Recaps

Cao Jinxing refused Hou Rong’s demand to teach him the Snowbound Siege Song and warned him against involving Qiu Luan or stirring up trouble. Hou Rong backed down, blamed the Demon Cult for the lost Flameburning Insect, and Cao Jinxing returned to the Pacification Commission to collect his honors and merit rewards.

• Hou Rong asked Cao Jinxing to teach him the Snowbound Siege Song, but Cao refused and challenged him to attack if he meant to force the issue.
• Cao Jinxing threatened to report Qiu Luan’s military pay and warned Hou Rong not to provoke him, prompting Hou Rong to apologize and withdraw his demand.
• Cao Jinxing suggested Hou Rong seek another copy of the song through the Langya Pavilion, then dismissed the idea that it could truly know every martial art.
• Hou Rong decided to blame the Demon Cult for the destroyed Flameburning Insect, sparing the Huainan Yang Family and himself while earning Qiu Luan’s enmity for the cult.
• Cao Jinxing rode back to the Pacification Commission the next day, where Liu Zhenyuan waited with his honors and merit rewards.

Cao Jinxing returned to the Northern Pacification Office, where Liu Zhenyuan welcomed him as the Thirteenth Guardian and bestowed a new Flying Fish Uniform, the Hidden Origin Art, and access to the Secret Vault. After discussing the Langya List and the Heavenly Secret Sect with the vault’s old Daoist, Cao chose the Eight Heavenly Saber Techniques.

• Liu Zhenyuan ordered the gathered Embroidered Uniform Guard officers to depart for Shandong and suppress the Peace Sect rebellion.
• Cao Jinxing returned from Miao territory, and Liu Zhenyuan praised his progress, gave him the Hidden Origin Art and a new Flying Fish Uniform, and welcomed him as Thirteenth Brother.
• Liu Zhenyuan gave Cao Jinxing a Fifth-Rank Technique token and authorized one sixth-rank technique for each of his four subordinates.
• Cao Jinxing brought plum wine to the old Daoist guarding the Secret Vault and asked about the Langya List and the Heavenly Secret Sect.
• Cao Jinxing browsed the Secret Vault’s catalog and selected the Eight Heavenly Saber Techniques.

Cao Jinxing learned the Hidden Origin Art and Eight Heavenly Saber Techniques before Liu Zhenyuan assigned him to investigate the Ten Thousand Horses Gang’s role in Huang Fangling’s kidnapping. The chapter ended with Liu Zhenyuan uneasy about entrusting the seemingly minor task to Cao Jinxing.

• Cao Jinxing chose the Embroidered Spring Saber and studied the Hidden Origin Art, concealing his internal energy and aura so completely that even true-qi sensing could not detect him.
• On Mount Langya, Heavenly Secret Twenty-Five noticed a new star disappear and guessed that Cao Jinxing had learned the Hidden Origin Art, crediting Lü Fu.
• Cao Jinxing mastered the Eight Heavenly Saber Techniques in less than a quarter of an hour.
• Liu Zhenyuan told Cao Jinxing to return to guarding the Imperial Prison, then asked him to investigate the Ten Thousand Horses Gang’s connection to Huang Fangling’s abduction.
• Cao Jinxing agreed to use the Huang Family’s trust to quietly learn how the Ten Thousand Horses Gang became involved, while Liu Zhenyuan worried that the assignment would not stay simple.

Cao Jinxing reviewed evidence linking the Ten Thousand Horses Gang to Huang Fangling’s abduction and found the gang’s apparent involvement inexplicable. He agreed to investigate further at the Ghost Market after Lu Jiaming and the others finished reading the secret manuals.

• Cao Jinxing read Shen Xiang’s report on the Ten Thousand Horses Gang and its connection to the Ghost Market abduction.
• Cao Jinxing and Liu Zhenyuan discussed Hua Liu’s unsent letter ordering Wu Yunfeng to bring Huang Fangling to Guangning and Hua Liu’s apparent lack of memory of writing it.
• Cao Jinxing argued that the Wu Family’s actions suggested they had wanted to take Huang Fangling alive, not simply kill her or force her to work for them.
• Liu Zhenyuan praised Cao Jinxing’s reasoning and assigned him to keep investigating the matter.
• Cao Jinxing said he would go to the Ghost Market with Lu Jiaming after the group finished reading the secret manuals.

