Recaps

Gu Qingzhou humiliated the Cui Family men at the Grand View Tower, then heard Bi Yunfei’s advice on how to improve Ding Wenruo’s opinion of him. After returning to the Knowledge and Practice Institute, Bi Yunfei wrote to his mother and vowed to rise to success.

• Gu Qingzhou drove Cui Zhixia and the Cui Family men from the Grand View Tower after demanding they pay the bill.
• Cui Zhixia told his followers to infiltrate the Knowledge and Practice Institute, recruit talented students, and help the Dragon Gate Academy defeat it the following year.
• Gu Qingzhou boasted of his deeds to Bi Yunfei, then confided that Ding Wenruo troubled him.
• Bi Yunfei advised Gu Qingzhou to become cultured and avoid disreputable companions so Ding Wenruo might change her opinion of him.
• Gu Qingzhou took Bi Yunfei back to the Knowledge and Practice Institute in his imperial carriage.
• Bi Yunfei wrote to his mother, returned the ten-tael banknote she had hidden in his bundle, and promised to bring her to the capital after he succeeded.

After breaking into the True Martial Sect’s mountain formation, He Kui—whose original name was Bai Xiang Shou—confronted Huang Zonghai at Little Mirror Lake. Bai Xiang Shou called in an old life-debt and asked to borrow the True Martial Scripture, leaving Huang Zonghai alarmed.

• Huang Zonghai sensed a powerful intruder breach the Crane-Wing Winnowing-Basket Formation and approach Little Mirror Lake.
• He Kui studied the formation, concealed his aura, and slipped through its gates without disturbing its core.
• He Kui crossed Little Mirror Lake on foot and revealed himself to Huang Zonghai as Bai Xiang Shou, missing for more than ten years.
• Huang Zonghai recalled Bai Xiang Shou’s disappearance and offered to repay the debt he owed him, even at the cost of his life.
• Bai Xiang Shou asked to borrow the True Martial Scripture, and Huang Zonghai stared at him in alarm.

Bai Xiang Shou studied the True Martial Scripture in a hidden cavern for seven days and left Taihe Mountain after gaining a new insight. Sect Master Meng Xinghe watched his departure and resolved to give him a chance to soar.

• Huang Zonghai received Meng Xinghe’s instruction and brought Bai Xiang Shou to the cavern where the True Martial Scripture was kept.
• Meng Xinghe and Lao Tingxuan discussed Bai Xiang Shou’s return, his potential, and the True Martial Sect’s lack of young successors.
• Bai Xiang Shou studied the scripture for seven days while Huang Zonghai’s people brought him food and wine.
• Bai Xiang Shou emerged laughing, returned the scripture to Huang Zonghai, and left Taihe Mountain after sensing someone watching him.
• Meng Xinghe told Lao Tingxuan that Bai Xiang Shou had gained insight and compared him to a hidden dragon, saying he would lend him a wisp of wind.

Bai Xiang Shou returned to Drepung Monastery seeking Buddhist teachings to complete his martial arts and settle an old blood debt, where Monk Tingchan confronted him. Meanwhile, Fang Yizhi fought in his first battle with the Western Army Scout Corps, Li Xingzhi set out to sea, and Cui Mengshu arrived at the Knowledge and Practice Institute as He An and Fan Dazhi returned from confinement.

• Bai Xiang Shou recalled his past visit to Drepung Monastery and resolved to obtain the Buddhist Sect's true scriptures before pursuing his blood debt.
• Monk Tingchan emerged through the snow and exchanged a punch with Bai Xiang Shou, while two senior monks judged Bai Xiang Shou close to the grandmaster threshold.
• Fang Yizhi fought in his first Western Army Scout Corps battle, helped his fellow soldiers defeat their enemies, and faced a fresh attack from the woods.
• Li Xingzhi examined a strip of dark yellow cloth, left Green Donkey on the shore, and walked out across the sea.
• Cui Mengshu arrived at the Knowledge and Practice Institute, while He An and Fan Dazhi returned from confinement and rejoined Yan Zhongjie's class.

