Chapter Summaries

Fan Xian agreed to Zhou Cheng’s offer of protection and raced to the Overwatch Council to reach Chen Pingping before the rebellion could threaten him. Zhou Cheng identified himself to Shadow as the Ghost-Faced Man, or the Great Sage, and promised not to harm Fan Xian or Chen Pingping; the carriage arrived at the Council amid an unusual atmosphere.

• Fan Xian suspected Zhou Cheng had anticipated his danger, then agreed to accept his protection so he could go help Chen Pingping.
• Shadow realized someone inside Fan Xian’s carriage had evaded his senses and feared the stranger might be a Grandmaster.
• Fan Xian drove the carriage at full speed toward the Overwatch Council, worried that Yan Ruohai would act before they arrived.
• Shadow questioned Zhou Cheng about his identity and purpose, and Zhou Cheng called himself the Ghost-Faced Man, or the Great Sage, and said he would not act against Fan Xian or Chen Pingping.
• Fan Xian’s carriage reached the Overwatch Council, where he sensed an unusual atmosphere at the entrance.

Fan Xian, Zhou Cheng, and Shadow escorted Chen Pingping through the Overwatch Council as its members turned against him. They retreated into a secret passage beneath the dungeon, where Chen Pingping revealed that their narrow route was only a temporary defense.

• Fan Xian arrived at the Overwatch Council with Zhou Cheng and found Chen Pingping calmly waiting in his room.
• Fan Xian urged Chen Pingping to leave, and Chen Pingping agreed before members of the Council surrounded them.
• Chen Pingping directed Fan Xian to take him into the dungeon as the Council members shouted for his death and battered at the entrance.
• At the dungeon's dead end, Chen Pingping told Fan Xian to press a lamp holder, opening a secret passage that they entered as the dungeon door was breached.
• Chen Pingping explained that the passage was known to some people and could only be held temporarily, leaving Fan Xian doubtful about their prospects.

Fan Xian and Zhou Cheng accompanied Chen Pingping through the secret dungeon, where Fan Xian discovered Xiao En, the prisoner who had crippled Chen Pingping. As armed attackers closed in, Fan Xian chose to stand by Chen Pingping, and Shadow charged alone into the approaching force.

• Fan Xian examined Xiao En's heavily chained cell and learned from Chen Pingping that Xiao En had crippled him.
• Zhou Cheng recognized Xiao En as a former Northern Qi spymaster and sought the One Heaven Technique he had learned from Ye Qingmei.
• Attackers advanced through the passage, and Shadow told Fan Xian he could survive by abandoning Chen Pingping.
• Fan Xian rejected Shadow's suggestion, pushed Chen Pingping's wheelchair forward, and called on Zhou Cheng to protect them.
• Shadow charged alone toward the attackers, and the sounds of battle quickly faded, leaving Fan Xian stunned.

Zhou Cheng revealed that he knew about the shotguns Ye Qingmei had hidden in Chen Pingping’s wheelchair, prompting Chen Pingping to question his origins. Zhou Cheng explained that he had protected Fan Xian in exchange for a favor, and Chen Pingping learned Fan Xian had agreed after hearing he was in danger.

• Chen Pingping told Fan Xian that the attack was real and that Shadow had fought off the attackers.
• Chen Pingping challenged Zhou Cheng to strike while Shadow was away, but Zhou Cheng said he was only protecting Fan Xian in exchange for a favor.
• Zhou Cheng noticed the hidden gun barrels under Chen Pingping’s wheelchair armrests and warned him not to use the shotguns Ye Qingmei had left him.
• Chen Pingping revealed that the wheelchair concealed two shotguns, and Fan Xian reacted with shock when he saw them.
• Chen Pingping asked why Zhou Cheng had protected Fan Xian, and Zhou Cheng said Fan Xian had agreed after learning Chen Pingping was in danger.

