Chapter Summaries

Jia Huan defended himself before the court and was publicly affirmed as loyal after Xia Shouzhong confessed to framing him. The Retired Emperor continued pressing Xia to identify who had ordered him, while Emperor Jingde angrily challenged his father’s authority.

• Jiang Wuyuan confronted Pacification Commissioner Qin, who said Xia Shouzhong was the culprit and that the evidence against him was conclusive.
• The Retired Emperor demanded that Xia Shouzhong name the person who had ordered him, but Xia denied killing the Imperial Uncle.
• Jiang Wuyuan accused Jia Huan of having accomplices, and Jia rebuked him for failing to investigate the missing weapons and solve the case.
• The Retired Emperor declared that Pacification Commissioner Jia was loyal to the bone, and the Chief Grand Secretary and other ministers praised Jia.
• Emperor Jingde told the Retired Emperor to return to the Eastern Palace, prompting the Retired Emperor to question his fitness to rule.
• Xia Shouzhong admitted that he had wanted Jia Huan to suffer, but the Retired Emperor continued demanding the name of the person behind his actions.

Jia Huan forced the court to send Xia Shouzhong to the Imperial Prison, winning the Retired Emperor’s favor while further angering Emperor Jingde and Jiang Wuyuan. Determined to seize control of the Embroidered Uniform Guard before Jiang could destroy him, Jia prepared to strike first as Jiang summoned the Central Plains’ martial powers to Mang Mountain.

• Empress Yin confronted Xia Shouzhong, and Emperor Jingde ordered him executed with poisoned wine.
• Jia Huan remonstrated that Xia should be sent to the Imperial Prison, and the Retired Emperor and ministers backed him.
• The Retired Emperor ordered Jia Huan to prepare a closing report and began choosing appointees for the Five City Troops Command and Imperial Horse Directorate.
• Jia Huan resolved to bring down Jiang Wuyuan quickly and rise to the summit of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
• Jiang Wuyuan ordered Pacification Commissioner Xuanyuan to summon every top-tier Central Plains power to Mang Mountain and threaten those who supported Jia Huan.

After Jia Huan turned the crisis in the Palace into meritorious service, the court announced that it would reward his family. His loved ones were freed from despair, and Jia Huan left the Imperial City with his possessions restored and his allies welcoming him.

• Twin Whips told the Martial World elders that Jia Huan had rendered meritorious service and the court would reward his family.
• An Xuan'er brought the news to Wang Xifeng and the other women, who celebrated Jia Huan's survival and success.
• Python-Robe Eunuchs freed Jia Mu from prison and told her that the court would compensate the Jia Family and that the Retired Emperor had praised Jia Huan.
• Jia Huan left the Imperial City with his official belongings returned to him, signaling that his promotion was imminent.
• Commissioner Ouyang greeted Jia Huan in the rain, praised his success, and invited him for a drink.

Jia Huan moved to challenge Jiang Wuyuan by ordering an investigation into his trusted confidants and a crackdown on the White Tiger Office. He then executed Xia Shouzhong after revealing that he had killed Jiang Qi, leaving the eunuch dead in the Imperial Prison.

• Commissioner Ouyang warned Jia Huan that Jiang Wuyuan held four major advantages, including the emperors’ trust, command of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, hidden martial masters, and powerful allies.
• Jia Huan ordered the Kirin Office to investigate Pacification Commissioner Xuanyuan and Pacification Commissioner Pei and abandoned the pursuit of the Prince of Zhennan and Wang Ziteng.
• Jia Huan gave Twin Whips his authority to assemble the Kirin Office and arrest members of the White Tiger Office, then took Scholar to the Imperial Prison.
• Jia Huan ordered Xia Shouzhong tortured, but Xia Shouzhong refused to speak.
• Jia Huan told Xia Shouzhong that he had killed Jiang Qi, then beheaded him and ordered his body thrown into the Mass Burial Ground.

Jia Huan killed the condemned men, reached the pinnacle of the Profound Insight Realm, and ordered Scholar to form the Three Hundred Sixty Vajras. The next morning, Scholar and Twin Whips were promoted to Thousand-Household Commanders as the Retired Emperor publicly rewarded Jia Huan and his trusted officers.

