Chapter Summaries

Zeng Mu and Qidunston examined Zeng Mu’s unusual Wood Elemental Artifact, which Zeng named the Magnifying Glass, before Zeng settled into months of training and chores. A delayed letter from Ma Linya reached him, revealing that Malena was her birth mother and explaining why she had not come to see him.

• Qidunston found that Zeng Mu’s Wood Elemental Artifact worked despite having too few inscriptions, tested its enlarging effect, and agreed to call it the Magnifying Glass.
• Zeng Mu continued his daily chores and practiced controlling his elemental spirit without casually attempting to refine more artifacts.
• Two months later, a letter carrier delivered an old, unsigned envelope to Zeng Mu at the Blacksmith Shop.
• Zeng Mu ruled out Kanni and Yenaier as the sender, then opened the letter and recognized Ma Linya’s handwriting.
• Ma Linya wrote that Malena was her birth mother, explained that she had been unable to visit, and urged Zeng Mu to keep learning from Qidunston.

Zeng Mu attempted the near-impossible process of Artifact Fusion using inscriptions from Xia Bojin's five-pound Ceramic Plate and two broken Elemental Artifacts. After the fusion exploded and left him badly injured, the inscriptions unexpectedly began converging on his Four-Sided Porcelain Zun Box.

• Zeng Mu wrote Ma Linya a letter, and Qidunston took it with him when he left for Vites Town.
• Zeng Mu began experimenting with Artifact Fusion, dismantling the Ceramic Plate and two broken Elemental Artifacts to extract their inscriptions.
• Zeng Mu struggled to control and combine the inscriptions, but they burst free and blasted him through the room and downstairs.
• Zeng Mu returned upstairs and used his elemental powers to keep the fading inscriptions from dispersing as his injuries worsened.
• Zeng Mu brought out his Wind Elemental Artifact, but its enhancement stopped; the inscriptions then streamed toward the Four-Sided Porcelain Zun Box hovering above his head.

Zeng Mu discovered that the Wind Elemental Artifact had spontaneously become the dual-element Rainbow Artifact, and he found that its inscriptions had caused Ma Linya’s elemental embryo to grow. After hiding the embryo and repairing his room, he began meditative cultivation on the mountain, newly convinced that his journey home might be closer than he had thought.

• Zeng Mu watched inscriptions gather onto the unused Wind Elemental Artifact until it held ninety-seven, then activated it and discovered it wielded both wind and earth.
• Zeng Mu renamed the artifact the Rainbow Artifact and realized it might eventually carry all six elements, bringing him closer to finding a way home.
• Zeng Mu sensed movement in Ma Linya’s Clay Jar and found that its elemental embryo had grown; he concluded that inscriptions made it grow while an Elemental Spirit made it tremble.
• Zeng Mu placed the Clay Jar on the balcony, decided to keep the embryo secret from Qidunston, and repaired the damage in his room.
• Zeng Mu climbed the mountain behind the village and meditated, considering that his return home might come within a few years.

After three years of forging and cultivating elemental power in the village, Zeng Mu said goodbye to Qidunston and set out to answer Yetos’s recall to Black Ink City. He rode toward the coming war with his three elemental marks and evolved Rainbow Artifact.

• Zeng Mu looked back on three years of village life, during which he gained a fire mark and the Rainbow Artifact evolved with a wood inscription.
• Zeng Mu and Qidunston prepared a farewell meal and said goodbye at the fork where they had parted with Yenaier.
• Zeng Mu left the village on Abyss, and Qidunston urged him to treasure his bonds without letting grief control him.
• Zeng Mu reread Yetos’s letter, which summoned him to Black Ink City to discuss covert operations before the great war.
• Zeng Mu fed elemental meat to Abyss and used the Rainbow Artifact’s wind energy to speed toward Black Ink City.

Zeng Mu returned to Black Ink City after three years away and reunited with Kanni, Yetos, and Aikimu. After learning that William had died in battle, he heard that the Temple Master had assigned them a dangerous assassination operation that could affect the coming war.

• Yetos welcomed word that Nameless had returned to Black Ink City and went to meet him with Aikimu.
• Zeng Mu arrived with a White-Striped Saber-Toothed Tiger and reunited with Kanni after three years apart.
• Zeng Mu greeted Yetos and Aikimu, and Yetos recognized that his strength had grown beyond what he could gauge.
• Yetos told Zeng Mu that Xibizete was away in Moy Territory and that William had died in the Battle of the Ambushing Snake.
• Zeng Mu learned that Yetos had killed Zhao Tian, the commander responsible for William's death.
• Yetos explained that the Temple Master had ordered a perilous secret assassination operation ahead of the coming war.

