Chapter Summaries

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.

Fan Dazhi and He An finished a brush for Teacher Ding, and Fan demonstrated his control over fire- and water-attribute primordial energy. They refused Jiang Boya’s offer of three thousand taels and brought the brush to the Chancellor’s Residence, where Ding Feiyong asked them to comment on Ding Wenruo’s zither performance.

• Fan Dazhi dried the finished brush with fire-attribute primordial energy and demonstrated how he could create water and ice by isolating elemental attributes.
• Jiang Boya offered Fan Dazhi and He An three thousand taels for the brush, but He An refused because it was intended as a gift for Teacher Ding.
• Jiang Boya gave He An a presentation box for the brush and rebuked his nephew for suggesting they steal it.
• He An explained to Fan Dazhi that sudden wealth could unsettle them and that they could not sell a gift they had made for Teacher Ding; Fan Dazhi promised to support him.
• He An and Fan Dazhi arrived at the Chancellor’s Residence and heard Ding Wenruo play “Breaking the Battle Formation: Music of Battle on the Frontier.”
• Ding Feiyong welcomed the boys and asked them to share their thoughts on Ding Wenruo’s performance.

He An and Fan Dazhi visited Ding Feiyong, where He An praised Ding Wenruo’s zither playing while identifying a subtle flaw. They presented Ding Feiyong with a handmade brush, then stayed to discuss music and care for Fan Dazhi’s kitten, Little Black Cat; Ding Feiyong named it Treading Snow to Seek Plum Blossoms and praised He An’s conduct after his arena victory.

• He An pointed out a slight flaw in Ding Wenruo’s zither playing, and Ding Feiyong encouraged her to refine the details.
• He An and Fan Dazhi presented Ding Feiyong with a handmade brush, explaining that they had made it themselves after he reproached them for extravagant gift-giving.
• Fan Dazhi revealed Little Black Cat, and Ding Wenruo bathed the kitten while He An and Ding Feiyong discussed music.
• Ding Feiyong identified the kitten as the rare variety Treading Snow to Seek Plum Blossoms and lent Fan Dazhi the Cat-Physiognomy Classic.
• Ding Feiyong praised He An for winning his arena match and told him that standing up to unforgivable people had been the right thing to do.

He An and Fan Dazhi dined at the Ding residence, where Ding Feiyong grew fond of He An and hinted at presiding over the young men’s coming-of-age ceremonies. After the guests left, Ding Feiyong discovered that He An had brought a Purple Thunder Bamboo brush, a treasured object that might lift his ailing father’s spirits.

• Fan Dazhi offered Little Black Cat to Ding Wenruo, and the guests joined the Ding family for an elaborate dinner.
• Ding Feiyong learned that He An and Fan Dazhi were seventeen and offered to preside over their capping ceremonies when they turned twenty.
• Little Black Cat burrowed into He An’s sleeve and pulled out a banknote and a paper bearing Lu Zhengqing’s calligraphy, which Ding Feiyong recognized.
• He An and Fan Dazhi thanked Ding Feiyong and left, and Ding Feiyong visited his sleeping, ill father, Ding Fengyuan.
• Ding Feiyong found a Purple Thunder Bamboo brush in his study and realized He An had restored the treasured gift his father had lost.

Wei Zhilin met Emperor Chen to discuss Western Liang and the emperor’s plan to build a vast canal, then encountered Xin Wuming of the Dragon Gate Academy, who challenged him and was defeated. Back at the Knowledge and Practice Institute, Wei discovered someone had stolen a stalk of his purple thunder bamboo and ordered an investigation.

• Wei Zhilin met Emperor Chen in the Hall of Worthies, where they discussed Western Liang, drought relief, a proposed canal, and other matters of governance.
• Wei Zhilin encountered Xin Wuming of the Dragon Gate Academy, who attacked him and was forced to retreat after their clash.
• Xin Wuming admitted to himself that Wei Zhilin’s skills were formidable and spat blood inside his departing sedan.
• Wei Zhilin returned to the Knowledge and Practice Institute and discovered that someone had broken off a stalk of purple thunder bamboo.
• Wei Zhilin ordered a middle-aged man to find out who had entered his courtyard and stolen the bamboo.

Wei Zhilin confronted Lu Zhengqing about sending He An to steal his ink bamboo, while Lin Qiu Chi demonstrated her formation arts to Fan Dazhi and summoned him to the Sky-Observing Terrace. Left alone with Jin Caiyun, He An grew flustered as she flirted with him and pressed his hand to her bosom.

• Wei Zhilin learned that He An had stolen ink bamboo after speaking with Lu Zhengqing, then confronted Lu Zhengqing over porridge; Lu Zhengqing admitted encouraging He An and asked Wei Zhilin not to punish him.
• Lin Qiu Chi offered to take Fan Dazhi as her final disciple, then trapped Fan Dazhi and He An inside her courtyard with a formation to demonstrate her skill.
• Lin Qiu Chi painted the iron dragon's eyes, and He An and Fan Dazhi glimpsed a dragon moving among the clouds.
• Feng Qiwu told Lin Qiu Chi that the Sky-Observing Terrace was ready, and she ordered Fan Dazhi to carry the dragon's head there with her.
• Jin Caiyun stayed behind with He An, flirted with him, and pressed his hand to her bosom; He An pulled away but reacted to her fragrance.

