Recaps

Qin Qingyu and Xiao Jian debated how to save Black Wind Ridge’s trapped defenders from the demon encirclement and their dwindling provisions. Qin Qingyu agreed to break out to seek food, but the plan was interrupted when a soldier reported that more than ten demons had charged up the ridge.

• Liu Yi left the discussion, and the Black Bear Spirit soon followed him out.
• Qin Qingyu argued that the defenders had to escape because their soldiers and demons would soon run out of food and water.
• Xiao Jian proposed that Qin Qingyu seek provisions while the Black Wind Ridge forces launched a diversionary attack.
• Princess Changling urged Qin Qingyu to risk leaving for the sake of the hundreds of soldiers and demons, and he agreed to go.
• Qian Li and Kang Li offered to lead the soldiers in the attack, but a soldier rushed in and announced that more than ten demons had charged up.

Qin Qingyu and the defenders of Black Wind Ridge launched a coordinated breakout against the demons surrounding them. The chapter ended with the starving bear demons overwhelming Lion Mountain’s forces as the battle spread across the ridge.

• Qian Li learned that Great King Black Wind and Liu Yi had gone up the mountain, while Xiao Jian ordered Yuan Ya to hold back the demons and organized a breakout with Princess Changling and Qin Xiaoyao.
• Qin Qingyu saw the starving demons massed outside the cave and joined the Black Bear Spirit, who persuaded them to attack Mo Yun Ridge and Lion Mountain instead of the Jiang Kingdom soldiers.
• Princess Changling, Qin Xiaoyao, Qian Li, and Kang Li led their forces to separate positions, while Xiao Jian prepared to coordinate the assault.
• Xiao Jian revealed the surrounding beasts and birds with a spell, then ordered the Jiang Kingdom soldiers and Daoist soldiers to charge.
• The Black Bear Spirit’s starving bear demons attacked Lion Mountain’s forces with frantic bites, frightening their opponents and pushing them down the mountain.

Qin Qingyu tried to escape Black Wind Ridge with Princess Changling, but Jiang Yuming intercepted them and revealed that other Confucian grandmasters had come. Qin Qingyu seized the Princess as leverage, but Jiang Yuming said her death would not disrupt their plan to lure Xiao Hua.

• The Golden Eagle struck the Duotian Star Array and was hurled into a hillside while the White Lion attacked the defenders.
• Qin Qingyu carried Princess Changling from the battlefield, and Qin Xiaoyao, Granny Ji, Yuan Ya, and the female generals moved to cover their escape.
• Jiang Yuming struck Qin Qingyu’s flying stone with Vast Righteous Qi and declared that other Confucian grandmasters had also come to Black Wind Ridge.
• Qin Qingyu realized that the Confucian cultivators sought both Xiao Hua and Princess Changling, then raised the Princess as a hostage to bargain for his escape.
• Qin Xiaoyao refused to support Qin Qingyu’s betrayal, while Jiang Yuming dismissed the hostage threat and said Princess Changling’s death would not affect their plan.

Qin Jian’s fireball talisman saved Princess Changling from Qin Qingyu, though Xiao Jian was gravely injured while shielding her. After Jiang Yuming stopped Qin Qingyu from escaping, Qin Qingyu turned on Black Wind Ridge and attacked Qin Xiaoyao when he tried to intervene.

• Qin Qingyu seized Princess Changling by the throat, but a fireball suddenly erupted and blew off his arm.
• Xiao Jian appeared in the flames and shielded Princess Changling with his body before she caught him and descended toward Granny Ji and the others.
• Jiang Yuming extinguished the fire, forced Qin Qingyu back, and struck down the Golden Eagle when it tried to attack him.
• Qin Qingyu swallowed pills, threatened to slaughter Black Wind Ridge, and ordered his disciples and Daoist soldiers to attack.
• Qin Qingyu attacked Qin Xiaoyao with the Art of Golden Spears and Iron Maces, and Qin Xiaoyao countered by spitting out a fire pearl.

Xiao Hua returned to Black Wind Ridge and effortlessly turned the battle against the attacking forces, rescuing Qin Xiaoyao and stopping the invading demons. After learning Qin Qingyu had plotted against Jiang Kingdom, Xiao Hua prepared to face the Confucian formation surrounding the ridge.