Cao Jiaming accompanied Cao Jinxing to the Ghost Market, where Cao Jinxing questioned Huang Fangling about the attack on her. Suspecting an unseen force was still targeting her, Cao Jinxing saw Huang Fangling reveal a Five Thunder Divine Mechanism as she proposed a way to test the danger.

• Lu Jiaming emerged from the Secret Vault and joked with Cao Jinxing about his concealed presence before accompanying him to the Ghost Market.
• Lu Jiaming explained that the Huang Family had taken control of the Ghost Market after punishing the Wu and Chen Families, and Cao Jinxing learned that Huang Yaoshi was among the Huang Family's ancestors.
• Cao Jinxing and Lu Jiaming arrived at Fish Eye Cave, where Lu Jiaming took Cao Jinxing to the Green Jade Tower to meet Xie An.
• Huang Fangling joined Cao Jinxing and told him that Wu Yunfeng had disappeared after her father moved to arrest him, while the Wu and Chen Families had helped the Mole Gate attack her family's pill chamber.
• Cao Jinxing suspected that someone might still be directing the attacks, and Huang Fangling proposed testing the theory despite the danger.
• Huang Fangling took out a Five Thunder Divine Mechanism, and Cao Jinxing recognized it.

Cao Jinxing agreed to help Huang Fangling draw out the Ten Thousand Horses Gang’s hidden attackers by pretending to court her. After three fruitless outings, he played the Azure Sea Raging Waves Song at Silver Scale Lake, where the ambushers finally struck.

• Huang Fangling demonstrated her Five Thunder Divine Mechanism and persuaded Cao Jinxing to help lure out her enemies by acting as her secret lover, though he told her he saw her only as a friend.
• Cao Jinxing returned to the Imperial Prison and asked Xu Quan to teach him music related to water, so Xu Quan introduced him to the Azure Sea Raging Waves Song.
• Cao Jinxing accompanied Huang Fangling to Fish Tail Waterfall and Fish Belly Valley, but no hidden attackers appeared at either place.
• At Silver Scale Lake, Cao Jinxing called Huang Fangling by her name and offered to play her a new piece, making her blush.
• Cao Jinxing played the Azure Sea Raging Waves Song with the Whale Shark Bone Flute, unleashing its power over everyone and everything within eighty meters.
• A hidden attacker sensed the danger and ordered the others to attack at once.

Cao Jinxing and Huang Fangling fought the black-clad men at Silver Scale Lake, where Cao killed several attackers with his gun, sword, and Cold Toad Art. As the remaining men attacked, Huang Huaijiang descended to protect his daughter.

• Cao Jinxing disrupted six men hiding beneath the lake, and Huang Fangling shot one while Cao killed the other five with Snow Soul.
• Four stronger attackers arrived, and Sixth Brother charged Cao Jinxing with the Liaodong Frostless Gate's Frostless Fist.
• Cao used Cold Toad Art to raise ice blades from the lake and cut Sixth Brother in half with the Eight Heavenly Saber Techniques.
• The remaining three men attacked Cao, but a gigantic palm strike blasted them away and drenched him.
• Huang Huaijiang flew down in green robes and confronted the attackers.

Huang Huaijiang rescued Cao Jinxing and Huang Fangling from three masked attackers, killing two and crippling the practitioner of Undying Bone. After Huang Fangling left with her father, Cao Jinxing captured the surviving attacker again when Xuan Yuan Fourteen helped him bring down a giant eagle sent to rescue him.

• Huang Huaijiang identified the masked men, revealed his past defeat of their master's Heavenly Corpse Demon, and overwhelmed all three with Falling Petals Divine Sword Palm.
• At Cao Jinxing's request, Huang Huaijiang left one masked man alive but shattered his meridians, then took Huang Fangling home with him.
• Cao Jinxing searched the attackers' bodies, found no valuable clues, and wondered where Wu Yunfeng had gone.
• A giant eagle swooped down to carry off the surviving masked man, but Cao Jinxing severed its talon and Xuan Yuan Fourteen stunned it with Vajra Lion's Roar, allowing Cao Jinxing to kill it and recapture the man.
• Cao Jinxing noticed a message tube on the eagle and recognized it as a Heavenly Eagle, while Xuan Yuan Fourteen tore apart its head in anger.

Cao Jinxing investigated the dead men and suspected Wu Yunfeng had left to find help for Hua Liu. A message tube revealed Wu Yunfeng’s plea to bring Huang Fangling to the Ten Thousand Horses Gang, but a venomous snake hidden inside attacked Lu Jiaming, leaving Cao Jinxing to call for his cousin to identify it.

