Recaps

Jiang Xiaobai won the poetry round and denied writing the celebrated essays, while the Brush Holder began an untitled essay challenge. After weighing several famous works, Jiang Xiaobai found one that suited the occasion and prepared to write it.

• The Brush Holder declared Jiang Xiaobai the winner of the wind, flowers, snow, and moon round, and Jiang Xiaobai said he had casually composed his poems.
• The Brush Holder asked whether Jiang Xiaobai had written “On the Teacher” and “On the Horse,” but Jiang Xiaobai denied any connection to them.
• The Brush Holder announced that the fourth question was to compose an essay on any topic, and the other contestants began writing.
• Jiang Xiaobai stayed still as he considered famous essays, then decided he had found one suited to the literary gathering.

Jiang Xiaobai stayed motionless throughout the essay round, convincing many that he had given up. When the Brush Holder began collecting the essays, Jiang Xiaobai called out that his essay had not been collected and handed over a blank sheet of paper.

• Jiang Xiaobai closed his eyes instead of beginning to write while the other participants started their essays.
• Du Chong, Guo Zhan, Zhong Yu, and the Third Prince finished their essays as Jiang Xiaobai continued to sit still.
• The Brush Holder asked Jiang Xiaobai whether he would write, and Jiang Xiaobai replied that he would not.
• The round ended with Jiang Xiaobai still motionless, and the Brush Holder announced that time was up.
• As the essays were collected, Jiang Xiaobai stopped the Brush Holder and handed over a blank sheet of paper.

Jiang Xiaobai submitted a blank sheet for the prose examination while the other students’ essays were read and praised. When asked to explain, he claimed that no topic meant no words, leaving the Brush Holder stunned.

• Jiang Xiaobai handed in a blank sheet and told the Brush Holder he would explain after the other essays were read.
• The Brush Holder read Du Chong’s, Guo Zhan’s, and Zhong Yu’s essays, drawing praise from the audience.
• The Brush Holder read several more strong essays, including the Third Prince’s ‘Strategy on the Way of Letters.’
• Jiang Xiaobai took back his blank sheet and declared that no topic meant no words, startling the Brush Holder.

Jiang Xiaobai recited a sweeping essay about Orchid Pavilion Tower, guiding the audience from sorrow and joy to a scholar’s duty toward the people and the realm. He concluded with a call to worry first over the woes of all beneath heaven, leaving the tower stunned and Du Chong’s essay diminished by comparison.

• Jiang Xiaobai announced that he would recite an essay as he composed it, provoking skepticism from Du Chong and the scholars in Orchid Pavilion Tower.
• Jiang Xiaobai began by describing Orchid Pavilion Tower, Long Lake, and the surrounding scenery, impressing the Brush Holder and the elders on the Fourth Floor.
• Jiang Xiaobai depicted the sorrow of exiled scholars and travelers in stormy weather, then contrasted it with the joy of a clear, tranquil lake.
• Jiang Xiaobai declared that benevolent men neither rejoiced over outward things nor grieved over their own lot, and that they worried for the people in court and for their sovereign in the Martial World.
• Jiang Xiaobai ended by saying that worthy scholars should be first to worry over the woes of all beneath heaven and last to rejoice in its joys, leaving the tower silent and Du Chong pale.

Jiang Xiaobai stunned Orchid Pavilion Tower with his essay, “Record of Yueyang Tower,” and won the fifth question, earning widespread admiration. Just as the Brush Holder began announcing the contest’s Top Rank, someone challenged whether Jiang had really written the essay himself.

• Jiang Xiaobai’s essay left the contestants and scholars speechless, and Zhong Yu and Du Chong recognized how far his work surpassed theirs.
• The Brush Holder declared Jiang Xiaobai the winner of the fifth question, and the assembled scholars praised his writing and reconsidered their doubts about his earlier essays.
• Lin Fengshuo celebrated Jiang Xiaobai’s achievement, while Li Bingzhang, Li Zhiwei, Fan Xinghe, and Lin Qinrou reacted to his talent.
• Xiao Zijing proudly praised Jiang Xiaobai, and Xiao Qingheng admitted that he was truly talented.
• The Brush Holder began announcing the contest’s Top Rank, but an unidentified speaker interrupted and questioned whether Jiang Xiaobai had written the essay himself.