• Jia Huan executed the Thirteen Guardians, Qiu Jiujie, and Elder Fire Lotus, then gained the Three Hundred Sixty Blades Ringing in Unison and reached the pinnacle of the Profound Insight Realm.
• Jia Huan ordered Scholar to select 360 loyal Kirin Office brothers and name them the Three Hundred Sixty Vajras.
• Jia Huan told Scholar and Twin Whips that they had been promoted to Thousand-Household Commanders and urged them to prepare to kill Jiang Wuyuan within a month.
• The Retired Emperor arrived at the Northern Commandant Office and bestowed a Purple Python Flying Fish Uniform on Jia Huan.
• The Retired Emperor personally gave Scholar and Twin Whips red Flying Fish Uniforms, Embroidered Spring Sabers, and Thousand-Household Commander Official Seals.

Jia Huan rewarded martial elders for defending his family, while Rongguo Mansion received imperial honors that elevated Concubine Zhao and Jia Zheng. Jia Mu rejected Madam Wang and Jia Baoyu’s return to favor, declaring that the Jia Family belonged to Jia Huan.

• Jia Huan gave the martial elders gold, martial arts manuals, official protection, and opportunities for their recommended juniors.
• An imperial edict invested Concubine Zhao as a First-Rank Madam and presented her with a Phoenix Crown and other gifts.
• Jia Zheng was promoted to Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and he wept with gratitude as he accepted the appointment.
• Madam Wang returned with Jia Baoyu and claimed she should receive a rank through Jia Zheng’s promotion, but Jia Mu vowed to block it.
• Jia Mu told Madam Wang and Jia Baoyu that Jia Huan decided the Jia Family’s affairs and they could leave for the Wang Family.
• Jia Baoyu smashed his jade in anguish as Jia Mu left without comforting him, while Concubine Zhao departed wearing her Phoenix Crown.

Jia Huan returned to the Jia estate after his breakthrough, where his family celebrated Concubine Zhao’s First-Rank title and thanked An Xuan’er for her help. He later disciplined Wang Xifeng and Ping’er for defying him, then surprised Lin Daiyu with a carriage full of flowers, leaving her deeply moved.

• Concubine Zhao wore her First-Rank Phoenix Crown at the Jia Family Ancestral Hall while Jia Mu celebrated the family’s good fortune.
• Wang Xifeng and Concubine Zhao noticed Jia Huan’s changed bearing, and he thanked An Xuan’er for supporting the family.
• Qiao Ping’er brought a subordinate in an imitation Flying Fish Uniform to Jia Huan, who recognized her and Wang Xifeng as traitors and punished them.
• Jia Huan visited Lin Daiyu, who pretended to be asleep, then spent more than two hours talking with her after she got ready.
• Jia Huan presented Lin Daiyu with a carriage filled with more than a hundred kinds of flowers, and she wept with joy before asking Xueyan to plant them.

Jiang Wuyuan pressured the Quanzhen Sect and Medicine King Valley to cut ties with Jia Huan, while confronting Xu Jingchun over helping Jia Huan investigate the imperial maternal uncle’s murder. The chapter ended with Jiang declaring his authority over the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

• Two Experiences Office officials questioned Yuan Zhonglou about the Quanzhen Sect’s help to Jia Huan and warned the sect to stop supporting him.
• Yuan Zhonglou weighed the danger posed by Jiang Wuyuan against Jia Huan’s strength and resolved that the Quanzhen Sect would submit to Jiang if forced to choose.
• Medicine King Valley’s elders decided to sever ties with Jia Huan after receiving Jiang Wuyuan’s letter, but An Xuan’er’s master left the sect in anger to find her.
• Jiang Wuyuan confronted Xu Jingchun, who admitted giving Jia Huan a clue about the crime at the Duke’s Maternal Uncle’s Estate.
• Jiang accused Xu Jingchun of defying his orders and threatened to expose stains in his official career before declaring that his word was law in the Embroidered Uniform Guard Office.

Jia Huan pursued a lead to retaliate against Jiang Wuyuan after Xu Jingchun was punished for the Prince of Hejian’s death. He discovered that two trusted Pacification Commissioners had carried out suspiciously similar massacres in the Southern Borderlands and Northern Mang.