Yetos tasked Zeng Mu with assassinating seven major figures across the Seven Kingdoms, beginning with Zhao Huai, the prince of the Zhao State. He gave Zeng Mu letters identifying hidden spies and lent him a Phantom Spirit Beast Hide to disguise himself, promising he might keep it if the operation succeeded flawlessly.

• Yetos explained that the Temple Master had chosen Zeng Mu to lead the covert assassinations because he was powerful, trustworthy, and inconspicuous.
• Yetos identified Zhao Huai, the prince of the Zhao State, as the first target and gave Zeng Mu seven letters containing information about spies in each kingdom.
• Zeng Mu decided to leave that night and recognized that his Holy Temple appearance would make infiltration difficult.
• Yetos presented a Phantom Spirit Beast Hide that could alter Zeng Mu’s appearance and voice, explaining that the Temple Master had lent it for the mission.
• Yetos said the Temple Master might let Zeng Mu keep the hide if he completed the assassinations without leaving evidence, and Zeng Mu confidently accepted the challenge.

Zeng Mu left Black Ink City and crossed the forbidden land into the Zhao State, where he learned that his next contact was the bard Zhao Mingyin. He changed his appearance with a Phantom Spirit Beast Hide and rode toward Kuo City to find him.

• Yetos, Aikimu, and Kanni bid Zeng Mu farewell as he departed Black Ink City on Abyss.
• Zeng Mu crossed the junction of the Three Great Territories and entered Zhao State through its deadly Black Wraith forest barrier.
• Zeng Mu read a letter identifying the bard Suoliya, whose name in Zhao State was Zhao Mingyin, and learned he lived in Kuo City.
• Zeng Mu burned the letter, used the Fine Grade Phantom Spirit Beast Hide to alter his face and voice, and set off toward Kuo City.

Zeng Mu gathered information in Kuo City about Yuan Qian’s arranged marriage to Shen Yun and the bard Zhao Mingyin’s connection to her. He found Zhao Mingyin’s secluded house and, on seeing him, confirmed Malena’s description of the bard’s irresistible charm.

• Zeng Mu overheard that Yuan Luo planned to marry Yuan Qian to Shen Yun to settle a debt and save the Yuan family, while rumors linked Yuan Qian to the bard Zhao Mingyin.
• Zeng Mu questioned a tavern patron, who revealed where Zhao Mingyin lived and warned that Shen Yun might soon learn of the bard’s connection to Yuan Qian.
• Zeng Mu rode to Zhao Mingyin’s house on the southern outskirts and knocked at the door.
• Zhao Mingyin opened the door, and Zeng Mu recognized the charm Malena had described in her letter.

Zeng Mu met the spy Suoliya and joined him in planning an assassination of Zhao Huai to destabilize the Seven Kingdoms. They finished their detailed plan before dawn, and Zeng Mu stayed behind to handle chores while Suoliya slept.

• Zeng Mu visited Suoliya in disguise and followed him to his secret basement, where Suoliya explained how he encoded intelligence in poems and scripts.
• Zeng Mu revealed his Phantom Spirit Beast Hide disguise and told Suoliya that the Temple Master had sent him to help assassinate Zhao Huai.
• Suoliya shared information about the Zhao royal succession struggle and said Zhao Huai would attend Kuo City's three-hundredth anniversary celebration in three days.
• Zeng Mu and Suoliya devised a plan to use Zhao Wei and Zhao Huai against their target, then spent the night refining the assassination details and contingencies.
• At dawn, Suoliya went to sleep, while Zeng Mu rode to the market for meat and gathered vegetables from the garden for lunch.

Zeng Mu and Suoliya shared a meal before Shen Family men arrived to take Suoliya for questioning over his meeting with Yuan Qian. Zeng Mu refused to let him go and defeated their first attacker, while seven more surrounded him.

• Zeng Mu cooked lunch with Suoliya, and they discussed their lives and the coming assassination plan.
• Nine Shen Family men arrived and accused Suoliya, also known as Zhao Mingyin, of meeting Shen Yun’s fiancée, Yuan Qian.
• Suoliya claimed Zeng Mu was his underling and said the Shen Family would have to get past him to take Zhao Mingyin away.
• Zeng Mu refused to let the Shen Family men take Suoliya and dislocated the first fighter’s hand while avoiding his attack.
• The steward ordered seven more fighters to attack Zeng Mu as Suoliya watched to judge his abilities.