Jiang Xiaobai answered a student’s accusations by composing “On Loving the Lotus” on the spot, using the flower to present himself as a pure and upright gentleman. The essay silenced his accuser, while Zhao Sheng and Chen Zhanqiu remained watching from the Fourth Floor.

• A student accused Jiang Xiaobai of stealing his earlier essays and demanded that he write another on the spot.
• Lin Fengshuo and Lin Qinrou testified that Jiang Xiaobai had personally written “On the Teacher” and “On the Horse.”
• Jiang Xiaobai accepted the challenge but chose his own topic, announcing “On Loving the Lotus.”
• Jiang Xiaobai described the lotus as unstained, upright, and worthy of respect, prompting the crowd to see the essay as his answer to the accusations.
• Jiang Xiaobai called the lotus the gentleman among flowers and asked who shared his love of it, leaving the student pale and speechless.

Jiang Xiaobai answered accusations of plagiarism by composing two more celebrated essays, humiliating his challengers and impressing the powerful figures in Orchid Pavilion Tower. When Du Chong challenged his storytelling, Jiang Xiaobai began a tale about the birth of a spirit monkey.

• Jiang Xiaobai asked Fan Xian whether he was satisfied with “On Loving the Lotus,” and Fan Xian could not answer the accusation.
• Jiang Xiaobai recited “Inscription on a Humble Abode,” leaving the tower stunned and prompting the Elder Princess to consider how to recruit him.
• Jiang Xiaobai told Fan Xian he could keep “stealing” essays, while Zhao Sheng and Chen Zhanqiu recognized that their scheme had failed.
• Du Chong conceded Jiang Xiaobai’s skill at couplets, poetry, and essays, then challenged him to prove himself at storytelling.
• Jiang Xiaobai began a story with “the birth of the spirit monkey.”

Jiang Xiaobai’s audience became so captivated by his story of the stone monkey that they refused to let him stop, despite his hunger. As the tale won over the tower, his rivals and critics realized his reputation would rise even further, while the Elder Princess wanted to keep him telling it to her.

• Jiang Xiaobai tried to end his storytelling because he was hungry, but the crowd begged him to continue and asked what happened to the monkey beneath the mountain.
• Zhang Xinnian, Tang Ningshuang, and the scholars on the Fourth Floor were also engrossed in the tale and praised its vivid characters and defiant hero.
• Guo Zhan and Zhong Yu admitted they wanted to keep listening, while Du Chong feared the story would outshine his Tales of the White-Clad Wanderer.
• Zhao Sheng told Chen Zhanqiu that Jiang Xiaobai’s name would resound throughout Great Hua, and Chen realized Jiang had risen even higher instead of being exposed.
• The Elder Princess told Liu Guanlan she wanted to tie Jiang Xiaobai up by her bed and make him finish the story.

Jiang Xiaobai fled Orchid Pavilion Tower after the crowd demanded more of his Journey to the West story, while the Brush Holder ended the event and warned everyone to credit Jiang Xiaobai and the Azure Robe Society. Outside, the waiting students learned that Jiang Xiaobai had overwhelmed the literary gathering, leaving them stunned by his achievements.

• Jiang Xiaobai refused to tell another installment, then hurried out of Orchid Pavilion Tower with Zhang Xinnian and Tang Ningshuang as the students pleaded for him to stay.
• The students outside stared as Jiang Xiaobai pushed through the crowd with Zhang Xinnian clearing a path and Tang Ningshuang following with her sword.
• The Brush Holder ended the gathering and warned that all the day's works had to be credited to Jiang Xiaobai and the Azure Robe Society.
• Students leaving the tower began calling themselves Sun or the Great Sage after becoming absorbed in Jiang Xiaobai's tale.
• The waiting crowd pieced together that Jiang Xiaobai had defeated twelve opponents, won three couplet challenges, composed four poems, and written three essays.