• Jiang Wuyuan accused Xu Jingchun of causing the Prince of Hejian’s death and arranged for Censors to impeach him.
• Emperor Jingde ordered four thousand guards removed from Xu Jingchun’s Vermilion Bird Office, and Xu refused Jia Huan’s offer to challenge the order.
• Jiang Wuyuan taunted Xu Jingchun over the loss of his guards, but Xu said he would leak the information again if given the chance.
• Jia Huan ordered Scholar Twin Whips to accelerate their investigation into Jiang Wuyuan.
• Scholar told Jia Huan that Xuanyuan Zhigu had killed more than two thousand Jianghu people in the Southern Borderlands three years earlier.
• Scholar reported that Pei Changqing had killed more than seven hundred Jianghu people in Northern Mang within the same month, suggesting a connection between the massacres.

Jia Huan led a force into the Southern Borderlands to investigate Xuanyuan Zhigu’s massacre and learned that the Red Dust Inn might know the truth. He accepted a bounty to slaughter the villains of Villain Town, seeing the notorious killing ground as a chance to gain Sin Value.

• Jia Huan decided to investigate the Southern Borderlands and ordered twenty-five hundred Embroidered Uniform Guards to leave the capital in five groups.
• He welcomed He Weirui into his household after learning that Medicine King Valley had expelled An Xuan'er under pressure from Jiang Wuyuan.
• Jia Huan reached the Southern Borderlands and learned from Water Skimmer that the Prince of Zhennan and the governor-general might know about Xuanyuan Zhigu’s massacre.
• Water Skimmer told Jia Huan that the Red Dust Inn’s Other Shore of the Yellow Springs likely knew the truth, so Jia Huan traveled there with fifty riders.
• At the Red Garment Pavilion, Jia Huan accepted the bounty to kill every villain listed for Villain Town.
• After Water Skimmer warned him that Villain Town was a deadly purgatory, Jia Huan ordered him to bring his saber.

Jia Huan entered Villain Town to find the people on his list and demonstrated the terrifying power of his martial arts by slaughtering the town’s villains. After the faded beauty identified the remaining targets, he followed her deeper into town with his saber in hand.

• Jia Huan entered a tavern in Villain Town, rejected its extortionate bill, and killed nine patrons and the proprietor with his Embroidered Spring Saber.
• Jia Huan killed an elderly monk and a Daoist nun who came to avenge the tavern, then faced more than a hundred villains outside.
• Jia Huan used Three Hundred Sixty Blades Ringing in Unison to seize seventeen villains’ sabers and kill the attackers in successive waves, while remaining seated inside the tavern.
• Jia Huan showed the faded beauty his Silk Scroll, and she gathered twenty-three heads and confirmed that the other listed people were still in town.
• Jia Huan followed the faded beauty deeper into Villain Town, killing as he went.

Jia Huan collected the rewards from Villain Town, claimed its spoils for the Kirin Office, and completed a bounty at the Red Dust Inn. He met the Red Dust Couple, revealed his identity as Pacification Commissioner Jia, and asked about Xuanyuan Zhigu’s massacre three years earlier.

• Jia Huan gained twelve thousand Sin Value, advanced his saber technique, and learned the pseudo-supreme martial art “Purple Qi Comes from the East.”
• Jia Huan sent everyone except Water Skimmer to collect the spoils in Villain Town, then took Water Skimmer to the Red Dust Inn with the criminals’ heads.
• The Red Dust Inn’s steward confirmed the bounty and gave Jia Huan a map to the Red Dust Couple’s retreat.
• Jia Huan asked the Red Dust Couple why they had not dealt with the villains and demanded details about Xuanyuan Zhigu’s killing spree.
• The old woman deduced that Jia Huan was Pacification Commissioner Jia, and Jia Huan removed his disguise and insisted the couple honor their promise.
• The Red Dust Elder began recounting what he knew about the events behind Xuanyuan Zhigu’s massacre as Water Skimmer took notes.

Jia Huan investigated the Duan clan massacre and found the sole surviving direct-line daughter, Duan Qingwu, who agreed to cooperate if he executed the Viceroy of the Southern Borderlands. He began pursuing a case against Viceroy Li, whose abuses might also lead toward the larger conspiracy involving Xuanyuan Zhigu and Jiang Wuyuan.