• Lu Jiaming identified the dead men as Xie Wei’s disciples and Liang Ming, the Green Corpse King, and explained their ties to the Frostless Gate.
• Cao Jinxing reasoned that Wu Yunfeng may have left to seek medical help for Hua Liu rather than flee after Huang Huaijiang’s attack.
• Master Li opened the Heavenly Eagle’s message tube, and Lu Jiaming twisted its cap despite Cao Jinxing’s warning.
• A black snake lunged at Lu Jiaming, but Cao Jinxing cut it into pieces and pulled him clear.
• Cao Jinxing read Wu Yunfeng’s letter, which said Hua Liu seemed normal but hissed like a snake at midnight, and urged Huang Fangling to come treat him.
• Cao Jinxing asked Lu Jiaming to summon his cousin so she could identify the snake.

Huang Fangling identified the Black-Scaled Golden Flame Snake and explained how its venom could control and erase the memories of Snake Corpses. Cao Jinxing realized the Ten Thousand Horses Gang had likely tried to abduct Huang Fangling to treat its members, then suddenly called out Shen Xiang.

• Lu Jiaming brought Huang Fangling back to Silver Scale Lake, where she recognized the Black-Scaled Golden Flame Snake.
• Huang Fangling warned Cao Jinxing and Lu Jiaming that the snake’s venom could cause hallucinations and let a Snake Mother control its victims.
• Huang Fangling recounted how a venom-controlled Yu Zongpan nearly killed Lord Wang Qiong before helping defeat Buchi’s forces and destroy the Shamanic Order.
• Huang Fangling confirmed that Hua Liu and Wu Yunfeng were Snake Corpses whose memories were erased between summons.
• Cao Jinxing concluded that Hua Liu had witnessed the Ten Thousand Horses Gang robbing merchant caravans and that the gang had targeted Huang Fangling to treat its poisoned members.
• Cao Jinxing suddenly realized the danger and shouted Shen Xiang’s name.

Cao Jinxing learned how to counter Golden Flame Snake venom and prepared to travel alone to the Ten Thousand Horses Gang to investigate Shen Xiang’s danger. After Huang Huaijiang discovered his daughter’s feelings for him, he challenged Cao Jinxing to a martial arts match.

• Cao Jinxing refused Huang Fangling’s offer to accompany him and rushed to Liu Zhenyuan to report that Golden Flame Snakes had infiltrated the Ten Thousand Horses Gang.
• Liu Zhenyuan agreed the gang’s possible ties to the Tatars posed a grave threat and wrote letters to Shen Xiang and the Medicine Immortal while Cao Jinxing planned to go to Liaodong alone.
• Cao Jinxing studied Huang Fangling’s methods for purging the venom, learned the Acupoint-Sealing Meridian-Cutting Needle, and received her Phoenix-Tail Needles.
• Huang Huaijiang overheard Cao Jinxing learning from Huang Fangling and, believing Cao had no interest in his daughter, challenged him to test his Eight Desolations Punishment Sword Palm.

Cao Jinxing sparred with Huang Huaijiang, learned the powerful Blue Sky and Yellow Springs move, and then rode toward Liaodong to find Shen Xiang. In Guangning, Shen Xiang received an urgent letter and was immediately surrounded by twenty black-robed Xiantian fighters, including four Tongyou experts.

• Huang Huaijiang fought Cao Jinxing with the Eight Desolations Punishment Sword Palm while Cao countered using the Cloud-Discharging Palm and quickly copied his techniques.
• Huang Huaijiang and Cao Jinxing exchanged Blue Sky and Yellow Springs, freezing the courtyard before retreating three steps apiece.
• Huang Huaijiang praised Cao and advised him on the palm art, then secretly expelled the cold energy from his injured hand after Cao left.
• Cao Jinxing declined Lu Jiaming's offer to accompany him and rode toward the Ten Thousand Horses Gang in Liaodong to find Shen Xiang.
• Shen Xiang received a letter by Invisible Falcon and, after reading it, struck his heart meridians and rushed outside with Condensed Light Sword.
• Twenty black-robed fighters surrounded Shen Xiang in Guangning, and their leader ordered them to seize him.

Cao Jinxing disguised himself as a tea merchant and reached Guangning to investigate the Ten Thousand Horses Gang and find Shen Xiang. He joined a powerful caravan and discovered that another disguised expert had recognized his mask.

