Chapter Summaries

After the Little Celestial Master stopped Gao Yan’s attack on Sword-Forging Manor, Lin Hao stayed at the manor while its three lords forged two exclusive weapons for him. He awakened both with his blood and discovered their powerful traits, then considered how to combine them with his techniques in battle.

• The Little Celestial Master killed the shadow fiend impersonating Gao Yan, stopped the soldiers from burning the mountain, and gave Ao Jian the imperial edict to judge.
• Ao Jian called the edict counterfeit, and Thousand-Household Commander Lu left to reorganize the garrison after Sword-Forging Manor’s shadow fiends had been eliminated.
• During half a month at the manor, Lin Hao collected old objects and weapons while recovering from his injuries and advancing his Marrow Training.
• The three manor lords opened the furnace and Lin Hao awakened his new sword and spear with his blood, linking both weapons to himself.
• Lin Hao inspected the gold-grade Spiral Sword and Spear of the End, learned their exclusive traits, and considered combining them with his techniques.

Lin Hao celebrated the New Year at the Sword-Forging Manor with Li Yanbing, Zhao Xiaowen, and his friends, then received new firearms and arranged for stronger armor to be made. After returning to the Settlement with weapons and materials, he assessed his abilities and prepared for its upcoming World Will assessment.

• Lin Hao welcomed Li Yanbing, Zhao Xiaowen, Yi Feng, Nie Yi, and Qian Tong to the Sword-Forging Manor, where they celebrated the New Year together.
• Ao Jian gave Lin Hao three handcrafted double-barreled flintlock pistols, and Lin Hao discovered that the dragon-shaped pistol could be equipped as attribute-bearing equipment and fired from an inventory slot.
• Lin Hao and his companions left the manor with firearms, weapons, and forging tools, while Lin Hao planned upgraded armor using dragon lizard hide and materials salvaged from vehicles.
• Lin Hao returned to the Settlement, replenished his blood and vitality, and tested [Divine Hand], finding that it taxed his mind but could help him in combat.
• Lin Hao brought dragon lizard hide and salvaged materials back to the manor lords so they could forge stronger armor, while Yi Feng reported that their equipment had been sorted and Wang Jiye had gone to contact the Yanhuang Trade Association.
• Lin Hao considered the Settlement's prospects as the World Will's assessment approached and expected it to survive the coming round.

Lin Hao trained with Li Yanbing and arranged a trade with University Town as the Yanhuang Trade Association faced growing pressure from the imperial court. University Town delivered two purple skill items and hinted that it might seek Lin Hao’s help if its conflict with the court escalated.

• Lin Hao sparred with Li Yanbing, who said Wish Power had made her dangerous Blood Exchange progress safer, then approved Yi Feng’s weapon assignments.
• Wang Jiye returned after being followed by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and warned that the Yanhuang Trade Association was being targeted, so Lin Hao arranged a trade at his farm.
• Zhang Shuwen, Ma Qijia, and Yu Jiajia met Lin Hao and explained that University Town was preparing evacuations and other plans in case the court attacked.
• Lin Hao agreed to help University Town if he could, and Yu Jiajia and Zhang Shuwen presented him with the Holy Light Cross and Flame Medal, both purple skill items.

Lin Hao tested the two accessories’ blood-energy Breathing Methods, judged how they could complement Great Qi’s martial arts, and helped the students set up radio communications. When Radio Station Seven was seized by enemies from the Prison, he agreed to intercept them near Beikeng Town before they could escape with the radio.

• Lin Hao activated the Breathing Method and found that it increased explosive power for a short burst while straining the body; Yu Jiajia explained its limits and how Special Treatment could mitigate its long-term harm.
• Lin Hao equipped both accessories and found their Breathing Methods could merge, then told Yu Jiajia and Zhang Shuwen that the Hammers came from Sword-Forging Manor.
• Yu Jiajia taught Lin Hao and his trusted people how to use the hand-cranked radio, but they received a warning that Radio Station Seven had been seized.
• Zhang Shuwen reported that the attackers had moved quickly, used Force Pressure and guns, and might carry the radio toward Hexi, Yuanyang, or another nearby route.
• Lin Hao examined the map, chose Beikeng Town as an interception point, and agreed to help recover or destroy the captured radio.