• Xiao Hua’s lightning shattered Qin Qingyu’s spears before they could kill Qin Xiaoyao, and the Black Bear Spirit rallied the defenders at the sound of his return.
• Xiao Hua’s thunderbolts struck down Mo Yun Ridge’s raptors, and his fire magic drove the beasts of Lion Mountain to flee.
• Xiao Hua intercepted Great King Golden Eagle and White Lion, forced them and their followers to kneel, and returned to Black Wind Ridge.
• Princess Changling recounted the battle to Xiao Hua, who gave Yuan Ya a medicinal pill for the unconscious Xiao Jian and learned Liu Yi had arranged Xiao Jian’s actions.
• Xiao Hua asked Qin Xiaoyao whether the account of Qin Qingyu’s plot was true, then declared that he would protect everyone on Black Wind Ridge despite the surrounding Confucian formation.

Xiao Hua punished Qin Qingyu for his betrayal, spared the other Daoist disciples, and considered how to deal with the demon kings who had attacked Black Wind Ridge. He began binding Golden Eagle and White Lion to the Black Bear Spirit, but the chapter ended before the process was complete.

• Xiao Hua rejected Qin Xiaoyao’s plea for mercy and crushed Qin Qingyu to death when he tried to flee.
• Xiao Hua let Qin Xiaoyao decide the fate of the other Daoist disciples, who were spared.
• Golden Eagle and White Lion begged for their lives, and the Black Bear Spirit proposed that they help him govern their followers under Xiao Hua.
• Xiao Hua extracted shadows from Golden Eagle and White Lion, melted two jade tablets, and added drops of blood as the binding ritual began.

After securing Black Cloud Ridge and hearing how Liu Yi sensed Qin Qingyu’s intentions, Xiao Hua learned that Liu Yi possessed an unusual ability to read thoughts and danger. Xiao Hua then prepared the demons for an approaching Confucian formation and took Liu Yi to meet a new junior brother.

• Xiao Hua gave the Black Bear Spirit jade plaques controlling the golden roc and White Lion, then declared that the three demon kings would rule Black Cloud Ridge together.
• Xiao Hua praised Xiao Jian for protecting Princess Changling, promised to help his cultivation, and asked the group to search for the captured Second National Teacher, Li Xiangli.
• Liu Yi told Xiao Hua how he sensed Qin Qingyu’s intentions and arranged for Xiao Jian to protect Princess Changling with the Invisibility Talisman and Fire Talisman.
• Xiao Hua recognized Liu Yi’s innate ability, promised to keep it secret, and said he would later teach him the Buddhist Sect ability Mind Reading.
• Xiao Hua warned Liu Yi that the Confucian cultivators’ formation was meant to wipe out the demons of Mo Yun Ridge and Lion Mountain as well, and ordered all the demons to enter the formation.
• Xiao Hua took Liu Yi to meet a new junior brother and joked about making Xiao Yun his jade maiden attendant.

Xiao Hua entered the cave dwelling as Jiang Yuming and the Confucian scholars prepared the Five Brocade Cloud Diagram to trap him. Bei Guo Zhenming and Du Shanjun discussed Xiao Hua’s motives and the political stakes of the battle, while Du Shanjun declined an offer to pursue an official career.

• Xiao Hua took Liu Yi into the cave dwelling, while Jiang Yuming warned the gathered scholars that Xiao Hua was powerful and urged them to rely on the Five Brocade Cloud Diagram.
• Jiang Yuming revealed that the king of Tongzhu Kingdom had obtained the Immortal Palace formation diagram, and the scholars began channeling Vast Righteous Qi into it.
• Du Shanjun asked Bei Guo Zhenming why Xiao Hua had entered the trap, and Bei Guo Zhenming said they could only respond to events as they unfolded.
• Bei Guo Zhenming explained that the king sought control of Black Cloud Ridge and its Qi Stone mine, while Du Shanjun acknowledged he was unsuited to court politics.
• Bei Guo Zhenming offered to recommend Du Shanjun for an official post, but Du Shanjun said he preferred to follow his own path.

Xiao Hua confronted Leng Qingge, the National Preceptor of Tongzhu Kingdom, as Leng Qingge activated the Golden Spears and Iron Horses formation around Black Cloud Ridge. The battle began with Leng Qingge unleashing a charge of giant warhorses and Vast Righteous Qi, while Xiao Hua found his thunder techniques suppressed.