• Cao Jinxing found sword marks outside Guangning's Post Station and learned they had appeared during a fight two nights earlier.
• Cao Jinxing questioned Chen's Griddle Cakes proprietor, who directed him to a Jiangnan caravan staying at Wenhe Inn.
• Cao Jinxing joined the caravan, learning it carried silk for a wealthy merchant and was guarded by Thunderclap Hall's Lei Zongliang and five Xiantian experts.
• Cao Jinxing entered the shared sleeping quarters and recognized the friendly young man beside him as a Xiantian Fifth Layer expert.
• The young man recognized Cao Jinxing's Rooted Face disguise, and both men silently realized they were dealing with someone like themselves.

Cao Jinxing followed Green Ear from the caravan to the Ten Thousand Horses Gang and intercepted a carrier pigeon bearing a message from the Snake Mother. After returning to Wenhe Inn, he was confronted by Lei Zongliang, who had discovered Zhou Bangrui, and agreed to speak with him about an important matter.

• Cao Jinxing and Zhou Bangrui spotted Green Ear investigating the caravan's guarded cargo and followed him to the Ten Thousand Horses Gang compound.
• Cao Jinxing watched Green Ear write a message, send it by carrier pigeon, and fall into a blank, sleepwalking state.
• Cao Jinxing captured the pigeon and read a report from the Snake Mother describing the caravan's people and goods as sufficient for its needs.
• Cao Jinxing decided against rushing to the Snake Mother's lair and returned to Wenhe Inn to avoid alerting the gang.
• Lei Zongliang confronted Cao Jinxing with Zhou Bangrui and invited him to talk, and Cao Jinxing agreed to meet him outside the inn.

Cao Jinxing warned Lei Zongliang and Zhou Mingrui that a Black-Scaled Golden Flame Snake and its handlers had poisoned and controlled people, threatening the caravan and Zhou Mingrui’s missing father. After confirming neither man had been poisoned, he won their help and proposed following a messenger pigeon to find the Snake Handler's Lair.

• Lei Zongliang identified Zhou Bangrui as Zhou Mingrui, son of the missing escort chief Zhou Hongru, and Zhou Mingrui admitted he had concealed his identity while seeking his father.
• Cao Jinxing warned Lei Zongliang that gunpowder could not protect his caravan from poison, then used the [Phoenix-Tail Needles] to establish trust and check both men for venom.
• At a Mountain God Temple, Cao Jinxing told Lei Zongliang and Zhou Mingrui about the [Black-Scaled Golden Flame Snake] and the Snake Corpses it controlled.
• Zhou Mingrui agreed to help Cao Jinxing rescue his father, and Lei Zongliang joined them to stop the snake menace.
• Cao Jinxing suggested following a messenger pigeon from Green Ear's room to locate the Snake Handler's Lair, and Lei Zongliang ordered them to set out at once.

Cao Jinxing and Lei Zongliang followed a messenger pigeon to Jade Spring Temple on Fengming Mountain, where they discovered Princess Mingzhu’s plan to capture a caravan and use human offerings in a scheme to slay a phoenix. Their cover was exposed when Shen Xiang, transformed into a Snake Corpse, suddenly broke away and charged at Cao Jinxing.

• Cao Jinxing, Lei Zongliang, and Zhou Mingrui followed a pigeon up Fengming Mountain, where Zhou stayed behind while Cao and Lei entered Jade Spring Temple.
• Cao and Lei overheard Chergen and Suri discuss a Golden Flame Snake and watched Princess Mingzhu emerge from a hidden passage with two Snake Corpses.
• Cao recognized Shen Xiang among the Snake Corpses, while Lei recognized Zhou Hongru.
• Princess Mingzhu ordered Chergen to release offspring snakes near Wenhe Inn and told Suri to bring the Ten Thousand Horses Gang’s Eight Steeds and the caravan to the mountain.
• Princess Mingzhu ordered the ordinary caravan members fed to A Jin, the Houtian cultivators offered as sacrifices, and the remaining Xiantian cultivators to help slay the phoenix.
• Cao threw a pebble at Shen Xiang, who dodged it and then charged at Cao; Princess Mingzhu ordered the temple put on high alert.

Cao Jinxing rescued Shen Xiang from the Mongolians’ control, though Shen Xiang injured him before Cao purged the poison. After they recovered, Shen Xiang identified Borjigin Gegen Subuda and revealed that her plot was aimed at Phoenix Slaughter.