Zeng Mu defeated the steward’s seven men, then accompanied Suoliya to Kuo City’s Performance Hall to prepare for their assassination plan. There, Suoliya introduced him to the hall’s chief executive, Nona Sha, who demanded an honest explanation of who he was and why he had come.

• Zeng Mu swiftly knocked all seven men to the ground, and the steward fled on horseback before the others followed.
• Suoliya teased the departing men and argued with Zeng Mu before they mounted their horses and rode toward the eastern district of Kuo City.
• Suoliya brought Zeng Mu to the grand Performance Hall so he could learn the venue ahead of their planned assassination.
• Suoliya led Zeng Mu to the third floor and introduced him to Nona Sha, the hall’s chief executive.
• Nona Sha asked Suoliya to explain where Nameless’s name came from and why he had brought him to the hall.

Suoliya persuaded Nona Sha to give Zeng Mu a temporary pass to join Kuo City's anniversary performance, though Zeng Mu was only promised a minor role. As they left the Performance Hall, a veiled woman who had been searching for Zeng Mu appeared.

• Suoliya reunited with Nona Sha, who teased him about rumors involving Yuan Qian and the Shen Family.
• Nona Sha questioned Zeng Mu about his skills, and he demonstrated quick reflexes by winning a game of Black Fingers.
• Suoliya asked Nona Sha to let Zeng Mu take part in the anniversary performance, and she agreed to arrange a role if Suoliya paid his wages.
• Nona Sha gave Suoliya a temporary entry pass for Zeng Mu, which allowed him to attend the Performance Hall and rehearsals for a limited time.
• As Zeng Mu and Suoliya left the hall, a veiled woman appeared and said she had been searching for Zeng Mu.

Yuan Qian visited Suoliya and confessed that she wanted to marry him, despite her engagement to Shen Yun. Zeng Mu offered to help her escape the marriage, while he and Suoliya continued preparing their operation; that night, someone approached them unseen.

• Yuan Qian found Suoliya at the Performance Hall, checked that he was unharmed, and learned that Zeng Mu was his friend Nameless.
• Yuan Qian revealed that her father’s debt had forced her engagement to Shen Yun and declared that she wanted to marry Suoliya instead.
• Zeng Mu promised to find a way to help Yuan Qian, and Suoliya arranged to meet her at dinner before hurrying away with Zeng Mu.
• Suoliya explained that their operation required gathering intelligence and rehearsing before the City Celebration, and Zeng Mu offered to handle Yuan Qian’s problem.
• Suoliya and Zeng Mu drank Rose Wine together at dinner, unaware that a figure was silently approaching through the moonlit night.

Zeng Mu confronted Haihui Gelin, a projection from the Soul-Returning Cult who had come to inspect the Blackstone Necklace and promised they would meet again. After Haihui Gelin vanished, Suoliya warned Zeng Mu about the cult’s deadly methods, just as someone approached through the pear trees.

• Zeng Mu stopped Suoliya from opening the door and sensed that a quiet male visitor was outside.
• Zeng Mu recognized the black-robed visitor as a member of the Soul-Returning Cult, and Haihui Gelin revealed that he had sought the Blackstone Necklace for three years.
• Haihui Gelin identified himself, said he knew where the black stone came from, and vanished after promising to meet Zeng Mu again.
• Suoliya explained that the Soul-Returning Cult operated at night and recounted how one of its members killed his coachman with a venomous snake.
• Suoliya warned Zeng Mu about the cult’s methods, then candlelight appeared as a figure approached through the pear trees.

Zeng Mu and Suoliya entertained Yuan Qian, and Zeng Mu promised to provide the money needed to rescue her father from debt. While he worked through the night refining gold, Yuan Qian woke and Zeng Mu stepped outside, where he saw something horrifying.

• Suoliya drew his concealed blade when he thought someone had returned, but Zeng Mu recognized Yuan Qian and calmed him.
• Yuan Qian drank some wine, spoke with Zeng Mu and Suoliya, and asked Suoliya closely about his romantic encounters.
• Zeng Mu promised to deliver banknotes to the Yuan Family so Yuan Luo could escape his debts, and Yuan Qian thanked him.
• The three stayed the night at Suoliya’s cottage, and Zeng Mu began refining gold in the kitchen to raise the promised sum.
• After nearly an hour of work, Zeng Mu went outside for air and saw a sight that horrified him.

Zeng Mu helped Yuan Qian secure the money needed to settle her father’s debt, after witnessing her sleepwalk into bed beside Suoliya. At the Yuan residence, Yuan Luo saw the money and asked whether Yuan Qian had sold herself to obtain it.