After telling stories at Orchid Pavilion Tower, Jiang Xiaobai accepted Liu Guanlan’s invitation to Guanlan Tower, where the nighttime gathering of martial artists made the danger of the visit clear. Liu Guanlan introduced him to the formidable elders on the fourth floor as Jiang Xiaobai, the young Heir Apparent of the Northern Guardian Marquis’s Estate.

• Jiang Xiaobai left Orchid Pavilion Tower exhausted and hungry while Tang Ningshuang watched him expectantly for more of his story.
• Tang Ningshuang spotted a figure pursuing their carriage, but Liu Guanlan appeared and invited Jiang Xiaobai to Guanlan Tower for food and wine.
• Despite Zhang Xinnian and Tang Ningshuang’s concerns, Jiang Xiaobai accepted Liu Guanlan’s invitation and followed him to the tower.
• Jiang Xiaobai, Zhang Xinnian, and Tang Ningshuang passed through floors filled with wary martial artists as they climbed to the fourth floor.
• An elderly swordsman questioned Liu Guanlan about bringing unfamiliar guests, and Liu Guanlan introduced Jiang Xiaobai as the young Heir Apparent of the Northern Guardian Marquis’s Estate.

Jiang Xiaobai faced hostility from martial world elders at Guanlan Tower, and Poison Fiend poisoned him after demanding he leave. Jiang Xiaobai killed Poison Fiend, searched his belongings for an antidote, and left the surviving elders scrambling to praise him.

• An old man mocked Jiang Xiaobai’s ties to the Northern Guardian Marquis's Estate and challenged the rumors about his strength.
• The old man urged Liu Guanlan to remove Jiang Xiaobai, while Poison Fiend hurled a teacup that released poisonous smoke.
• Poison Fiend threatened to let the poison kill Jiang Xiaobai, but Jiang Xiaobai struck him dead with a thunderous attack.
• Jiang Xiaobai searched Poison Fiend’s body and handed the bottles and containers he found to Liu Guanlan to identify the antidote.
• The surviving elders abruptly praised Jiang Xiaobai and claimed Poison Fiend deserved his death.

Jiang Xiaobai killed Poison Fiend on Guanlan Tower's Fourth Floor, terrifying the gathered martial elders into recognizing his strength. He then reached a lakeside loft with Liu Guanlan and declared that the Northern Guardian Marquis's Estate had no reason to fear anyone, backed by its army of eight hundred thousand.

• Jiang Xiaobai followed Liu Guanlan toward the loft while Zhang Xinnian and Tang Ningshuang accompanied them, leaving Poison Fiend's corpse behind.
• The elders examined the deep wound in Poison Fiend's chest and concluded that Jiang Xiaobai's attack was terrifying, resolving not to provoke him.
• Jiang Xiaobai admired the quiet, open-sided loft overlooking the lake as Liu Guanlan wondered how he could be so different from the rumors about him.
• Jiang Xiaobai told Liu Guanlan that the Northern Guardian Marquis's Estate had an army of eight hundred thousand and had no need to cower before anyone.

Jiang Xiaobai learned that Guanlan Tower concealed Blade-Questioning Tower, a Martial World network dealing in information, disputes, assassinations, auctions, and rare goods. After taking an antidote and sharing a meal with Zhang Xinnian and Tang Ningshuang, he went downstairs to investigate when a gong sounded and people began moving.

• Jiang Xiaobai asked Zhang Xinnian to explain Blade-Questioning Tower, and Zhang described its branches and varied businesses across Great Hua.
• Zhang Xinnian warned Jiang Xiaobai that Guanlan Tower felt unusual and advised him to leave after eating.
• A servant brought Jiang Xiaobai an antidote and the remaining poisons; Jiang Xiaobai shared pills with Zhang Xinnian and Tang Ningshuang, then kept the poisons.
• Jiang Xiaobai, Zhang Xinnian, and Tang Ningshuang ate while waiting for Liu Guanlan, who did not come upstairs.
• A gong rang downstairs, and Jiang Xiaobai led Zhang Xinnian and Tang Ningshuang down to see what was happening.