• The Red Dust Elder told Jia Huan that Xuanyuan Zhigu and Pei Changqing had slaughtered Duan clan members while seeking the Duan Twin Baby Girls and the clan's martial art, and he gave Jia Huan Duan Qingwu's address.
• Jia Huan found Duan Qingwu and asked for her help investigating Xuanyuan Zhigu, but she refused to trust him and demanded that he execute the Viceroy of the Southern Borderlands first.
• Duan Qingwu accused the Viceroy of taking payment from the Duan clan, promising them safe passage, then betraying them by revealing their whereabouts to Xuanyuan Zhigu.
• Jia Huan promised to execute the Viceroy if he was guilty, and Duan Qingwu agreed to answer his questions and cooperate if he did so.
• Water Skimmer told Jia Huan that Viceroy Li had persecuted powerful families, monopolized the Southern Borderlands' golden-thread phoebe trade, and sold it throughout the realm.

Jia Huan ordered an investigation into Governor-General Li Rangzhi and his network, then confronted the King of Hell at a logging ground. He destroyed the King of Hell’s dantian with one finger strike and left him crippled.

• Jia Huan resolved to gather evidence against Li Rangzhi and arrest him despite the emperor’s displeasure.
• Water Skimmer identified the God of Wealth, the King of Hell, and the Confucian Immortal as three of Li Rangzhi’s agents and described the Southern School’s persecution of scholars.
• Jia Huan assigned his subordinates to watch the governor-general’s residence and Nanlu Academy, while Water Skimmer sought help from Misty Rain Tower to locate victims.
• Three days later, Jia Huan went alone to the King of Hell’s residence as his men prepared to surround the logging ground.
• The King of Hell demanded that Jia Huan kneel, but Jia Huan revealed himself and struck him with purple finger force, destroying his dantian and severing his meridians.

Jia Huan crushed resistance at the Golden Phoebe Logging Camp, forcing merchants to confess, then arrested Old Man Nanlu and ordered a sweep of Nanlu Academy. He left to confront the Governor's Residence, while the academy's instructors were interrogated for evidence.

• Water Skimmer slapped the God of Wealth, and Jia Huan arrived dragging the battered King of Hell.
• Jia Huan demanded voluntary confessions, and dozens of loggers and merchants came forward with evidence against the governor's allies.
• Jia Huan interrupted Old Man Nanlu's lecture and accused him of monopolizing learning, persecuting scholars, and selling offices.
• Jia Huan ordered Old Man Nanlu arrested and demanded an apology from the Kong Family patriarch within ten days, threatening to go to Qufu himself.
• Jia Huan ordered Embroidered Uniform Guards to sweep Nanlu Academy, arrest its instructors, and interrogate them as he headed for the Governor's Residence.

Jia Huan arrested Governor-General Li Rangzhi despite the emperor’s portraits sealing his escape sedan chair, then prepared to take Duan Qingwu to the Capital. He left Li’s scattered accomplices for the Central Court to judge and expected Duan Qingwu to honor her promise.

• Wise Star urged Li Rangzhi to take his own life, then swallowed poison and died as the Embroidered Uniform Guard surrounded the Governor-General’s office.
• Jia Huan rejected the Death-Exemption Gold Plaque and pursued Li Rangzhi, who had escaped through a secret passage and hidden inside a gold-topped sedan chair covered with the emperor’s portraits.
• Jia Huan smashed the sedan chair without damaging the portraits, distributed them to the crowd, and arrested Li Rangzhi for trial by the Central Court.
• The people celebrated Jia Huan’s arrest of Li Rangzhi, while Jia Huan reviewed the captured officials’ confessions that night.
• Scholar told Jia Huan that Li Rangzhi had ruined the Duan family, explaining Duan Qingwu’s hatred of him, and Jia Huan ordered her to accompany him to the Capital and fulfill her promise.

The Retired Emperor visited the Rongguo Mansion to honor Jia Huan, leaving Jia Baoyu humiliated when he praised him only as Jia Huan’s elder brother. Meanwhile, Emperor Jingde raged over Li Rangzhi’s arrest but acknowledged he had no clear grounds to punish Jia Huan.