• Xiao Hua ordered Wang Zhengfei and Liu Yi to guard the cave entrance, told Liu Yi to gather the demons inside the expanded formation, and warned them not to leave during the battle.
• Xiao Hua flew out to face the blood-red clouds and war chants as the Black Bear Spirit, the Golden Eagle, the White Lion, and the other demons knelt to send him off.
• Leng Qingge appeared in blood-red armor and identified himself as Tongzhu Kingdom’s National Preceptor, while Xiao Hua declared his name and challenged him.
• Leng Qingge retreated rather than fight Xiao Hua directly, and Xiao Hua’s attempt to use Imperial Thunder Shock failed inside the Confucian formation.
• Leng Qingge commanded the formation’s ten thousand warhorses to charge Xiao Hua, while pillars of Qi blasted Black Cloud Ridge and shattered its peaks, trees, and rivers.

Xiao Hua overwhelmed Leng Qingge’s Golden Spears and Iron Horses, then defeated him in direct combat. As Xiao Hua trapped Leng Qingge’s Golden Spears with his Nascent Soul hand, an azure cloud brocade appeared and blocked his path.

• Xiao Hua shattered the Righteous Qi Pillars and crushed Tongzhu Kingdom’s iron horses while resisting its Golden Spears.
• The Immortal Slaying Crossbows and God Slaying Bows failed to pierce Xiao Hua’s tempered body, and he used the Sea-Overturning Seal to smash the remaining horses.
• Leng Qingge challenged Xiao Hua, but Xiao Hua overpowered him in their exchanges and forced him to unleash the Golden Spears of Golden Qi Dawn.
• Xiao Hua’s Nascent Soul hand trapped Leng Qingge’s Golden Spears, but an azure cloud brocade descended with Wind Volcano Forest manifestations and blocked Xiao Hua.

Xiao Hua faced Jiang Yuming’s Wind formation, which used slanderous words to disturb his heart and weaken his golden body. He understood the attack and steadied his mind, resisting the formation as the Jiang family’s children watched in astonishment.

• Leng Qingge escaped as Xiao Hua destroyed the scarlet cloud brocade, and Jiang Yuming revealed himself to challenge him.
• Jiang Yuming summoned the Hundred Child Book Formation, gathering azure inscriptions into four books and a child-shaped figure.
• The first book unleashed a hurricane of clamorous words that agitated Xiao Hua and began to break down his golden body.
• Xiao Hua used the Lightning and Thunder Technique to disperse the inscriptions, then realized the wind attacked through rumors and slander that unsettled the heart.
• Xiao Hua steadied his mind and endured the wind without yielding, leaving the Jiang family’s children stunned.

Xiao Hua fought the Jiang family’s Imperial Formation at Black Cloud Ridge, overcoming its Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain formations. He left Jiang Yuming and the other Scholars defeated as the formation collapsed.

• Jiang Yuming activated the Forest Formation, but Xiao Hua destroyed its inscriptions with fire talismans and his cauldron’s Fire Crows.
• The Jiang family opened the Fire Formation, and its Heart Fire entered Xiao Hua’s golden body but was absorbed by his scarlet Heavenly Heart.
• Jiang Yuming ordered the final Mountain Formation to descend on Xiao Hua.
• Xiao Hua shattered the Mountain of Literature and Sea of Words with his Buddhist Mountain Power seal, causing the Scholars to spit blood and the formation to collapse.

Xiao Hua faced Baihou Yuqin’s Water Brocade Diagram, where her zither music ensnared him with memories of Xue Xue. After Baihou Yuqin’s formation ended, Xiao Hua emerged unharmed and challenged Leng Qingge, leaving the confrontation poised to resume.

• Baihou Yuqin identified herself as the guardian of the Water Brocade Diagram and challenged Xiao Hua to endure her zither piece.
• Baihou Yuqin’s music conjured memories of Xue Xue, and Xiao Hua allowed the illusion to overwhelm him rather than dispel it.
• Green cloud brocade wrapped around Xiao Hua as the song ended, and Baihou Yuqin appeared, believing she had subdued him.
• Baihou Yuqin told Leng Qingge she would serve the sovereign no longer and argued that Xiao Hua’s grief showed he was not eager to slaughter.
• Leng Qingge dismissed her judgment and said the sovereign would deal with Xiao Hua, but Xiao Hua spoke from within the formation and challenged Leng Qingge to approach.

Xiao Hua broke free of Baihou Yuqin’s illusion and won her trial, then faced Xi Bohong in the fourth transformation of the Five Brocade Cloud Diagram. The chapter ended as Xiao Hua’s fire-talisman formation attacked Xi Bohong, who unleashed fire pearls and his beast’s demon core in response.