Zhou Cheng traded Fan Xian’s debt for a private meeting with Xiao En, while Chen Pingping learned that the Divine Temple’s secrets held little value to Zhou Cheng. After leaving the dungeon, they discovered that Zhuang Mohan had disappeared, a secret maneuver arranged by Zhu Ge and Li Yunrui.

• Chen Pingping took on Fan Xian’s debt to Zhou Cheng, who requested two uninterrupted hours alone with Xiao En.
• Zhou Cheng told Chen Pingping that the Divine Temple’s secrets were like a myth and offered to reveal them for something valuable.
• Chen Pingping, Fan Xian, and Zhou Cheng left the dungeon, where Fan Xian struggled to clear the bloodied passage while Zhou Cheng followed without helping.
• Chen Pingping emerged and told Zhu Ge that Shadow’s attack on the Council’s men had been arranged by him.
• Zhu Ge told Chen Pingping that Zhuang Mohan had disappeared, while Zhou Cheng knew Zhu Ge had helped Zhuang Mohan meet Li Yunrui and planned a meeting with the crown prince.

Zhou Cheng opened Xiao En’s cell and offered to save his grandson Yan Bingyun in exchange for the One Heaven Technique. After recording Xiao En’s recitation, Zhou Cheng returned to Chen Pingping and Shadow, whose discovery that he was a Grandmaster raised new questions about his place in the world.

• Chen Pingping gave Zhou Cheng the key to Xiao En’s cell and kept others away from the Dungeon.
• Zhou Cheng told Xiao En that Zhuang Mohan had come to the capital to save him and asked for the One Heaven Technique.
• Zhou Cheng promised to protect Xiao En’s grandson in exchange for the technique, and Xiao En reacted with shock.
• Zhou Cheng explained that Yan Bingyun was Xiao En’s living grandson, then asked Xiao En to recite the One Heaven Technique while he secretly recorded it on his phone.
• Chen Pingping concluded that Zhou Cheng was the world’s fifth Grandmaster, while Shadow grew eager to fight him.

Zhou Cheng revealed that he had asked Xiao En for his cultivation method, then agreed to Shadow’s challenge in exchange for a future favor. Shadow unleashed his strongest strike, but Zhou Cheng stopped it with two fingers, leaving Shadow confronted with the vast difference between an Upper Ninth Rank fighter and a Grandmaster.

• Zhou Cheng told Fan Xian that he had asked Xiao En for his cultivation method, while keeping his deeper purpose secret.
• Shadow challenged Zhou Cheng to test the gap between the Ninth Rank and a Grandmaster, agreeing to help him frame someone in the future.
• Zhou Cheng accepted Shadow’s challenge and told him to attack with his full strength in the council chamber.
• Shadow launched a lightning-fast sword strike at Zhou Cheng, who caught it effortlessly between two fingers.
• Zhou Cheng praised Shadow’s condensed vitality and spirit, while Shadow was left bitterly aware that his strongest attack could not move Zhou Cheng.

Zhou Cheng told Shadow that his obsession with revenge made it nearly impossible for him to become a Grandmaster, prompting Shadow to understand the truth behind Si Gujian’s family massacre. Zhou Cheng then offered Fan Xian a deal involving the key to Ye Qingmei’s chest, leaving Fan Xian questioning Zhou Cheng’s connection to his mother.

• Zhou Cheng explained that becoming a Grandmaster required relinquishing one’s strongest obsession, and told Shadow that his desire for revenge left him almost no chance of reaching that realm.
• Shadow collapsed into despair and realized Si Gujian had slaughtered their clan to relinquish his deepest longing for familial acceptance.
• Fan Xian wondered whether his love for Lin Wan'er would prevent him from becoming a Grandmaster, then asked Zhou Cheng what obsession he had given up.
• Zhou Cheng proposed telling Fan Xian where to find Ye Qingmei’s chest key in exchange for playing with what was inside after Fan Xian opened it.
• Fan Xian asked Zhou Cheng what relationship he had with Ye Qingmei, since he seemed to know more about her than Fan Xian’s father or Wu Zhu.