Jin Caiyun framed He An for molesting her, and Lin Qiu Chi and Jia Huaigang believed her account despite He An’s protests. Jia Huaigang ordered He An detained pending judgment and went to the Knowledge and Practice Tower.

• Jin Caiyun seduced He An, smeared ink on her face, tore open her robe, then accused him of molesting her when Lin Qiu Chi returned.
• Lin Qiu Chi restrained He An with a Formation Flag and brought him and Jin Caiyun to the Discipline Hall.
• Jin Caiyun told Jia Huaigang that He An had attacked her, while He An insisted she had staged the encounter and that a fragrance had clouded his senses.
• Jia Huaigang doubted He An’s explanation, ordered him detained pending judgment, and sent Lin Qiu Chi and Jin Caiyun away.
• Jia Huaigang left the Discipline Hall and headed for the Knowledge and Practice Tower.

Wei Zhilin reduced He An’s punishment but suspected he had been framed, while He An’s friends remained in the dark. He An endured thirty strokes in the Discipline Hall, leaving Jia Huaigang wondering whether the accusation was false.

• Jia Huaigang reported He An’s alleged misconduct, and Wei Zhilin ordered a major demerit, thirty strokes, and three months of confinement instead of the harsher punishment Jia proposed.
• Wei Zhilin told Cheng Zi Ya that He An’s character made the accusation seem suspicious and that the punishment would serve as a trial for him.
• Fan Dazhi returned to find He An missing, worried through the night, and could not get an explanation from Lin Qiu Chi or the institute teachers.
• Students gathered around the disciplinary notice accusing He An of harassing a fellow student, and rumors spread through the Knowledge and Practice Institute.
• Jia Huaigang ordered the punishment carried out, and He An endured the thirty strokes without making a sound while vowing to find who had framed him.
• Jia Huaigang watched He An’s defiant endurance and began to suspect that He An had been wrongfully accused.

After He An was accused of molesting a fellow student and punished in the Discipline Hall, his friends visited him in the confinement cells and found him badly wounded. They tended his injuries, heard his account of the incident, and left with Gu Qingzhou promising to investigate Jin Caiyun.

• Fan Dazhi, Han Chanjuan, Ding Wenruo, and their classmates expressed disbelief that He An had molested anyone and followed Gu Qingzhou to the Discipline Hall to see him.
• Gu Qingzhou asked the black-clad guard to let them see He An, and Han Chanjuan persuaded the man to take them to the confinement cells.
• Fan Dazhi and the others found He An lying injured while an elderly physician removed his bloodied clothes and treated his wounds.
• Fan Dazhi tried to apply medicine before Han Chanjuan took over and used a precious wound remedy, moved by her concern for He An.
• He An recounted what had happened, and his friends believed he had been falsely accused; Gu Qingzhou promised to investigate Jin Caiyun.

He An endured the cold and pain of the confinement chamber, discovering that its dense primordial energy strengthened his cultivation. Ding Wenruo and Cheng Zi Ya visited him, and Cheng Zi Ya explained how the chamber worked and urged him to use it as an opportunity to advance.

• He An absorbed the chamber’s concentrated heaven and earth primordial energy, enduring painful strain as his cultivation grew stronger.
• Ding Wenruo visited He An with food, worried over his injuries, and agreed to ask Fan Dazhi to bring him books.
• Ding Wenruo left in tears, while Jia Huaigang was surprised to learn that Cheng Zi Ya had come to see He An.
• Cheng Zi Ya praised He An’s composure, explained that the dark-ice chamber gathered primordial energy and intensified the cold backlash, and eased He An’s wounds with his true qi.
• Cheng Zi Ya told He An to keep cultivating and make the most of the chamber’s benefits.

He An trained in confinement while Fan Dazhi secretly surveilled Jin Caiyun, hoping to uncover evidence that she had framed his friend. After following her to a City God temple, Fan Dazhi found that she had vanished behind an isolation formation, just as she emerged from inside.

• He An reflected on his growing strength and resolved to clear his name when he got out of confinement.
• Fan Dazhi searched for evidence against Jin Caiyun, then began tracking her with his Divine Sense around the Knowledge and Practice Institute.
• Fan Dazhi watched Jin Caiyun for weeks but found nothing suspicious until he saw her meet a man in a secluded spot.
• Jin Caiyun left the institute alone at night and headed down Vermilion Bird Avenue, so Fan Dazhi rushed after her.
• Jin Caiyun entered a City God temple after placing two Formation Flags, which blocked Fan Dazhi's Divine Sense.
• Fan Dazhi reached the temple and found Jin Caiyun emerging from inside.