Jiang Xiaobai joined the Wulin People gathered in the teahouse and stood beside the mysterious woman who had fallen into the water with him. The crowd’s awaited arrival turned out to be an enormous Bronze Coffin, leaving Jiang Xiaobai bewildered.

• Jiang Xiaobai went downstairs with Zhang Xinnian and Tang Ningshuang after hearing a gong and found the first floor packed with Wulin People.
• Jiang Xiaobai recognized the woman in a bamboo hat who had fallen into the water with him and joined her in the crowd.
• Zhang Xinnian asked about the woman, and Jiang Xiaobai explained that she was deaf and mute.
• Jiang Xiaobai gestured to ask what the crowd was waiting for, and the woman responded with gestures he could not understand.
• Several burly men pushed an enormous Bronze Coffin into the hall, and the Wulin People watched it with intense anticipation.

At the Blade-Questioning Tower, Jiang Xiaobai learned that the heavy saber in the Bronze Coffin concealed a Hidden Edge Token coveted by martial artists. He remained unimpressed by the prospect of seeking entry to Hidden Edge Mountain as the crowd prepared to try their luck.

• Zhang Xinnian suspected the Bronze Coffin held no body, and Liu Guanlan announced that each person could pay twenty taels for one attempt to retrieve its contents.
• A burly man opened the Bronze Coffin, revealing a massive saber that Zhang Xinnian identified as the object inside.
• A middle-aged man explained that the saber was forged from thousand-year profound iron and weighed more than a thousand jin.
• The middle-aged man told Jiang Xiaobai that an entry token beneath the saber could qualify its holder to enter Hidden Edge Mountain, whose disciples became renowned martial artists.
• The middle-aged man described rewards for collecting multiple Hidden Edge Tokens, including skipping trials and viewing the Half-Moon Blade Wall, but admitted the rumored reward for more than ten tokens was unknown.
• Jiang Xiaobai remained uninterested in the Hidden Edge Token despite the middle-aged man's insistence that its prospects were exciting.

Jiang Xiaobai watched martial artists fail to remove the heavy saber from the bronze coffin and claimed he could take it out despite having no internal power. After secretly sending Zhang Xinnian away to carry out a plan, he volunteered to try as the crowd looked on.

• Zhang Xinnian told Jiang Xiaobai that Hidden Edge Mountain might have a connection to the Dragon-Tiger Sect.
• Several martial artists, including powerful elders, tried and failed to lift the Black Iron Heavy Saber, though one man raised it three inches.
• Jiang Xiaobai told Zhang Xinnian he could remove the saber and whispered instructions that sent him outside.
• Liu Guanlan explained that any method was allowed as long as the coffin was not overturned and its mechanism was not triggered.
• When no one else volunteered, Jiang Xiaobai raised his hand and announced that he could lift the saber with one finger.

Jiang Xiaobai waited for the Heavenly Mechanism Tower to build a lifting frame, then used it to raise the Black Iron Heavy Saber with one finger. He retrieved a wooden box from beneath the saber before it crashed back into the Bronze Coffin.

• Jiang Xiaobai ignored the crowd's jeers and asked the elders to let him wait; they silenced the impatient Wulin People.
• After about an hour, Zhang Xinnian brought Chang Ying and the Heavenly Mechanism Tower workers with the equipment Jiang Xiaobai had requested.
• The workers assembled a frame and hung from its chains, raising the heavy saber until its weight was nearly balanced.
• Jiang Xiaobai lifted the saber with one finger and took out the wooden box beneath it.
• Jiang Xiaobai withdrew his finger, and the saber crashed back into the Bronze Coffin.

Jiang Xiaobai used a frame and iron chain to lift Hidden Edge Mountain’s Black Iron Heavy Saber with one finger, winning a box containing three Hidden Edge Tokens. In a private room, Liu Guanlan offered him a chance to work for an important figure, and the bamboo-hatted woman revealed the name Xiao Zijing, whom Jiang Xiaobai did not recognize.