He An and Fan Dazhi met Ding Feiyong, who tested their calligraphy and scholarship before inviting them to dinner. He An then joined Han Chanjuan and Xue Ning at the Drunken Immortal Tower, where he accepted Chanjuan’s apology and learned more about one another.

• Ding Wenruo invited He An and Fan Dazhi to meet her father, and Han Chanjuan invited He An to dinner at the Drunken Immortal Tower.
• Bi Yunfei greeted He An and Fan Dazhi, but a steward escorted them to Ding Feiyong’s residence.
• He An impressed Ding Feiyong with his calligraphy and learning, while Fan Dazhi amused him by writing rows of numbers.
• He An and Fan Dazhi arrived late at the Drunken Immortal Tower, where Han Chanjuan and Xue Ning were waiting.
• Han Chanjuan apologized, returned He An’s hairpin, and accepted it as a gift when he offered it back.
• He An described his difficult childhood over dinner, and Han Chanjuan felt moved by his calm account.

Emperor Chen learned that the Imperial Preceptor had appeared in Dengzhou and ordered him watched, while voicing his distrust of martial practitioners and scholars. At the Dingding Chancellor's Residence, Ding Feiyong praised He An and Fan Dazhi to Ding Wenruo, then heard his dying father warn him to trust Li Xingzhi and the Knowledge and Practice Institute.

• Ma Zude reported that the Imperial Preceptor had been seen in Dengzhou, and Emperor Chen ordered scouts to track his movements and protect him.
• Emperor Chen told Zhao Delu that martial practitioners and scholars were difficult to control, lamented the loneliness of ruling, and fell asleep while Zhao Delu pounded his leg.
• Ding Feiyong praised He An's character and calligraphy and Fan Dazhi's exceptional learning, prompting Ding Wenruo to recall the two young men with warmth.
• Ding Feiyong found Ding Fengyuan coughing blood and learned that his illness had become incurable.
• Ding Fengyuan told Ding Feiyong that Li Xingzhi, his disciples, and the Knowledge and Practice Institute were the only people he could trust.

Chen Sangyu introduced the principles and history of cultivation to the Knowledge and Practice Institute’s students, demonstrating how cultivators controlled primordial energy. He An realized that his long-practiced method might already make him a cultivator, as Chen announced an aptitude test for the following day.

• Chen Sangyu demonstrated his control over Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy by gathering falling snow into a vast spinning snowball and dispersing it around himself.
• Chen Sangyu explained divine sense, recounted Lü Tuan’s discovery of cultivation and Kong Daoling’s search for the source of primordial energy, and described how cultivators formed and circulated true qi.
• Chen Sangyu outlined the six cultivation realms and the strengths of several sects’ cultivation methods, including the Knowledge and Practice Institute’s Record of Knowledge and Practice.
• He An quietly circulated his cultivation method and sensed wisps of Pure Void Energy entering his Dantian, wondering if he was already a cultivator.
• Chen Sangyu announced that the institute would test students’ cultivation aptitude the next day and explained that the top literary and martial examination scorers could earn a Spirit-Returning Pill.

He An and Fan Dazhi studied with Lu Zhengqing before heading to the institute for a cultivation aptitude test, where Cui Mengshu confronted them. Gu Qingzhou drove Cui and his followers away, then left the testing hall delighted after taking his test.

• Lu Zhengqing tutored He An and Fan Dazhi on the Treatise on Strategy and praised He An’s diligence while chiding Fan Dazhi’s laziness.
• Bi Yunfei praised He An for fighting Cui Mengshu’s men and promised to stand with He An and Fan Dazhi, though He An remained wary of him.
• He An practiced his uncle’s cultivation technique overnight, then went with Fan Dazhi to the institute’s aptitude test the next morning.
• Cui Mengshu and several fighters confronted He An and Fan Dazhi in line, but Bi Yunfei stepped between them.
• Gu Qingzhou hit Cui Mengshu with a pork bun, dismissed him and his followers, and then took his test before leaving in high spirits.