Fan Xian weighed Zhou Cheng’s offer to trade for Ye Qingmei’s locked case after learning it contained a Barrett M82A1. He remained cautious and asked how long Zhou Cheng would need the weapon, leaving the deal undecided.

• Chen Pingping asked Shadow to leave so they could discuss Ye Qingmei’s secrets in private.
• Zhou Cheng revealed that Ye Qingmei’s case contained a Barrett M82A1, and Fan Xian recognized it as a powerful modern weapon.
• Chen Pingping was moved to learn Ye Qingmei had left Fan Xian a gun, while Shadow walked away distraught.
• Fan Xian asked whether a Barrett could kill a Grandmaster, and Zhou Cheng confirmed that it could if the target was caught unprepared.
• Fan Xian asked Zhou Cheng how long he would need the Barrett if Fan Xian agreed to lend it to him.

Fan Xian learned that the key to his mother's case was hidden in the Empress Dowager's bedchamber, and that the Empress Dowager had helped arrange Ye Qingmei's death. After Zhou Cheng revealed the case also held letters from Ye Qingmei, Fan Xian resolved to retrieve the key and pressed Zhou Cheng to protect him.

• Zhou Cheng agreed to borrow the Barrett for two days if Fan Xian found it in the case, then revealed that the key was hidden beneath the Empress Dowager's bed.
• Zhou Cheng told Fan Xian and Chen Pingping that the Empress Dowager and Empress had led the forces that killed Ye Qingmei, while someone else had withdrawn her guards.
• Chen Pingping realized Emperor Qing had likely ordered Ye Qingmei's guards away, thanked Zhou Cheng for confirming his suspicions, and told Fan Xian he would handle his mother's affairs.
• Zhou Cheng advised Fan Xian to use Wu Zhu and Lin Wan'er to retrieve the key from the palace, but refused to help him directly.
• Zhou Cheng revealed the case contained letters Ye Qingmei had left for Fan Xian and Wu Zhu, prompting Fan Xian to agree to enter the palace and demand Zhou Cheng protect him.

Fan Xian learned that the chest key was hidden in the Empress Dowager’s bedchamber, while Zhou Cheng entered the Peaceful Villa’s secret chamber to find ammunition for the Barrett. He discovered the chamber held traces of Ye Qingmei’s gunmaking, but the ammunition had not yet appeared.

• Zhou Cheng agreed to help Fan Xian retrieve the key, and Chen Pingping arranged for a locksmith to make a duplicate.
• Fan Xian returned to the Fan Residence and told Wu Zhu he knew where the key was.
• Wu Zhu revealed that the key was beneath the Empress Dowager’s bed, leaving Fan Xian dismayed that he had not said so sooner.
• Zhou Cheng infiltrated the Peaceful Villa and opened a concealed entrance beneath its pond.
• Zhou Cheng explored the underwater chamber and found rusted gun parts and tools, including a crude barrel, before spotting something in a corner.

Zhou Cheng found five Barrett armor-piercing rounds and a hidden, password-protected touchscreen chamber beneath the secret room, then left without investigating further. Ten days later, he stayed away from Emperor Qing’s banquet while the Crown Prince grew suspicious of Li Yunrui’s support for Li Chengze.

• Zhou Cheng found five bullets in Ye Qingmei’s chamber, stored them in his system space, and discovered a hidden passage leading to a touchscreen that required a Wubi password.
• Zhou Cheng left the secret chamber and returned to his residence without attracting the Imperial Guards’ attention.
• Over the following ten days, Zhou Cheng transcribed and studied Xiao En’s One Heaven Technique while negotiations at the Court of State Ceremonial continued.
• Zhou Cheng chose to stay home instead of attending Emperor Qing’s banquet, where he expected Zhuang Mohan to accuse Fan Xian of plagiarism and Fan Xian to answer with poetry.
• Li Yunrui, Crown Prince Li Chengqian, and Li Chengze arrived early at the banquet, and Li Yunrui noticed Zhou Cheng’s absence.
• Li Chengqian recalled Zhuang Mohan’s claims that Li Yunrui backed Li Chengze and had helped him build a private army, and he awaited news from men he had sent to Shi Family Village.