• Jiang Xiaobai defended his successful lift against accusations of cheating, and Liu Guanlan confirmed that the rules did not forbid using an iron chain.
• Jiang Xiaobai opened the box, found three Hidden Edge Tokens, and handed it to Tang Ningshuang before going upstairs with her and Zhang Xinnian.
• Chang Ying ordered the Heavenly Mechanism Tower’s people to dismantle their frame and chain, while Liu Guanlan and the bamboo-hatted Elder Princess followed Jiang Xiaobai upstairs.
• Liu Guanlan asked Jiang Xiaobai whether he would work under an important figure, and the bamboo-hatted woman wrote Xiao Zijing’s name on the table.
• Jiang Xiaobai asked who Xiao Zijing was and wondered whether he was an imperial prince.

Jiang Xiaobai heard the benefits of working with the Little Princess and left without accepting, while the woman in the bamboo hat was revealed to be the Elder Princess. After leaving Guanlan Tower, Jiang Xiaobai told Tang Ningshuang and Zhang Xinnian that he suspected the woman was the Elder Princess.

• Jiang Xiaobai asked whether the Little Princess wanted the throne, and Liu Guanlan avoided answering while the woman identified herself as a maid.
• Liu Guanlan offered Jiang Xiaobai access to the Blade-Questioning Tower's intelligence, protection from assassination contracts, palace information, and help from people at Hidden Edge Mountain.
• Jiang Xiaobai said he would think over the offer, and the woman agreed before he left with Tang Ningshuang and Zhang Xinnian.
• After Jiang Xiaobai left, Liu Guanlan asked the woman why she had not revealed her identity, and she removed her bamboo hat, showing that she was the Elder Princess.
• The Elder Princess said she had used the Little Princess's name because it was not yet appropriate to meet Jiang Xiaobai directly, and insisted he had not noticed their gestures.
• Elsewhere, Jiang Xiaobai told Tang Ningshuang and Zhang Xinnian that the woman was probably the Elder Princess.

On the way back from Guanlan Tower, Jiang Xiaobai explained why he suspected the deaf, mute woman was the Elder Princess and considered approaching her to learn her intentions. Meanwhile, Emperor Xiao Jinxuan reviewed Jiang Xiaobai’s celebrated essays and poems and hoped he would make the right choice when the time came.

• Jiang Xiaobai told Tang Ningshuang and Zhang Xinnian that the woman’s beauty, Liu Guanlan’s gestures and deference, and the attack on her had convinced him she was likely the Elder Princess.
• Jiang Xiaobai said he might get closer to the Elder Princess to discover her intentions, and he threatened to kill her if he found something wrong with her.
• Zhang Xinnian teased Jiang Xiaobai about his supposed way of killing, while Tang Ningshuang looked at him suspiciously.
• Xiao Jinxuan read Jiang Xiaobai’s essays and poems from Orchid Pavilion Tower and admitted that he had underestimated the young heir apparent.
• Xiao Jinxuan hoped Jiang Xiaobai would be clever enough to make the right choice when the time came.

After Jiang Xiaobai’s writing won over the scholars who had once condemned him, they besieged the Marquis’s Residence to praise him and hear more of his work. Jiang Jingcheng watched proudly from inside, while an officer reminded him of the military pay matter he still needed to discuss with his son.

• Tang Ningshuang practiced swordplay in the courtyard, and Jiang Xiaobai invited her to breakfast.
• Zhang Xinnian told Jiang Xiaobai that scholars had gathered outside the Marquis’s Residence to praise his writing.
• Jiang Jingcheng first boasted about Jiang Xiaobai to the scholars, then pretended to scold him when he arrived.
• The scholars crowded the residence gates, apologized to Jiang Xiaobai, praised his poetry and essays, and asked for more of his Brother Monkey story.
• Jiang Jingcheng watched Jiang Xiaobai receive the scholars’ admiration and said his son had grown up.
• An officer asked Jiang Jingcheng when he would bring up the military pay matter with Jiang Xiaobai.