Zhou Qi’s cavalry ambushed Chu Yu’s team, but the defenders’ firearms and explosives slowed the Depot Guards until Eunuch Chen arrived in heavy armor. Lin Hao appeared to rescue Chu Yu’s group and cut through Eunuch Chen’s armor, then charged the Depot Guards.

• Zhou Qi detected an ambush and sent Bai Fan forward, where Chu Yu shot Bai Fan dead from the woods.
• Chu Yu called for reinforcements over a Walkie-Talkie, then led his team in a retreating fight against the advancing Depot Guards.
• Chu Yu’s team used rifle fire and black-powder grenades to kill several Depot Guards, but Eunuch Chen blocked their bullets with his sword and armor.
• Lin Hao rushed from the woods and attacked Eunuch Chen, whose arm and thick steel plate he cut through with one strike.
• Lin Hao charged toward the Depot Guards, furious over the Western Depot’s alleged role in earlier attacks.

Lin Hao ambushed and destroyed Zhou Qi’s force, then rescued Chu Yu and the other university students and recovered their radio. As he escorted them toward an evacuation point, he learned that the Yanhuang Trade Association was facing growing pressure and that even its powerful allies were under attack.

• Lin Hao killed Zhou Qi and his Depot Guards, using a Firelance shot to stop Zhou Qi from escaping.
• Lin Hao told Chu Yu and the other students to keep his identity secret, and they searched the battlefield, recovered the radio and other equipment, and burned the bodies.
• Lin Hao escorted the students toward an evacuation point and asked about the pressure on the Yanhuang Trade Association.
• Chu Yu explained that the Marquis of Divine Might supported the association and described his influence at court and among the military factions.
• Chu Yu said the Marquis of Divine Might faced accusations and a court reprimand, while his cousin Yun Wuying had disappeared, adding to signs of turmoil in Kyoto.

Lin Hao investigated the Evacuation Item near Yong'an Prefecture and discovered that Embroidered Uniform Guards were using it while leading Prefectural Soldiers toward Lotus County. He followed their plans from the roadside, deciding to wait and learn more before confronting the armed column.

• Lin Hao learned that officials had begun enforcing the rice-for-mulberry policy despite resistance, while Yin Saide organized Canal Workers to protect the dam.
• At the Prefectural Garrison, Commandant Pan was ordered by Eunuch Huang and Hundred-household Commander Dong to support an operation against resistance in Lotus County.
• Tang Yuan and Hundred-household Commander Dong planned to use an Evacuation Item and the Prefectural Soldiers to draw in and attack university students.
• Commandant Pan assigned Yue Feng to lead three hundred soldiers, and Yue Feng marched with the two Embroidered Uniform Guards toward Lotus County.
• Lin Hao noticed the Evacuation Item's signal appear and disappear as the column passed, spotted an ancient drum carried by one guard, and chose to observe them from a distance.

Huang Jie warned Huangtang Village’s elders that resisting Replace Rice with Mulberry could bring harsh retaliation, but the arrival of Prefectural Soldiers turned the dispute into a battle. Lin Hao intervened, killed the officers who had inflamed the conflict, and fled with the Evacuation Item, leaving the soldiers shaken and the clash unresolved.

• Huang Jie cautioned Huangtang Village’s elders that the court might single them out for resisting Replace Rice with Mulberry.
• Yue Feng brought three hundred Prefectural Soldiers to Huangtang Village, while Tang Yuan and Hundred-household Commander Dong provoked the villagers and urged a massacre.
• Hundred-household Commander Dong and Tang Yuan attacked the village elders, prompting Huang Jie to block their blows and the villagers to charge.
• Yue Feng ordered his troops to kill anyone who resisted, but Lin Hao arrived and severed the front soldiers’ weapons.
• Lin Hao killed Tang Yuan, Hundred-household Commander Dong, and Yue Feng, took the drum carrying the Evacuation Item, and warned the troops before fleeing toward the woods.

Lin Hao returned from Yong'an Prefecture after looting grain merchants who had driven up prices, then reunited with Yin Saide at Dam Market. Yin Saide warned him that the court might move against the Yanhuang Trade Association, with the Canal Garrison already receiving mobilization orders.