• Zeng Mu saw Yuan Qian sleepwalk into bed beside Suoliya, then gathered the clothes she had dropped along the way.
• Suoliya woke beside Yuan Qian and screamed when he recognized her; the two stayed awkwardly silent until they parted.
• Zeng Mu exchanged his refined gold for 500 gold coins and 2,000 gold coins’ worth of banknotes, while Yuan Qian traveled with him to her family residence.
• Yuan Qian embraced Zeng Mu and asked to call him her big brother, then introduced him to her father, Yuan Luo.
• Yuan Qian explained where she had spent the night, and Yuan Luo told her that the Shen Family wanted to move the wedding forward.
• Zeng Mu gave Yuan Luo the money to settle the debt, and Yuan Luo asked Yuan Qian whether she had sold herself to get it.

Zeng Mu attended rehearsals for Kuo City's anniversary celebration while the Shen Family traveled to hasten Yuan Qian's marriage to Shen Yun. Meanwhile, Zhao Huai arranged to assassinate his two princely rivals at the celebration, unaware that he was Zeng Mu's target too.

• Yuan Luo questioned Zeng Mu about his feelings for Yuan Qian, then let him leave after Zeng Mu cited his friendship with Zhao Mingyin as his reason for helping her.
• Zeng Mu went to the Performance Hall and joined Nona Sha, Suoliya, and the other performers at the anniversary celebration's outdoor stage for rehearsal.
• Shen Mo and Shen Yun traveled from Radiant Moon City to Kuo City to bring Yuan Qian into the Shen Family as a bride ahead of schedule.
• In River-Ring City, Zhao Huai learned that Zhao Wei, Zhao Huai, and the Seventh Princess would attend the celebration and ordered an associate to arrange identical assassinations of his rivals.
• Zhao Huai admired the view in the sunlight, unaware that he would also be assassinated the following day, as dawn broke over Kuo City.

Kuo City’s three-hundredth anniversary celebration drew the royal princes and Princess Zhao Jingya, while Zeng Mu and Suoliya prepared to assassinate Zhao Huai. The chapter ended with Zhao Jingya greeting her brothers as Zeng Mu readied his backup plan.

• Kuo City residents and honored guests gathered for the anniversary celebration, including Third Prince Zhao Wei and Fifth Prince Zhao Huai.
• Zeng Mu and Suoliya saw the princes arrive and decided they could advance their plans sooner than expected.
• Seventh Princess Zhao Jingya arrived in an extravagant flower palanquin, drawing the crowd’s attention with her beauty.
• Suoliya told Zeng Mu that Zhao Jingya was betrothed to an unnamed general’s son in Wei State.
• Zeng Mu identified Zhao Huai as their target and chose a backup plan to pin the blame for the assassination on someone else.
• Zhao Wei and Zhao Huai welcomed Zhao Jingya, who said she had come to enjoy Kuo City’s anniversary festivities with her father’s permission.

At Kuo City’s three-hundredth anniversary celebration, Nona Sha opened the performances with a captivating song, and the spectacular acts distracted the guests and guards. A masked man delivered poisoned Rose Wine to the honored guests, and Zhao Wei and Zhao Huai drank their cups and began to suffer in silence.

• Zhao Jingya arrived and greeted Zhao Huai, explaining that Zhao Eighth Sister had stayed home because she was unwell.
• Nona Sha performed a song and declared the celebration performances open.
• A series of extraordinary acts enthralled the guests, leaving Zhao Huai, Zhao Wei, and their guards distracted.
• A masked performer brought seven cups of Rose Wine to the honored guests and exchanged a brief glance with Zhao Huai; Zeng Mu noticed the exchange.
• Zhao Wei and Zhao Huai drank their Rose Wine and became rigid and helpless as the poison took effect.

Zeng Mu assassinated Zhao Huai during the Celebration City performance and escaped detection as guards locked down Kuo City. As Shen Yun and Shen Mo prepared for the wedding, Yuan Qian confessed to Suoliya that she loved him and did not want to marry Shen Yun.

• Zeng Mu used a flash of light to kill Zhao Huai, slipped a button into the victim’s hand, and returned to the stage in disguise.
• The guards discovered Zhao Huai’s death, sealed the performance grounds, and questioned and searched thousands of people before expanding their search throughout Kuo City.
• Shen Mo and Shen Yun arrived with betrothal gifts and agreed with Yuan Luo to hold the wedding in Kuo City the next day.
• Zeng Mu and Suoliya celebrated the assassination with stolen wine while Nona Sha helped the performers prove their innocence.
• Yuan Qian visited Suoliya and told him she loved him rather than Shen Yun and could not bear the wedding planned for the next day.