He An and Fan Dazhi displayed exceptional cultivation talent and received special training at the Knowledge and Practice Institute, while Bi Yunfei despaired over his lack of talent. After the pair entered the Library Tower and chose combat manuals, a tall stranger confronted He An with a challenge letter.

• Fan Dazhi's test produced a brilliant white glow, and He An's test produced an even more dazzling yellow light, prompting Feng Shaotang to report their results to Cheng Zi Ya and Wei Zhilin.
• He An and Fan Dazhi received instruction from the Institute's teachers, made rapid progress, and were approved to enter the Library Tower's inner repository.
• Bi Yunfei learned that he alone among his four roommates lacked cultivation talent and vented his frustration in a bamboo grove.
• He An chose the Startling Swan Sword Art, while Fan Dazhi selected Primordial Energy Manifestation and the incomplete Black Tortoise Scripture; He An also took the incomplete Spirit-Shocking Finger.
• A tall stranger approached He An outside the Library Tower and presented him with a challenge letter.

Sun Biao repeatedly challenged He An, hoping to carry out Cui Mengshu’s revenge, but He An refused until he had prepared. After He An revealed he expected the fight and had chosen a technique from the Library Tower’s inner collection, his classmates dispersed, while Ding Wenruo watched him with growing admiration.

• Sun Biao publicly challenged He An, mocked him for refusing, and revealed to the gathered students that He An had entered the Library Tower’s inner collection.
• He An and Fan Dazhi returned to their lodgings to study their cultivation manuals, and Academy Head Cheng Zi Ya visited them and offered his support.
• The next day, Sun Biao challenged He An again after class, but He An refused and dismissed the contest as immature.
• Ding Wenruo offered to ask the Academy Head to intervene, while Gu Qingzhou urged He An to accept the challenge.
• He An told Gu Qingzhou that Cui Mengshu had likely sent Sun Biao and said he would practice the technique he had selected before facing him.
• Gu Qingzhou dispersed the curious students, and Ding Wenruo watched He An with new admiration as the bell rang.

He An endured Sun Biao’s repeated Challenge Letters and rumors while training, as Fan Dazhi discovered how to use divine sense to control objects and observe distant places. The chapter ended with Fan Dazhi asking whether He An could defeat Sun Biao, and He An resolving to keep improving despite his uncertainty.

• He An promised Han Chanjuan that he would eventually accept Sun Biao’s Challenge Letter and defeat him, then moved into spacious new lodgings with Fan Dazhi.
• He An practiced the “Startled Swan Sword Art” and cultivated through the night, while Fan Dazhi noticed a leaf floating in the moonlight and began pondering what he had seen.
• He An repeatedly refused Sun Biao’s Challenge Letter, prompting rumors that he was a coward, even as he trained for over ten days and improved his swordsmanship.
• Fan Dazhi demonstrated that he could levitate a teacup and use his divine sense to observe places nearly a hundred zhang away, then admitted he had considered probing the Female Dormitory.
• Fan Dazhi asked whether He An could beat Sun Biao, and He An said he was unsure but would do his best and keep working to surpass his opponent.

He An and Han Chanjuan shared a winter hot-pot dinner before masked attackers ambushed them with crossbows and sabers. Trapped in a dead-end alley, they faced a brown-clad figure whom He An recognized as he turned deathly pale.

• He An met Han Chanjuan after lessons, and they went to the Imperial Fragrance House for hot pot while she arranged to send most of their meal to Fan Dazhi.
• After dinner, Han Chanjuan thanked He An and promised to support him against the person challenging him.
• He An sensed the street was unnaturally silent and knocked Han Chanjuan aside as two crossbow bolts flew past them.
• He An pulled Han Chanjuan through the streets while four masked attackers pursued and attempted to surround them.
• He An and Han Chanjuan ran into a dead-end alley, where he urged her to flee but she refused to leave him.
• A brown-clad figure descended from the wall and declared that He An would die; He An recognized the newcomer and turned pale.

He An and Han Chanjuan were ambushed by Huang Daogong, who sought to kill He An and assault Han Chanjuan. Cheng Zi Ya arrived in time to defeat Huang, cripple him, and lead the injured pair out of the alley.

