Arc 1Chapters 1–25
No recap yet.
No recap yet.
He An and Fan Dazhi attended school together in Watermill Head Village, where their friendship continued despite Fan Dazhi falling asleep in class and getting struck by the old master. After school, they made fish traps and set them in the Han River, leaving He An to head home as Fan Dazhi’s father caught him stealing food.
He An spent the evening sharing a meal with his lame uncle, He Kui, then went fishing with Fan Dazhi and brought food to Miao Feifei. After Feifei announced she would join the private school, He An returned home and faced a surprise training test from He Kui.
He An and Fan Dazhi witnessed a mysterious swordsman kill Tan Song, a patrol officer of the Six Fan Gate, near their village. He Kui revealed that He An could learn about his family and past once he reached the dao integration realm, then prepared to leave and investigate old affairs.
When county constables came to question He An, Fan Dazhi, and Miao Feifei about Tan Song’s murder, their teacher Fang Yizhi stopped them and revealed formidable cultivation abilities. He explained that the students could not have killed Tan Song and suggested the killer may have come from Unknown Island, then left the constables to report his findings.
Fang Yizhi asked his students to share their ideals, revealing He An’s ambition to become like National Preceptor Li and Fan Dazhi’s reluctance to pursue anything difficult. An old man secretly watched He An and lamented their estrangement before praising Fang Yizhi’s teaching and the children’s potential.
He An and Fan Dazhi left Watermill Head Village for Luoyang to take the Knowing-and-Doing Institute's entrance test, while Miao Feifei and Miao Liu-shi watched them go. That night, black-clad assailants kidnapped Miao Liu-shi and Miao Feifei to learn where He Kui had gone; Miao Liu-shi was killed, and Miao Feifei was ordered sent to the Assassin Camp after her memories were erased.
Tan Ziwen attended a chaotic court session where Emperor Zhao Chang declared his intention to wage war against Western Liang and reclaim Qinzhou Commandery. After the session ended in a fight between Liu Daxia and Qin Lie, Zhao Chang learned that Li Xingzhi believed the time for action had not yet come.
Li Xingzhi left Luoyang alone and traveled toward Western Liang, while Zhao Chang ordered discreet protection for him. In Wuwei, Han Zongwang examined a powerful saber and discussed his precarious position at court with Zhu Shifu and Tong Shanxiong before Li Xingzhi suddenly appeared.
Li Xingzhi confronted Han Zongwang to learn what had happened when Qin Prefecture fell and Zhao Zhen died, then fought him in a contest that ended with Han yielding. Zhu Shifu secretly tried to strike Li Xingzhi during the duel but was thwarted, and Li left without revealing whether Han had answered his question.
Su Qiu handed Tan Song’s case over to the Ministry of Justice after the emperor approved its takeover, while the Cui Family of Fanyang secured permission to establish an academy and entered the palace in a vast delegation. The chapter ended as the Chen emperor asked Old Patriarch Cui what name the family had chosen for the academy.
The Chen emperor named the Cui clan’s new school Dragon Gate Academy and bestowed an inscription, but Liu Daxia and Qin Lie disrupted the audience with a violent brawl. The court session ended after the emperor punished them by docking six months’ salary.
Tan Ziwen tried to visit Wang Shutong after the emperor approved the Dragon Gate Academy, while senior officials gathered at Ding Fengyuan’s residence to discuss the decree and the emperor’s growing break with the Knowledge and Practice Institute. Ding Fengyuan suspected the emperor was finally beginning to assert his own power.
Fang Yizhi brought He An and Fan Dazhi to Yique County, where the boys explored the night market and He An met a headstrong girl named Chanjuan. After they fought over a butterfly hairpin, Chanjuan took it and ran off, leaving He An wondering if they would ever meet again.
Fang Yizhi brought He An and Fan Dazhi to Luoyang for the Knowledge and Practice Institute entrance tests, where he learned that the Cui Family’s new Dragon Gate Academy was drawing away candidates and had the emperor’s support. He An and Fan Dazhi explored the capital and fled Lotus Pavilion after realizing its women were soliciting customers.
He An and Fan Dazhi prepared for the Knowledge and Practice Institute entrance examination, then sat its written portion. Both found the questions manageable, while Fan Dazhi’s antics drew the proctor’s ire; afterward, the girl who had fought He An over a butterfly hairpin appeared with her Aunt Xue.
After Chanjuan injured He An with her Frost Ice Heart Method, Li Xingzhi arranged medicine for him and explained that the girl was Han Zongwang’s granddaughter. Li Xingzhi entrusted the Knowledge and Practice Institute to Wei Zhilin and announced that he would investigate Unknown Island by sea.
Fang Yizhi defended Fan Dazhi and He An’s exam papers to Lu Zhengqing, who praised both candidates and awarded them A-plus grades. At the martial examination, He An nearly caught examiner Qiu Qingxi’s robe before time ran out, while Fan Dazhi passed by turning Qiu Qingxi’s own attempt to catch him into an opportunity to grab his robe.
After passing the Knowledge and Practice Institute’s entrance assessment, He An and Fan Dazhi went shopping for clothes, where Cui Mengshu insulted them and ordered his followers to attack. He An defeated the thugs and Cui Mengshu, but was badly wounded by Cui’s Spirit Sword before knocking him unconscious and leaving with Fan Dazhi.
After He An and Fan Dazhi injured Cui Mengshu, Cui Lishen ordered an investigation, while Fang Yizhi visited Ding Feiyong to discuss his plans to join the Western Expedition Army. A sinister gray-robed man came to the inn, overpowered He An, knocked Fan Dazhi unconscious, and carried them both away.
Huang Daogong captured He An and Fan Dazhi and tried to take them to the Cui Residence, but Fang Yizhi intercepted him and fought to rescue his students. Huang escaped with Fan, and He An was later brought with him to the Cui Residence, where Wei Zhilin arrived to claim the youths as Cui Mengshu demanded their punishment.
Wei Zhilin settled the dispute between He An and Cui Mengshu, punished He An, and warned Huang Daogong against seizing students from the Knowledge and Practice Institute. After seeing Fang Yizhi off and registering at the institute, He An began his three-day confinement in a freezing underground chamber.
Fan Dazhi deliberately broke institute rules so he could share He An’s confinement, but his kitchen raid earned him seven days instead of three. The notices drew attention from students and instructors, and Lu Zhengqing realized the two notorious new students were the ones Fang Yizhi had brought back.
He An and Fan Dazhi endured the freezing confinement beneath the Knowledge and Practice Institute, while Ding Wenruo returned home and learned about their punishment. After she told Ding Feiyong what happened, he decided to meet the two men when their confinement ended.
Wei Zhilin and Cheng Zi Ya drank together, worried over Chancellor Ding’s illness and their missing senior brother Xiang Shou, while secretly discussing the institute’s prisoners and two students in confinement. At the institute, Gu Qingzhou’s pursuit of Ding Wenruo was rejected, and he later fell asleep during class.
Gu Qingzhou took Bi Yunfei to Grand View Tower after Ding Wenruo rejected his advances, where he clashed with Cui Zhixia over a reserved pavilion. The confrontation ended with both sides tense and Bi Yunfei caught between them.