Fan Xian turned the palace banquet into a triumph, earning the name Poetry Immortal and humiliating Zhuang Mohan, while Li Yunrui’s plot failed. Back at the Fan Residence, he revealed to Fan Ruoruo that his drunken collapse had been an act.

• Guo Baokun tried to provoke Fan Xian at the banquet, but Guo Youzhi apologized and pulled his son back; the Crown Prince realized Li Yunrui was using his faction’s people without his knowledge.
• Li Yunrui hinted to the Crown Prince that she was directing his followers, and he concealed his alarm by agreeing to let her use them.
• Fan Xian recited a stream of poems at the banquet, establishing his reputation as the Poetry Immortal while He Zongwei copied them as a palace scribe eunuch.
• Fan Xian taunted Zhuang Mohan before collapsing, and Zhuang Mohan vomited blood and fainted, leaving the banquet in an uproar.
• Wang Qinian escorted Fan Xian home with Eunuch Hou, where Fan Jian and Liu Ruyu celebrated his success and Fan Ruoruo stayed to care for him.
• Once alone with Fan Ruoruo, Fan Xian woke, took sobering pills, and vomited the wine he had pretended to drink.

Fan Xian, Zhou Cheng, and Wu Zhu infiltrated the palace and drew away its guards so Fan Xian could approach the Empress Dowager’s quarters. The chapter ended with Yan Xiaoyi loosing an arrow at Zhou Cheng as he vaulted over a wall.

• Fan Xian disguised himself and slipped out with Zhou Cheng while Fan Ruoruo stayed behind to cover for him.
• Wu Zhu confronted Zhou Cheng about leaving Fan Xian’s name after killing Lin Gong, and Zhou Cheng admitted he had done it for fun.
• Wu Zhu entered the palace and lured Hong Sixiang away, then Zhou Cheng drew Yan Xiaoyi away so Fan Xian could head for the Empress Dowager’s quarters.
• Yan Xiaoyi caught Zhou Cheng in midair as he vaulted a palace wall and fired an arrow at him.

Zhou Cheng escaped Yan Xiaoyi’s pursuit when Yan’s powerful arrow vanished without a trace. Meanwhile, Fan Xian stole the key hidden beneath the Empress Dowager’s bed, had it copied, and returned the duplicate before spotting Li Yunrui’s attendant escorting a mysterious black-robed figure toward Guangxin Palace.

• Zhou Cheng led Yan Xiaoyi out of the palace and evaded his arrows while fleeing through the streets.
• Yan Xiaoyi fired a full-strength arrow at Zhou Cheng, but it disappeared, leaving Yan Xiaoyi baffled as Zhou escaped.
• Fan Xian drugged the palace maids, entered the Empress Dowager’s bedchamber, and took the key from a hidden compartment beneath her bed.
• The Locksmith made a near-identical copy of the key, and Fan Xian returned the duplicate to the compartment before leaving with the original.
• Fan Xian hid in the palace shadows when he saw Li Yunrui’s female attendant leading a hooded figure toward Guangxin Palace.

Zhou Cheng drove Fan Xian away before he could overhear Li Yunrui’s secret meeting with Zhuang Mohan, then revealed his strength and identity to Li Yunrui’s attendant. He reunited with Li Yunrui in the side hall and hinted that he had come to steal her.

• Fan Xian saw Zhuang Mohan meet with Li Yunrui, but Zhou Cheng fired Yan Xiaoyi’s arrow near him and scared him into fleeing.
• Li Yunrui’s female official pursued the intruder and attacked Zhou Cheng, but he repelled her palm strike with ease.
• Zhou Cheng removed his mask and hood, revealing himself to the astonished female official, who then led him to Li Yunrui.
• Li Yunrui had Zhuang Mohan escorted out through the back door and questioned Zhou Cheng about sneaking into the inner palace in black robes.
• Zhou Cheng drew Li Yunrui into his embrace and said his outfit was for stealing something, making her blush.