• Huang Daogong confronted He An and Han Chanjuan in an alley, and Han Chanjuan attacked him with a dagger.
• He An and Han Chanjuan fought Huang Daogong but were overpowered, while Huang ordered his men to guard the alley with Powerful Crossbows.
• Huang Daogong prepared to kill He An, who secretly gripped the life-saving jade pendant left by He Kui.
• Cheng Zi Ya seized Huang Daogong from behind, then struck him and drove off the crossbowmen with the bolts they fired.
• Cheng Zi Ya shattered Huang Daogong's dan foundation and meridians, and He An and Han Chanjuan followed him out of the alley.

After Cheng Zi Ya rescued He An and Han Chanjuan from Huang Daogong, Han Chanjuan sent He An home with a potent healing pill. The pill nearly overwhelmed He An’s body, but it unexpectedly enabled him to unleash the first form of the Spirit-Shocking Finger, drawing the attention of a mysterious figure on a distant mountain.

• Cheng Zi Ya told He An not to lose heart, and He An and Han Chanjuan rode together to her home in a carriage.
• Han Chanjuan gave He An a scarlet healing pill, and he returned to his lodgings to find Fan Dazhi waiting with food and Wound-Healing Powder.
• As He An cultivated, the pill’s power sent his true qi into chaos and drew a dense vortex of heaven and earth primordial energy into the room.
• He An channeled the turbulent true qi into the Pool at the Bend Acupoint and accidentally unleashed the first form of the Spirit-Shocking Finger, piercing the window.
• Fan Dazhi marveled at He An’s achievement, while a mysterious figure on a mountain noticed the technique and called it interesting.

After his wounds healed and his cultivation improved, He An accepted Sun Biao’s challenge and added a hundred-tael wager. As the school expected him to lose, He An waited for Han Chanjuan, while Ding Wenruo quietly encouraged him before his fight.

• He An woke refreshed after his wounds healed overnight and told Fan Dazhi that strength was needed to protect the people one cared about.
• He An accepted Sun Biao’s challenge to fight at noon the next day and proposed that the loser pay the winner a hundred taels of silver.
• News of the challenge spread, and the students expected Sun Biao to crush He An, though several classmates gathered to support He An and Gu Qingzhou promised a celebratory feast if he won.
• He An spent the school day hoping Han Chanjuan would appear, but she did not come to class.
• Ding Wenruo called to He An as they left school and told him she believed he would win.

He An trained with the Spirit-Shocking Finger while discovering Fan Dazhi could control Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy, then entered his duel with Sun Biao at the Martial Restraint Hall. The fight began with both students trading blows without either gaining the upper hand.

• He An practiced the Spirit-Shocking Finger and broke a birch tree with its first form, but failed to release the Immortal-Slaying Finger.
• He An found Fan Dazhi using Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy to wash clothes and learned that his divine sense reached thirty zhang along Vermilion Bird Avenue.
• He An worried when Han Chanjuan did not appear for class, then went with Fan Dazhi, Gu Qingzhou, and other students to the Martial Restraint Hall for his duel.
• Xu Kangnian announced the duel between He An and Sun Biao, and both fighters entered the platform.
• Sun Biao attacked first, and He An dodged his powerful palm before countering with the Cloud-Riding Hand.
• He An and Sun Biao exchanged more than a dozen moves without either gaining the advantage, while Feng Shaotang asked Elder Xu who would win.

He An fought Sun Biao, who used hidden barbed gloves and a strange cultivation method to gain the upper hand. Under Sun Biao’s attacks, He An broke through to the Spirit Refinement Realm, defeated him with a single palm strike, and won the crowd’s applause.

• Xu Kangnian and Feng Shaotang watched He An and Sun Biao exchange blows, while Zou Zheng noticed Sun Biao’s Black Crow-Gold Silk Gloves.
• Sun Biao used a concealed attack to strike He An’s lower abdomen, then unleashed a transformation that drew heaven and earth primordial energy into his body.
• He An’s friends and Han Chanjuan urged him on or begged him to surrender as Sun Biao drove him back with powerful palm strikes.
• He An endured Sun Biao’s attacks, spat out black blood, and broke through to the Spirit Refinement Realm.
• Sun Biao charged again, but He An struck him with a palm that sent him crashing to the floor.
• Fan Dazhi and Gu Qingzhou cheered as the spectators realized He An had won.