• Xiao Hua emerged from Baihou Yuqin’s illusion, declared victory over Leng Qingge, and explained that his understanding of life, death, and love had freed him.
• Baihou Yuqin acknowledged Xiao Hua’s insight, invited him to Lingyuan Cliff, and vanished as the fourth transformation of the Five Brocade Cloud Diagram began.
• Xiao Hua drew Vast Righteous Qi to temper his body and endured the lingering damage to his kidneys from Baihou Yuqin’s sound attack.
• Xi Bohong introduced himself as Leng Qingge’s friend and challenged Xiao Hua, attacking with a sea of flames.
• Xiao Hua seized control of the flames and fought Xi Bohong evenly, astonishing Du Shanjun and Bei Guo Zhenming.
• Xiao Hua trapped Xi Bohong in a formation of fire talismans and detonated them, while Xi Bohong countered with fire pearls and his beast’s demon core.

Xiao Hua survived Xi Bohong’s Intense Flame Array by using the Five Elements Evasion Technique, while Xi Bohong sacrificed his Fanged Beast, Lieya, to attack him. After Xiao Hua spared Xi Bohong, Bei Guo Zhenming and Du Shanjun arrived, and Xiao Hua greeted the academy dean.

• Xi Bohong unleashed the Fanged Beast’s divided bodies and tens of thousands of fire beasts, trapping Xiao Hua in a crushing sphere of flame.
• Xiao Hua escaped the attack with the Fire Evasion Technique and confronted Xi Bohong for sacrificing Lieya, whose sorrow and attachment Xiao Hua had sensed.
• Xi Bohong refused to discuss Lieya and demanded to know how Xiao Hua had escaped the Intense Flame Array.
• Xiao Hua revealed that he had used the Daoist Sect’s Five Elements Evasion Technique and let Xi Bohong leave because the Fanged Beast was dead.
• Bei Guo Zhenming and Du Shanjun arrived on a gray cloud, and Xiao Hua saluted the dean of Tongzhu Academy.

Xiao Hua broke Bei Guo Zhenming and Du Shanjun’s earth-aspected Five Brocade Cloud Diagram layer with his Confucian sword art. Leng Qingge admitted that he had underestimated Xiao Hua but warned that the formation had greater power.

• Bei Guo Zhenming explained that the Five Brocade Cloud Diagram was set up under the king’s orders, and Xiao Hua agreed to face it.
• Bei Guo Zhenming and Du Shanjun used recitations and Vast Righteous Qi to bind Xiao Hua with earth-aspected rings that suppressed his magic power and movement.
• Xiao Hua transformed into a sword and declared that he would kill the muddled ruler for the people, then tore through the formation and stopped its chanting.
• Bei Guo Zhenming and Du Shanjun withdrew as Xiao Hua emerged from the sword transformation and challenged Leng Qingge.
• Leng Qingge acknowledged that he had underestimated Xiao Hua and warned him that the Five Brocade Cloud Diagram held greater power.

Leng Qingge and the other cultivators summoned the Five Qi True Thunder through the Execution Stage and struck Xiao Hua, badly injuring him. Xiao Hua sent Little Lei and his Nascent Soul to absorb the lightning, and the Nascent Soul began recovering after a perilous first strike.

• Leng Qingge and the four other cultivators combined their handkerchiefs and true qi to form the Execution Stage within the Five Brocade Cloud Diagram.
• The Execution Stage imprisoned Xiao Hua and struck him with Five Qi True Thunder, leaving his right arm charred and collapsing part of his back.
• Xiao Hua realized the Execution Stage resembled the damaged treasure in his space and decided to bring Little Lei out to face the lightning.
• Green-robed Xiao Hua proposed using the Five Qi True Thunder to strengthen their Nascent Soul, and Xiao Hua agreed despite the danger.
• Little Lei absorbed most of the third thunderbolt while the Nascent Soul took the remainder, began collapsing, then recovered as silver-white crystalline threads merged into it.

Xiao Hua endured eighty-one bolts of Five Qi True Thunder, strengthening his Nascent Soul while Little Lei protected him and awakened. The exhausted Confucian cultivators returned with five ancient Wen Scrolls and unleashed Five Sons Ascend to Officialdom, leaving Xiao Hua facing the first scroll’s Law character and another terrifying attack.