Zhou Cheng secretly entered Guangxin Palace and went to Li Yunrui’s bedchamber, while Yan Xiaoyi discovered evidence that the intruder had lured him away. Yan Xiaoyi reached the bedchamber and realized someone was inside with Li Yunrui, but the chapter ended before he acted.

• Zhou Cheng told Li Yunrui he had climbed over the wall, then carried her from the side hall to her bedchamber as her female official cleared the attendants away.
• Yan Xiaoyi returned to the palace and found one of his arrows embedded near Guangxin Palace, realizing the intruder had used a diversion to draw him away.
• Yan Xiaoyi hurried to the Eldest Princess’s Bedchamber and found the surrounding guards and attendants gone.
• The female official blocked Yan Xiaoyi and assured him that Li Yunrui was unharmed, but he insisted on hearing that from the princess herself.
• Li Yunrui called out that she was unharmed and ordered Yan Xiaoyi to leave, prompting him to suspect that someone else was in the chamber.

Zhou Cheng and Li Yunrui discussed their Western Hu smuggling arrangement after spending the night together, and he offered to let her keep all the profits. At dawn, Yan Xiaoyi aimed his bow at Zhou Cheng but lowered it after Zhou Cheng used the scandal to make him help with his escape from the palace.

• Yan Xiaoyi obeyed Li Yunrui's order to leave the hall, then kept watch over Guangxin Palace from a nearby tower all night.
• Li Yunrui asked Zhou Cheng about smuggling with the Ye Family to Western Hu, and Zhou Cheng said she could have all the profits.
• Li Yunrui warned Zhou Cheng that she would conduct the smuggling in his name and leave him to face the consequences if it went wrong.
• Zhou Cheng said he would take responsibility for their dealings and joked that he would publicly claim any child she bore.
• At dawn, Yan Xiaoyi aimed an arrow at Zhou Cheng, but Zhou Cheng threatened to expose Li Yunrui's scandal and asked Yan Xiaoyi to help him leave the palace.
• Yan Xiaoyi lowered his bow and gave in.

Fan Xian returned safely to the Fan Residence and opened the case Ye Qingmei had left behind, only to find it locked by a password. Wu Zhu entered the password instinctively, and the case opened to reveal a long gun barrel.

• Fan Xian evaded pursuit, returned to Chen Pingping, and then waited for Wu Zhu, who reported that Great Sage had not returned.
• Fan Xian and Wu Zhu went back to the Fan Residence, where Fan Ruoruo had waited beside Fan Xian's bed and then left to sleep.
• Fan Xian retrieved Ye Qingmei's case and opened it with the key stolen from beneath the Empress Dowager's bed.
• Fan Xian could not guess the password, but Wu Zhu pressed the keys instinctively and unlocked the case.
• Fan Xian looked inside the opened case and saw a long gun barrel.

Fan Xian discovered Ye Qingmei’s Barrett and read her letter, learning that his memories had been implanted into an embryo and that his supposed transmigration had never happened. Zhou Cheng visited Fan Xian to inspect the weapon, but the case held no ammunition.

• Fan Xian found the Barrett’s components and Ye Qingmei’s letters in the case, but discovered that its ammunition was missing.
• Fan Xian read Ye Qingmei’s letter and learned that he was created using digitized memories implanted in an embryo, while true qi was nuclear radiation.
• Yan Xiaoyi escorted Zhou Cheng out of the palace as Zhou Cheng’s chatter repeatedly angered him.
• Zhou Cheng visited Fan Xian at night and identified Wu Zhu’s name as the case’s password.
• Zhou Cheng opened the case and examined the Barrett, while Fan Xian confirmed that there was no ammunition.