• After learning Jia Huan had arrested Li Rangzhi, the Retired Emperor set out to visit the Rongguo Mansion.
• Madam Wang urged Jia Baoyu to impress the Retired Emperor, and Baoyu prepared himself to seize the chance to rise.
• The Retired Emperor greeted Jia Baoyu, called him Jia Huan’s elder brother, and advised him to learn from Jia Huan.
• The Retired Emperor invited Jia Mu, Jia Zheng, and Lady Zhao to dine with him at the Rongguo Mansion.
• Emperor Jingde reacted furiously to Li Rangzhi’s arrest, while Empress Yin urged him to punish Jia Huan and he asked what charge he could use.

Emperor Jingde decided not to protect Jia Huan from Jiang Wuyuan, while Jia Huan returned to the capital with Li Rangzhi and other prisoners. After Li Rangzhi confessed to helping destroy the Duan family but could not explain Xuanyuan Zhigu’s motive, Jia Huan executed him and arranged for Duan Qingwu to see his corpse.

• Empress Yin urged Emperor Jingde to eliminate Jia Huan, but he said he would back Jiang Wuyuan and let the Commanding Commissioner deal with him.
• Five days later, Jia Huan entered the Divine Capital with five hundred Embroidered Uniform Guards and handed the Three Judicial Offices evidence against Li Rangzhi.
• The emperor issued a handwritten order to execute the prisoners, and Jia Huan told Twin Whips to disguise Duan Qingwu and bring her to see Li Rangzhi’s corpse.
• Jia Huan ordered Li Rangzhi tortured until he confessed to taking a bribe to arrange the Duan family’s escape and then cooperating with Xuanyuan Zhigu’s massacre.
• Li Rangzhi said he did not know why Xuanyuan Zhigu wanted the Duan family killed, so Jia Huan beheaded him.

After executing the remaining fiends in the Imperial Prison, Jia Huan gained powerful martial arts and was promoted to joint First Pacification Commissioner with authority over the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s finances and lower-ranking appointments. He left determined to surpass the Guard’s current leader, Jiang Wuyuan, rather than settle for being second.

• Jia Huan executed Old Man Nanlu and the remaining fiends, earning over seventeen thousand sin value and rewards that advanced his martial arts.
• Jia Huan gained Seven Hundred and Twenty Blades Ringing in Unison and Purple Cauldron, then reviewed his strengthened offense and defenses.
• The Grand Secretariat promoted Jia Huan to joint First Pacification Commissioner and granted him oversight of Guard funding and a veto over certain promotions, demotions, and dismissals.
• Pacification Commissioner Qin complained that he could have worn ten kirin patterns, then left after losing half his authority.
• Jia Huan dismissed Qin’s grievance and resolved to challenge Commanding Commissioner Jiang Wuyuan and claim the top position.

Jia Huan secured his appointment as joint first-ranking Pacification Commissioner and learned from Duan Qingwu that the Zhishi Golden Family had destroyed her family after seeking to take their twin infants. Suspecting Jiang Wuyuan and the White Lotus Cult Leader were twin brothers conspiring with the Zhishi, Jia Huan prepared to travel to Northern Mang for proof, while Rongguo Mansion celebrated his promotion and Jia Baoyu prayed for Jiang Wuyuan to bring him down.

• Jiang Wuyuan stamped Jia Huan’s appointment document, then announced a Winter Solstice gathering on Mang Mountain and insisted Jia Huan’s master attend.
• Jia Huan met Duan Qingwu, who described the Zhishi Family’s influence, its Silver Masked visitor, and the massacre that destroyed her family after it refused to surrender its newborn twins.
• Duan Qingwu recounted a cultivation art requiring twin practitioners and infant twin hearts, leading Jia Huan to suspect Jiang Wuyuan and the White Lotus Cult Leader were brothers working together.
• Jia Huan told Duan Qingwu to prepare to accompany him to Northern Mang so they could find evidence of Jiang Wuyuan’s dealings with the Zhishi.
• Rongguo Mansion celebrated Jia Huan’s promotion, while Jia Baoyu bitterly envied him and prayed that Jiang Wuyuan would destroy him.