• Lei Zongliang watched Cao Jinxing lure Shen Xiang away and waited for a chance to help.
• Cao Jinxing led Shen Xiang into a bamboo grove, where Shen attacked him and Cao subdued him with Phoenix-Tail Needles.
• Cao Jinxing purged the snake venom from Shen Xiang, and the two took Holy Origin Pills to treat their injuries.
• Shen Xiang explained that he understood Mongolian and identified the captives’ group as nobles of the Chahar Tribe descended from Buchi.
• Shen Xiang identified Borjigin Gegen Subuda as the Chahar khan’s sister and Buchi’s daughter, then revealed that she was plotting Phoenix Slaughter.

Cao Jinxing learned why Mingzhu was hunting the Flame-Feathered Eagle and planned to use it against her forces. He prepared to lure the eagle out and then claim its blood after defeating the Mongolians.

• Shen Xiang explained that Temüjin gained strength and poison immunity by consuming Golden Flame Snake gallbladders and Flame-Feathered Eagle blood.
• Shen Xiang revealed that Mingzhu wanted the eagle's blood to empower the last Golden Flame Snake Mother and restore Chahar's rule over Mongolia.
• Cao Jinxing learned that the nearly two-hundred-year-old eagle lived beneath Fengming Mountain and that Mingzhu used captives as bait to draw it out.
• Shen Xiang warned Cao Jinxing about Mingzhu's skilled guards, including an archer who had wounded the eagle.
• Cao Jinxing proposed sneaking underground with Fourteen to lure out the eagle, then attacking the Mongolians from both sides and taking a taste of its blood.

Cao Jinxing’s group launched a diversion at Jade Spring Temple so he could reach the underground passage and lure out the Flame-Feathered Eagle. While Shen Xiang, Zhou Mingrui, and Lei Zongliang engaged the Mongolians, Cao Jinxing raced past the Snake Corpses and deeper into the mountain.

• Cao Jinxing told Zhou Mingrui that they would draw the Mongolians away while he lured the Flame-Feathered Eagle from underground.
• Lei Zongliang fired his Five-Eyed Divine Musket at the Mongolian guards, and Chergen and Suri attacked him in response.
• Shen Xiang and the others joined the fight and drew the Mongolians away, allowing Cao Jinxing to enter the Grand Hall and descend underground.
• Cao Jinxing used Lightning Movement Step to evade the advancing Snake Corpses and race deeper into the mountain.

Cao Jinxing found the Flame-Feathered Eagle and attacked it, but its defenses proved too strong, forcing him to flee with Xuan Yuan Fourteen as it gave chase. Meanwhile, Mingzhu realized the eagle was approaching and ordered Chergen and Suri to retreat.

• Cao Jinxing discovered cages of blood-soaked Houtian-level prisoners being prepared as bait for the Flame-Feathered Eagle.
• Cao Jinxing released Xuan Yuan Fourteen, who sensed the eagle and led him through the cavern passages to its lair.
• Cao Jinxing struck the Flame-Feathered Eagle with Heavenly Wind Jade Pendant, but his saber attack barely wounded it.
• Cao Jinxing fled with Xuan Yuan Fourteen as the enraged eagle pursued them.
• Mingzhu ordered A Jin to send the Eight Steeds into the mountain, while the Black-Scaled Golden Flame Snake hypnotized the gang's eight leaders into riding toward Fengming Mountain.
• Hearing the eagle's cry draw closer, Mingzhu realized someone was leading it toward her forces and ordered Chergen and Suri to retreat.

Cao Jinxing lured the Flame-Feathered Eagle into Mingzhu’s forces, then killed Chergen and used Seven Beads in a Row Divine Archery to slay the Snake Mother. With the Snake Corpses and Mongol forces losing their support, Suri attacked the exhausted Cao Jinxing, but Shen Xiang stepped in to protect him.

• Lei Zongliang blasted open the underground passage, and Shen Xiang’s group pursued Suri and Chergen below while Zhou Mingrui wounded Chergen with his spear.
• Cao Jinxing led the Flame-Feathered Eagle into Mingzhu’s ambush, where it killed many Snake Corpses before Zhou Hongru, Suri, Wu Yunfeng, and Chergen crippled and battered it.
• Cao Jinxing secretly beheaded Chergen, took his bow, and shot the Black-Scaled Golden Flame Snake Mother with three arrows, killing it as it lunged for the eagle’s blood.
• The Snake Corpses fell dormant and the Eight Steeds lost consciousness, while Mingzhu ordered her remaining allies to kill Cao Jinxing.
• Suri charged the exhausted Cao Jinxing, but Shen Xiang arrived and stopped him with a burst of sword qi.