He An celebrated his victory over Sun Biao with his fellow students, while Wei Zhilin revealed dangerous cultivation tokens to Su Qiu and asked him to investigate their connection to Sun Biao. Su Qiu accepted the assignment and left to pursue the lead.

• Sun Biao collapsed after losing to He An, and Cui Mengshu and the others abandoned him as He An was carried off the arena by cheering students.
• He An celebrated his victory with Gu Qingzhou and the other students, and reassured Gu Qingzhou that he regarded Wenruo only as a younger sister.
• Wei Zhilin showed Su Qiu two mysterious tokens carved with cultivation diagrams and explained that their techniques rapidly increased cultivation while draining vitality and damaging the mind.
• Wei Zhilin connected the tokens to Sun Biao's unusual technique and asked Su Qiu to investigate the tokens' origins and spread.
• Su Qiu accepted the assignment and promised to report back when he had news.

Emperor Chen dismissed Grand Tutor Tang Zan after reading his memorial, then visited the Longevity Hall to mourn his father and elder brother. There, a mist-shrouded stranger offered to kill someone in exchange for the Immortal Map, while Lu Aping revealed himself as a powerful guard; Emperor Chen told the stranger to await his word.

• Emperor Chen ordered Ma Zude to search the nearby waters for unusual activity, then had Zhao Delu read Grand Tutor Tang Zan’s memorial.
• After condemning Tang Zan’s criticism, Emperor Chen ordered him to retire to his native home and went to the Longevity Hall.
• Emperor Chen mourned his father and elder brother and spoke of his missing nephew, who had supposedly been rescued after his parents’ deaths in Qin Prefecture.
• A mist-shrouded stranger appeared and offered to kill someone Emperor Chen wanted dead in exchange for the Immortal Map.
• Lu Aping intercepted the stranger’s attack with a silver needle, and the stranger vanished after Emperor Chen told him to await word.
• Emperor Chen asked what Lu Aping had heard, and Lu Aping struck his own Jaw Cartilage Acupoint until blood ran from his ears, claiming he had gone deaf.

He An adjusted to his growing fame while political unease spread after Grand Tutor Tang Zan retired from court. In class, Fan Dazhi impressed Lin Qiu Chi with his mathematical skill, while He An received a new calligraphy book from Ding Wenruo.

• He An found that students’ attention and visits disrupted his studies, while Fan Dazhi enjoyed chatting with them.
• Grand Tutor Tang Zan returned to his hometown after retiring, and rumors that Emperor Chen had dismissed him over a critical memorial stirred anxiety at court.
• Lin Qiu Chi praised Fan Dazhi for correctly solving the test problems and explained how he had calculated the height of the Knowledge and Practice Tower.
• Lin Qiu Chi revealed that Li Xingzhi had used mathematical arts to trap a hundred thousand soldiers, leaving He An impressed and discouraged about his own abilities.
• Han Chanjuan asked He An for help with a problem, but he could not solve it; Fan Dazhi returned with roasted sweet potatoes and shared one with him.
• He An returned the Great Liang Regular and Clerical Script Collection to Ding Wenruo, who gave him the Dragon Gate Model Calligraphy on her father's recommendation.

Lin Qiu Chi repaired a damaged Formation Flag during mathematics class and discovered that Fan Dazhi had remarkable aptitude for numbers, urging him to consider studying formations. After class, He An invited Han Chanjuan to hot pot on their day off, but her cheerful mood abruptly faded.