• Lin Hao took Huang Jie's equipment and the War Drum, then traveled through Yong'an Prefecture while hearing that grain prices were rising under the Replace Rice with Mulberry policy.
• The Yue Family Patriarch demanded retaliation for the deaths at Huangtang Village, but Eunuch Huang, the Wu Family Patriarch, and Commandant Pan agreed to let the matter end and discussed the Way of the Celestial Masters' attack on grain merchants.
• Lin Hao secretly hanged the chief grain merchants, opened their warehouses, took valuables and Silver Notes, and sailed back toward Dam Market.
• Lin Hao reunited with Yin Saide at the Grain Transport Gang's Branch Hall, where Yin Saide noticed Lin Hao's progress in Marrow Training and offered to spar.
• Yin Saide told Lin Hao that the court might move against the Yanhuang Trade Association, that the Canal Garrison had received mobilization orders, and that he had sent a messenger hawk to seek details.

Lin Hao brought Wang Zhen to meet Yin Saide and learned that University Town planned a coup during the Palace Examination, with the Crown Prince as its ally. After Yin Saide received word of an imminent crackdown on the Yanhuang Trade Association and a nationwide warrant for transmigrators, he agreed to join Lin Hao’s cause and prepare to return with Wang Zhen.

• Lin Hao introduced Wang Zhen, a Provincial Examination Laureate from Xishan, to Yin Saide and raised the possibility of recruiting him.
• Wang Zhen revealed that University Town planned a coup to minimize harm to Great Qi, had won over some military figures, and hoped to rescue the Great General; he disclosed that the Crown Prince was their ally.
• Yin Saide received a message that his adoptive father expected a coordinated attack on Yanhuang Trade Association branches and secret bases around the predawn of the twelfth day of the first month.
• Yin Saide reported that the Grand Secretariat had drafted a nationwide warrant accusing transmigrators of colluding with Outworld Demons and the Evil Cult, then agreed to become a wanted transmigrator alongside Lin Hao.
• Wang Zhen revealed that Yun Wuji and the supposedly missing Yun Wuying were among their allies, and explained that Yun Wuying had survived an attack by Wang Gui after the school rescued him.
• Lin Hao told Wang Zhen and Yin Saide he had an Evacuation Item and offered to lend them silver for their urgent return journey.

Lin Hao exchanged silver with Wu Deshui, discussed the coming crackdown on transmigrators, and returned to the farm with Yin Saide and Wang Zhen. There he brought survivors through Special Evacuation and learned their Settlement had passed its assessment, while preparations continued for the threats ahead.

• Lin Hao told Wu Deshui that the Yanhuang Trade Association might be purged and that the court could issue an arrest decree for transmigrators, then asked about the Lin Residence and gave a vague explanation.
• Lin Hao warned a minor official not to shift the burden of land measurements onto farmers, then reached the farm and reunited with Li Yanbing, Zhao Xiaowen, and the others.
• Lin Hao arranged for the University Town survivors and Zhou Feng's group to use Special Evacuation, and his Settlement passed its assessment for another year.
• Wang Jiye told Lin Hao that University Town had urged people to sever contact with the Yanhuang Trade Association and that a group of twelve survivors was seeking a qualifying Settlement.
• Lin Hao checked the Settlement's defenses and firearms, while Li Choubing continued helping manage preparations and Lin Hao considered using Wish Power to advance his training.

Lin Hao subdued a powerful Wolf King and brought Feng Cheng’s survivors back to the Settlement, then collected his newly forged Dragon Lizard Battle Armor. The chapter left him excited to test how its weight-enhancing skills would strengthen his attacks.

• Feng Cheng and five companions, fleeing a Wish Power Creature and its wolves, encountered the Settlement’s collared Husky Wolves and then faced a powerful Wolf King.
• Lin Hao arrived, struck the ground with his Whistle Baton hard enough to create a crater, and forced the Wolf King and its pack to submit.
• Feng Cheng told Lin Hao that their Settlement’s protection would soon be withdrawn, and Lin Hao invited the survivors to join his Settlement.
• Lin Hao rode the subdued Wolf King back to the Settlement while the Husky Wolves returned to eat leftovers.
• On February 5, Lin Hao collected his 478-kilogram Dragon Lizard Battle Armor and examined its protective construction and force-enhancing skills.

