The siblings parted with Zhao Hong determined to resist the court’s rebels, while Zhao Run had yet to choose his path.

• Zhao Hong summoned Zhao Run and Zhao Miao to the Waterside Pavilion, where Zhao Miao broke the tension by teasing Zhao Hong and defending their frightened brother.
• Zhao Run told Zhao Hong he had no ambition for the throne and would accept confinement or being made a commoner; Zhao Hong explained that their father had arranged matters to protect both brothers.
• Zhao Hong said he would continue the Late Emperor’s policies and fight the rebels, then offered Zhao Run the choice to stay in the capital and prepare to succeed him or leave for Yunnan or Lingnan.
• Zhao Miao praised Second Brother’s efforts and said she would return to Road Pavilion, while Zhao Hong lamented that he could no longer enjoy hot pot with him.
• Zhao Hong forbade Zhao Run from going to Road Pavilion and declared that if Zhao Run stayed in the capital, he would have to remain at Zhao Hong’s side.

Yang Ge visited Zhao Miao at the Purple Tenuity Palace and asked Tang Xiong to help arrange for her mother to live outside the palace, while the mystery of Emperor Xiping’s death continued to trouble the new reign. Before Xiang Wudi sailed overseas, Yang Ge learned that the Court was pressuring his friends and promised he would not let them endure its mistreatment; he declined to leave with Xiang because an elder at home needed him.

• Yang Ge brought Little Yellow to the Purple Tenuity Palace, where Zhao Miao welcomed him and led him to see her mother; he asked Tang Xiong to discuss letting her mother live outside the palace.
• Yang Ge and his allies failed to uncover who had helped the old monk cause Emperor Xiping’s death, so Yang Ge focused on keeping the Martial World in check while Zhao Hong restored order.
• Yang Ge met Xiang Wudi, Yang Tiansheng, and Li Jincheng at South Sand Bay before Xiang Wudi’s voyage, and learned the Court had been pressuring the Bright Cult, Chain Wharf, and Xiang’s fleet.
• Yang Ge told his friends to resist the Court if it mistreated them, then heard Xiang Wudi planned to sail to Luzon Island to seek useful goods and challenge its customs restrictions.
• Yang Ge refused to join Xiang Wudi’s voyage because an elder at home was unwell, but said he might roam the seas with Xiang in a few years.

As a winter grain shortage deepened, Yang Ge tended the gravely ill Old Shopkeeper and directed Liu Mang to ration grain and feed the poor. In the capital, Zhao Hong learned that officials had drained Hanjia Granary and secretly diverted grain, leaving him to face their challenge.

• Yang Ge comforted the dying Old Shopkeeper by promising he would marry Miaomiao, then learned from Liu Mang that the Liu Family Grain House's supply had been cut off.
• Yang Ge ordered Liu Mang to keep the shop open, restrict purchases to half a jin per person per day, establish gruel kitchens, and seek help from Hu Qiang and Fang Ke.
• Zhao Hong confronted his senior ministers over Hanjia Granary's dwindling reserves, gave them three days to address the shortage, and dismissed them.
• Shen Fa told Zhao Hong that the Twenty-Six Imperial Guard Units had received far less grain than official ledgers claimed and that grain had not left the Ministry of Revenue for two years.
• Zhao Hong concluded that corrupt officials had secretly accumulated grain as leverage in their contest with him.

Yang Ge learned that the grain shortage was likely being exploited by ministers to undermine the newly enthroned Zhao Hong, while a Capital City merchant offered grain at an inflated price to silence him. He arranged for Fang Ke to investigate grain reserves and routes in Jiangzhe, then returned to caring for the Old Shopkeeper.

• Fang Ke reported that grain shortages were temporary but that rumors blamed Zhao Hong and the new policies for depleted state reserves.
• Yang Ge concluded that officials had let Zhao Hong overspend and were using the shortage to trap him, and suspected the scheme had further aims.
• Liu Mang reported that a Capital City grain merchant had offered a shipment at a price ten percent below the Capital City market rate, and Yang Ge ordered him to demand the usual price and full supply.
• Yang Ge sent Fang Ke to investigate grain reserves and routes in Jiangzhe, instructing him to seek help from the Chain Wharf and other groups if obstructed.
• Yang Ge reassured Liu Mang that he would help those facing the shortage, then checked the Old Shopkeeper's pulse and vitality.

Emperor Bright Virtue accepted Wang Jiangling’s advice to resolve the court crisis by splitting the opposing factions rather than resorting to executions. Meanwhile, Fang Ke and Shen Fa searched for the hidden cause of the grain shortage, and Shen Fa began to suspect a northern plot involving the Tartars.

• Wang Jiangling warned Emperor Bright Virtue that the grain shortage was part of a wider political crisis and urged him to divide the opposing factions as the Late Emperor had done.
• Emperor Bright Virtue considered using the Embroidered Uniform Guard against his enemies but agreed to proceed cautiously and follow Wang Jiangling’s counsel.
• In Hangzhou, Fang Ke investigated grain warehouses and the Jianghuai waterways with Wu Eryong, but they found no evidence of disruption and could not locate the problem.
• Shen Fa discovered that Ministry of Revenue officials had concealed their grain dealings so thoroughly that the buyers, firms, and destinations could not be traced.
• Shen Fa dismissed Jiangzhe as the likely location of the plot, suspected the northern provinces and the Grasslands, and demanded that a prisoner confess who had ordered him to collude with the Tartars.