• An attendant brought Lin Qiu Chi a damaged Formation Flag from the Women's Dormitory, and she began repairing it while her students worked on a sum.
• Fan Dazhi quickly solved the sum as five thousand and fifty, prompting Lin Qiu Chi to recognize his talent and invite him to study formations.
• Fan Dazhi declined to decide immediately, while Lin Qiu Chi privately called him a genius.
• The students confirmed Fan Dazhi's answer and teased him when he returned to the classroom.
• He An invited Han Chanjuan to Dong Lai Shun for hot pot on their day off, and her smile disappeared when she remembered something.

He An learned that Han Chanjuan’s supposed coachman was a formidable bodyguard, then practiced his techniques and studied a calligraphy model at the lodgings. Fan Dazhi admitted he had investigated the Female Dormitory’s formation and hinted that his curiosity had damaged it.

• Han Chanjuan complained that her family had restricted her movements and introduced He An to the old stick-in-the-mud assigned to guard her.
• He An sensed that the coachman had cultivation at least at the dao integration realm as Han Chanjuan rode away.
• He An practiced Cloud-Riding Hand, reviewed the incomplete Spirit-Shocking Finger manual, and read the Dragon Gate Model Calligraphy Ding Wenruo had brought him.
• Fan Dazhi examined the manual, discovered its divine sense imprint, and quickly gave up after grasping only its first form.
• Fan Dazhi suggested that he and He An explore Luoyang City, then confessed that he had investigated the Female Dormitory’s formation and had probably damaged it.

He An and Fan Dazhi toured Luoyang and decided to make a writing brush as a gift for Teacher Ding, since they could not afford a fine one. While searching for bamboo at the Knowledge and Practice Institute, He An met Lu Zhengqing, who gave him a piece of writing and directed him to an excellent bamboo plant.

• Fan Dazhi confessed that he had secretly attacked the Female Dormitory's Isolation Barrier Formation with his divine sense, and He An warned him against snooping.
• He An and Fan Dazhi toured Luoyang City and planned to buy a gift before visiting Teacher Ding at the Ding residence.
• Unable to afford a good writing brush, Fan Dazhi proposed making one themselves and sent He An to find bamboo.
• He An searched the Knowledge and Practice Institute for suitable bamboo, and Lu Zhengqing called him over after watching him from his window.
• Lu Zhengqing recalled a former disciple in the Eastern Yang Kingdom, advised He An that learning and writing could serve the people, and gave him a folded piece of writing.
• After He An explained why he had been searching suspiciously, Lu Zhengqing told him where to find excellent bamboo.

He An broke off a twig from an extraordinary ink bamboo, while Fan Dazhi searched Luoyang for cat whiskers and trapped two cats to collect theirs. After finding the whiskers insufficient, Fan Dazhi headed toward Dingding Avenue, where a tiny black kitten followed him.

• He An used the Spirit-Shocking Finger to snap a twig from the resilient ink bamboo, stripped its leaves, and left the courtyard with them.
• Fan Dazhi learned from a bun-shop keeper that cats lived in wealthy wards, then bought small fish to lure them in Chongyi Ward.
• Fan Dazhi immobilized a golden cat with primordial energy and snipped off its whiskers.
• Fan Dazhi lured a tiger-striped tomcat with a fish and took its whiskers, but found the small tuft still insufficient.
• Fan Dazhi went to Dingding Avenue, where a palm-sized black kitten began following him.

Fan Dazhi gathered cat whiskers with the help of a remarkably obedient black kitten, then joined He An at the Precious Ink Pavilion to make a writing brush from rare ink bamboo. The kitten ate bamboo leaves and fell asleep as Fan Dazhi completed the brush tip and attached it to the precious shaft.

• Fan Dazhi fed a hungry black kitten, which summoned a crowd of cats and kept them obedient while he trimmed their whiskers.
• Fan Dazhi took the kitten to meet He An, who showed him rare ink bamboo he had obtained by following Lu Zhengqing's directions.
• The kitten ate the ink bamboo leaves from He An's sleeve and followed the brothers into the Precious Ink Pavilion.
• The shopkeeper let He An and Fan Dazhi use the shop's tools after learning they were students of the Knowledge and Practice Institute.
• Fan Dazhi prepared the whiskers and finished the brush tip, then glued it onto the jet-black bamboo shaft.