• Xiao Hua refined Metal Essence Gold Marrow and endured eighty-one bolts of Five Qi True Thunder as Little Lei shielded him; the lightning strengthened his Nascent Soul, while the five Confucian cultivators exhausted their true qi and their Execution Stage collapsed.
• Little Lei awoke, nuzzled Xiao Hua, and returned to sleep in his space; Xiao Hua also sent green-robed Xiao Hua and his Nascent Soul back to recuperate.
• Leng Qingge revealed that the Confucian cultivators would use Five Sons Ascend to Officialdom and produced an ancient Wen Scroll; Xiao Hua armed himself with the As-You-Wish Staff and Sea-Overturning Seal.
• Leng Qingge, Xi Bohong, Bei Guo Zhenming, Baihou Yuqin, and Jiang Yuming each brought out a Wen Scroll, and Xiao Hua grew to more than twenty zhang tall with Heaven and Earth Manifestation.
• Leng Qingge unfurled Literary Saint Han Cheng's Wen Scroll, summoning a giant Law character that drew out Xiao Hua's nine sword intents; Xi Bohong then opened his own scroll and unleashed another terrifying aura.

Leng Qingge and the four officials unleashed five ancient Confucian Wen Scrolls against Xiao Hua, but he drew on his many powers and treasures to withstand the combined attack. Xiao Hua survived, badly injured, while the Five Brocade Cloud Diagram and the scrolls were shattered.

• Leng Qingge ordered Bei Guo Zhenming, Baihou Yuqin, and Jiang Yuming to open their Wen Scrolls, unleashing the characters “Earth” and “Confucian,” a Vast Qi River, and the Yin Yang Fish alongside his “Law” attack.
• The five Wen Scrolls combined their power through the Five Brocade Cloud Diagram and surrounded Xiao Hua with a devastating strike.
• Xiao Hua used his swords, Innate True Water, magical treasures, spiritual fire, golden body, and other abilities to counter the attacks.
• The collision shattered the Five Brocade Cloud Diagram and broke the five Wen Scrolls into fragments, leaving Leng Qingge and the others stunned.
• Baihou Yuqin spotted Xiao Hua staggering back to his feet, his enormous golden body riddled with holes and cracks.

Xiao Hua endured the five Wen Scrolls and destroyed their inscriptions with his remaining powers, but Leng Qingge then summoned a Five Dragon Imperial Seal. The seal descended over the Five Sons, leaving Xiao Hua facing a new and unknown threat.

• Xi Bohong and the others hesitated to attack Xiao Hua after Jiang Yuming noticed that his severe wounds showed no blood, and Leng Qingge ordered them to prepare the Son of Heaven's Wrath.
• Xiao Hua recalled how his weapons and techniques had damaged or destroyed the Wen Scrolls while the sword net pierced his body and battered his Dharma Body.
• Xiao Hua used his two-colored spiritual fire and three Heavenly Hearts to break the character "Confucian," then erased the remaining inscriptions and destroyed the Wen Scrolls.
• Xiao Hua prepared to wear down the five Confucian cultivators, but a golden light appeared at the peak of the Five Brocade Cloud Diagram.
• Leng Qingge's Five Dragon Imperial Seal descended, and the five "Sons" bowed beneath its golden radiance.

Xiao Hua defeated the Son of Heaven formed by the Five Masters, destroyed the Five Brocade Cloud Diagram, and killed Leng Qingge. He spared Baihou Yuqin after securing her submission and cultivation materials, then turned to Xi Bohong, who offered the Fire Brocade Cloud Diagram but refused to surrender his cultivation technique.

• The Son of Heaven used the Five Dragon Imperial Seal to suppress Xiao Hua, but Xiao Hua summoned a Sleeping Dragon that swallowed the seal and dragons and shattered the Son of Heaven and the Five Brocade Cloud Diagram.
• Xiao Hua seized Leng Qingge's golden halberd and used the Spirit Severing Primordial Light to kill him and absorb his Nascent Soul.
• Xiao Hua claimed the formation diagram and accepted Baihou Yuqin's silk handkerchief, declaring himself Jiang Kingdom's State Preceptor and ordering Tongzhu Kingdom's forces to retreat from Jiang Kingdom's territory.
• Baihou Yuqin agreed to limit the war to soldiers and generals, handed Xiao Hua copies of her cultivation technique and Confucian classics, and departed with her disciples.
• Xi Bohong offered Xiao Hua the Fire Brocade Cloud Diagram but said he could not hand over the Fire Qi Ascending to Origin cultivation technique.