Students gathered outside the Marquis's Residence to celebrate Jiang Xiaobai's literary accomplishments, while Li Bingzhang and several scholars arrived to invite him into the Azure Robe Society. After hearing that the Society would publish his works and give him the proceeds, Jiang Jingcheng urged him to join.

• Jiang Xiaobai greeted the students gathered outside the Marquis's Residence as two carriages carrying Li Bingzhang, Li Zhiwei, Lin Fengshuo, Lin Qinrou, Fan Xinghe, Gu Zhiyan, and the Brush Holder arrived.
• Jiang Xiaobai welcomed the visitors and joked that he had been waiting for them for nearly an hour.
• Jiang Jingcheng and Li Bingzhang bickered about whether Jiang Xiaobai's literary performance had been only a little display.
• The Brush Holder invited Jiang Xiaobai to join the Azure Robe Society, which would publish his works and give him the proceeds.
• Jiang Jingcheng learned the Society expected the books to earn several tens of thousands of taels a month and told Jiang Xiaobai to join.

Jiang Xiaobai joined the Azure Robe Society as a Brush Holder, and the Brush Holder asked him to finish the story he had begun. After Jiang Xiaobai agreed to investigate the case and marry Li Zhiwei once it was resolved, the two went for a walk at the Marquis's Residence.

• Jiang Xiaobai agreed to join the Azure Robe Society, which promised to excuse him from traveling and gave him a jade pendant marking his Brush Holder status.
• The Brush Holder asked Jiang Xiaobai to finish the story he had told, and Jiang Xiaobai agreed.
• Fan Xinghe apologized to Jiang Xiaobai for previously failing to recognize his talent, while Lin Fengshuo and Li Bingzhang praised their connection to him.
• Li Bingzhang reminded Jiang Xiaobai to hurry with the investigation because Li Zhiwei had been waiting for him, and Jiang Xiaobai agreed to marry her after the case was resolved.
• Shen Yun suggested that Jiang Xiaobai take Li Zhiwei for a walk, and Jiang Xiaobai led her outside.
• Zhang Xinnian tried to follow Jiang Xiaobai and Li Zhiwei, but Jiang Jingcheng ordered him to stay behind.

Jiang Xiaobai walked with Li Zhiwei through the Marquis's Residence, teasing her and learning about her mother and the veil she had to wear until marriage. The chapter left off with Jiang Xiaobai kissing her through the veil.

• Jiang Xiaobai took Li Zhiwei's hand and led her to a pavilion, where she remained shy and flustered.
• Jiang Xiaobai learned that Li Zhiwei's mother belonged to a martial sect, knew about their relationship, and hoped to meet him.
• Li Zhiwei explained that the women in her mother's sect wore veils until their future husbands removed them after the wedding.
• Jiang Xiaobai joked that he wanted to investigate the case quickly so he could marry Li Zhiwei, and she teased him that she was the one marrying him.
• Jiang Xiaobai showered Li Zhiwei with flirtatious compliments, then lifted her chin and kissed her through her veil.

Jiang Xiaobai and Li Zhiwei shared a shy moment at the Marquis's Residence, while the Azure Robe Society announced his membership and the upcoming release of his works. The chapter ended with Jiang Xiaobai teasing Shen Yun with a peach pun, leaving Jiang Jingcheng eager to learn it too.

• Jiang Xiaobai and Li Zhiwei drew apart after a close encounter, and Li Zhiwei bashfully hurried back to the main hall.
• Li Zhiwei defended Jiang Xiaobai when Jiang Jingcheng asked whether he had bullied her, and Li Bingzhang laughed before ending the gathering.
• The Brush Holder announced that Jiang Xiaobai had joined the Azure Robe Society and that books under his name, including his story, would be sold in about half a month.
• Li Zhiwei glanced back at Jiang Xiaobai before boarding her carriage, then Shen Yun questioned him about what had happened between them.
• Jiang Xiaobai told Shen Yun a peach pun about Jiang Jingcheng loving her, prompting her to tell Jiang Jingcheng to scram.
• Jiang Jingcheng demanded to know where Jiang Xiaobai had learned the joke, then asked him to teach it to his dad.