Lin Hao broke through to Elixir Force after a month of training, while Li Yanbing became an Intent Condensation Grandmaster. As the Settlement strengthened its defenses, Yi Feng reported the court’s campaign against transmigrators and the school’s plans for Lin Hao’s journey to the Capital.

• Lin Hao mastered the use of Elixir Force, and Li Yanbing assessed his gains from training with the Second World’s Breathing Methods.
• Li Yanbing and Lin Hao discussed her joining him on his trip to the Capital, though they worried the Eastern Depot and Western Depot might recognize her.
• Lin Hao surveyed the Settlement’s growing martial strength, improved defenses, and expanded Wolf Pack as Yi Feng arrived with news from Hedong Prefecture.
• Yi Feng told Lin Hao that the school wanted to meet him at Tianxing Tower and that the court was offering rewards for identifying transmigrators.
• Yi Feng warned Lin Hao that guards might be watching arrival and Evacuation Points near Zhili, and Lin Hao chose to enter through Hedong Prefecture.

Lin Hao and Yi Feng traveled toward the Hedong Provincial Capital with Huang Xiaojing, where Lin Hao captured four men who claimed to be Embroidered Uniform Guards after they were exposed as fruit thieves. When Eunuch Luo and four Depot Guards tried to take the captives, Lin Hao revealed his rank and defeated them, leaving everyone on the cart as he continued toward the Grain Transport Governor's Office.

• Lin Hao and Yi Feng met Huang Xiaojing, who offered them fruit and guided them toward the Hedong Provincial Capital.
• Lin Hao spotted Wu Lu and three companions, whom Huang Xiaojing identified as orchard thieves, and disarmed and captured them.
• Huang Xiaojing helped Lin Hao and Yi Feng bring the bound men into the city, and Lin Hao headed for the Grain Transport Governor's Office.
• Eunuch Luo and four Depot Guards blocked Lin Hao and demanded that he release the prisoners, but Lin Hao showed his Embroidered Uniform Guard seal and rejected their intervention.
• Lin Hao struck Eunuch Luo and defeated the four Depot Guards, piling them onto the handcart with Wu Lu and his companions.

Lin Hao stayed at the Grain Transport Governor's Office, where Yin Zhengchun welcomed him and discussed the coming examinations and political turmoil. After interrogating the captured Western Depot agents, Lin Hao and Yin Saide learned they were hunting Eunuch Cao, a palace official who had fled after discovering a secret, and decided to look for him.

• Lin Hao handed the captured Western Depot agents to Yin Saide, who sent them to the Torture Chamber for questioning.
• Yin Saide introduced Lin Hao to Yin Zhengchun, whose formidable training impressed Lin Hao; Yin Zhengchun offered to spar, but Lin Hao declined because he could not control his strength.
• Yin Zhengchun said many of Great Qi's Grandmasters would gather in the capital for the Metropolitan Examination and Palace Examination, and he planned to attend them with Lin Hao.
• Yin Saide reported that the Western Depot agents had been searching Hedong for Eunuch Cao, a Wardrobe Office chief who fled after discovering something dangerous.
• Lin Hao and Yin Saide decided to search for Eunuch Cao, and Yin Saide said he had a few leads.

Lin Hao and Yin Saide tracked Manager Cao to Emerald Jade Pavilion in Jinnan Prefecture, where Rong Xuance and Cheng Wen prepared to eliminate everyone who might have encountered him. Rong Xuance ordered the brothel sealed and all inside killed, leaving Lin Hao and Yin Saide trapped amid the massacre.

• Lin Hao and Yin Saide entered Jinnan Prefecture while following clues that Manager Cao had fled overland, and Yin Saide said Cao had several godsons in the city.
• Lin Hao and Yin Saide went to Emerald Jade Pavilion, where they suspected Cao might be hiding and noticed watchers who could be Western Depot men.
• Rong Xuance told Cheng Wen that the Depot Director had ordered everyone who had contact with Cao killed, and Cheng Wen agreed to cooperate with the operation.
• Rong Xuance killed Emerald Jade Pavilion's leading courtesan, while Depot Guards slaughtered the women attending him.
• Cheng Wen's soldiers blocked the streets and prevented guests from leaving as Rong Xuance announced a search for rebels.
• When guests protested, Rong Xuance killed the madam and ordered his men to shut the doors and leave no one alive.