Xiao Hua forced Tongzhu Kingdom’s groups to withdraw, negotiated the preservation of Tongzhu Academy, and demanded that the Jiang Clan punish those responsible for Qiyang Temple’s deaths. Though badly injured beneath his show of strength, he returned to Black Wind Ridge, where the people and demons hailed him as their master.

• Xiao Hua confiscated Xi Bohong’s Cosmic Bag and let him leave, then accepted Bei Guo Zhenming’s books and agreed that Bei Guo could ask Jiang Kingdom’s royal family to preserve Tongzhu Academy.
• Jiang Yuming begged Xiao Hua to spare the Jiang Clan, and Xiao Hua ordered the Clan to kill everyone involved in the Qiyang Temple attack, present their heads, and erect an inscription admitting what happened.
• Xiao Hua confiscated Jiang Yuming’s Cosmic Bag and sent the Jiang Clan away after Jiang Yuming promised to persuade the Clan Head to accept his demands.
• After the departing groups left, Xiao Hua’s hidden injuries worsened, and he realized that he had been bluffing while barely able to continue fighting.
• Xiao Hua withdrew the damaged Duotian Star Array and returned to Black Wind Ridge, where the people and demons knelt and welcomed him home.

Xiao Hua established Black Cloud Ridge as his base, organized its demons and Daoist followers, and named his new sect the Creation Sect. After freeing Liu Yi’s spiritual root, he sealed himself in the quiet chamber to recover from his injuries.

• Xiao Hua ordered Black Bear Spirit, Great King Golden Eagle, and Great King Ten Thousand Lions to organize their troops and guard Black Cloud Ridge.
• Xiao Hua told Xiao Jian and Princess Changling that they could prepare to reclaim Jiang Kingdom while he entered seclusion.
• Xiao Hua gave Qin Xiaoyao pills, cultivation techniques, and magical artifacts to distribute, authorized him to recruit Daoist soldiers, and named the sect the Creation Sect.
• Xiao Hua used the Soul Bridge and Wash Heaven and Earth to break the restriction sealing Liu Yi’s spiritual root, allowing Liu Yi to sense Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.
• Xiao Hua designated Liu Yi as Wang Zhengfei’s senior brother and then protected the quiet chamber with the Duotian Star Array before beginning his seclusion.

Xiao Hua recovered from his injuries and began using the Five Qi True Thunder to restore his Nascent Soul while his other aspects continued cultivating. The story then shifted to Tongzhu Kingdom’s court, where the sovereign asked his ministers about plans to campaign against four kingdoms.

• Xiao Hua repaired his bloodline and body, then activated the Five Brocade Cloud Diagram and used Little Lei to summon Five Qi True Thunder.
• Green-robed Xiao Hua controlled the weakened Nascent Soul under the lightning while Xiao Hua read Confucian scrolls, and his other aspects continued their separate cultivation.
• The sovereign of Tongzhu Kingdom convened his ministers in the imperial hall and asked about the campaign against Gu Kingdom, Jiming Kingdom, Gaza Kingdom, and Yifeng Kingdom.
• Minister Yu reported that he and the Ministry of War’s vice ministers had consulted Generals Hao Hu and Wen Feng and reached a conclusion.

Tongzhu Kingdom’s ministers debated which neighboring kingdoms to conquer, and the ruler announced an expedition against Jiming Kingdom and Yifeng Kingdom. His boastful display of power ended when a dragon seized Tongzhu Kingdom’s national destiny, leaving him stunned as the prime minister ordered the palace sealed and the incident concealed.

• Yu Zhong and the generals advised postponing attacks on Buddhist- and Daoist-controlled kingdoms and targeting Confucian kingdoms instead.
• The prime minister discovered that the Five Dragon Imperial Seal was missing, and the ruler claimed National Teacher Leng Qingge had secured victory over the Daoist remnants at Black Cloud Ridge.
• The ruler declared that Tongzhu Kingdom would conquer Jiming Kingdom and Yifeng Kingdom in one campaign.
• The ruler’s dragon aura burst through the royal hall’s roof, but a larger dragon emerged from the void and swallowed it, stripping Tongzhu Kingdom’s national destiny from him.
• The prime minister ordered the Hall Guards to lock the palace gates and kill anyone who spread news of what had happened.