The Great Shaman rescued Mingzhu from Cao Jinxing and the others, but spent his remaining life transferring his divine water power to her. After his death, Mingzhu swore vengeance on the Han people who had killed Suri and Chergen.

• The Great Shaman stopped Shen Xiang, Lei Zongliang, and Zhou Mingrui from attacking Mingzhu and Suri, then extracted the Flame-Feathered Eagle’s blood essence for them.
• Cao Jinxing and Xuan Yuan Fourteen disrupted the Great Shaman’s defense as Cao Jinxing attacked Mingzhu, and Suri died shielding her.
• The Great Shaman was gravely injured by Cao Jinxing and fled with Mingzhu, while Xuan Yuan Fourteen claimed the two blood pearls.
• The Great Shaman told Mingzhu that her reliance on the Golden Flame Snakes had been a mistake and revealed that he had intended to pass his divine water power to her.
• The Great Shaman transferred his power to Mingzhu, raising her cultivation to the peak of the Xiantian realm before he died.
• Mingzhu mourned the Great Shaman and swore by Eternal Heaven to leave none of the Han people’s corpses intact.

Cao Jinxing and Lei Zongliang arranged aid for the rescued victims and informed the authorities while Cao treated the injured. Shen Xiang caught up with Princess Mingzhu, killed her, and tested a new sword technique.

• Shen Xiang pursued Mingzhu while Cao Jinxing revealed his identity to Zhou Mingrui and Lei Zongliang.
• Zhou Mingrui found his badly injured father, Zhou Hongru, and Cao Jinxing treated him while Lei Zongliang summoned help with a Mechanism Bird.
• Constable Chief Fei and the Lei Family’s guards arrived with the Ten Thousand Horses Gang’s Eight Steeds, and Cao Jinxing arranged for the victims’ care and an investigation.
• Shen Xiang found Mingzhu, but thirty mounted knights of the Shamanic Order blocked his path and helped her flee.
• Shen Xiang killed the knights with a flying sword, caught Mingzhu, and beheaded her.
• Shen Xiang named his newly developed technique Hundred-Step Flying Sword.

Cao Jinxing helped Xuan Yuan Fourteen absorb Phoenix Blood, reached the seventh layer of Xiantian, and returned to Guangning Prefecture to review Shen Xiang’s report. The report exposed corruption within the Ten Thousand Horses Gang and implicated Qiu Luan, while Dailaisun vowed to ally with Altan and invade south after learning Mingzhu had died.

• Cao Jinxing gave Xuan Yuan Fourteen a blood pearl, and Fourteen’s strength and size increased before Cao absorbed the other pearl himself.
• Dailaisun learned that Mingzhu, the Great Shaman, Chergen, and Suri had died, then accepted Altan’s alliance and ordered his troops to prepare for a southward march.
• Cao Jinxing absorbed the Phoenix Blood overnight and advanced two layers to the seventh layer of Xiantian.
• Cao Jinxing returned to the Post Station, where Shen Xiang explained that Black Charger and Mountain Foal had profited from a horse-buying fraud involving Shi Yi, a confidant of General Qiu Luan.
• Cao Jinxing and Shen Xiang agreed to report the corruption to their superiors, and Cao predicted that Qiu Luan’s power would soon decline.

Cao Jinxing and Shen Xiang solved the Horse Market case, returned safely to the capital, and were rewarded for their achievements. Liu Zhenyuan sent them to choose a Fifth-Rank Technique and a Fifth Grade Divine Weapon before they rested and awaited possible deployment to Shandong.

• Divine Physician Shan arrived in Liaodong and helped Cao Jinxing treat the Snake Corpses, while Shen Xiang found ledgers proving Qiu Luan had profited from the Horse Market scheme.
• Shen Xiang learned that Shi Yi would be executed without a full investigation because Mongolia's frontier threat made the court depend on him, leaving Qiu Luan beyond immediate reach.
• Zhou Mingrui told Cao Jinxing that the missing shipment had likely been taken back to Chahar, then shared a farewell drink with him.
• Cao Jinxing and Shen Xiang returned to the capital and reported to Liu Zhenyuan, who praised their achievements and offered each a Fifth-Rank Technique and a Fifth Grade Divine Weapon.
• Liu Zhenyuan gave Cao Jinxing and Shen Xiang a key to the Divine Weapon Pavilion and told them to guard the Imperial Prison and rest in case they were sent to Shandong.