Lin Hao and Yin Saide fought through a Western Depot massacre at the Emerald Jade Pavilion after Eunuch Cao exposed a possible Elysium Evil Cult connection involving Consort Shu and Wang Gui. Lin Hao pursued Rong Xuance to the kitchen courtyard, where Eunuch Cao offered to reveal his wealth and secrets in exchange for saving himself and his adopted son.

• Rong Xuance ordered Cheng Wen’s personal troops to slaughter everyone at the Emerald Jade Pavilion, while Lin Hao and Yin Saide were caught in the attack.
• A shout from the kitchen accused Consort Shu of carrying the scent of Elysium White Lotus and suggested Wang Gui was connected to the Elysium Evil Cult.
• Lin Hao left Yin Saide to fight the soldiers and went to rescue Eunuch Cao, killing Cheng Wen with a single sword strike as he passed.
• Lin Hao cut down three Depot Guards who tried to stop him and followed Rong Xuance to the kitchen woodshed.
• Rong Xuance attacked Eunuch Cao, who protected his adopted son and warned that trouble was approaching.
• Eunuch Cao offered Lin Hao his wealth and secrets in return for saving him and his adopted son, and Lin Hao crashed into the courtyard.

Lin Hao rescued Eunuch Cao and Xiao Chun Zi from the Western Depot agents at the Emerald Jade Pavilion, killing Rong Xuance and helping rout the remaining attackers. The group reached Yin Zhengchun, who prepared to use the massacre and evidence linking Wang Gui to the Elysium Cult to pressure the court before traveling to the capital with Wang Yang.

• Lin Hao killed Rong Xuance with a single sword strike, then joined Eunuch Cao in slaughtering the Western Depot agents surrounding him.
• Lin Hao led Eunuch Cao and Xiao Chun Zi back into the Emerald Jade Pavilion, where the death of Cheng Wen had broken the soldiers' morale and Yin Saide had nearly finished the fighting.
• Lin Hao urged survivors to spread the news, and he, Eunuch Cao, Xiao Chun Zi, and Yin Saide escaped Jinnan City as witnesses publicized Consort Shu's suspected link to the Elysium White Lotus and Wang Gui.
• Lin Hao saw the Canal Garrison marching toward Jinnan City, where Yin Zhengchun was moving to take control after Cheng Wen's death.
• Yin Zhengchun discussed using the affair to impeach Wang Gui and expose his suspected cooperation with the Elysium Cult, then planned to meet Wang Yang and travel with him to the capital.

Lin Hao and Yin Zhengchun met Qingkou Governor Wang Yang, who revealed that the Celestial Master had tested him and urged Yin to prevent the coming political upheaval from turning into a realm-wide war. Wang Yang agreed to help confront Wang Gui, while Lin Hao later arrived in Jinkou with Yin Saide to prepare for the imperial examinations and meet the Yanhuang Trade Association.

• Yin Zhengchun welcomed the injured Wang Yang at Hedong Wharf, and Lin Hao learned that the Celestial Master had tested Wang Yang and judged him worthy of pursuing the higher Grandmaster realm.
• Lin Hao told Wang Yang that Madam Lin was alive and that Western Depot guards had died; Wang Yang said he would not report them and apologized for failing to protect his jurisdiction.
• After hearing Yin Zhengchun and Eunuch Cao confirm the Western Depot scandal involving Consort Shu, Wang Yang warned Yin against letting the conflict between civil and military officials plunge Great Qi into war.
• Yin Zhengchun asked Wang Yang to help resolve the crisis quickly, and Wang Yang agreed, saying he would face Wang Gui through their Wang Family.
• Lin Hao and Yin Saide arrived in Jinkou after Yin Zhengchun and Wang Yang began traveling north, and Yin Saide suggested they stay at Tianxing Tower, which catered to provincial graduates.

Lin Hao and Yin Saide arrived at Tianxing Tower in Jinkou, where martial examination graduates tested candidates floor by floor. Lin Hao swept through the assessments to reach the fifth floor and joined the gathering of nine young Force Gathering experts, including Yin Saide and Wang Zhen.

• Lin Hao and Yin Saide rode rickshaws to Tianxing Tower and heard local pullers describe Jinkou’s martial experts and examination candidates.
• Liu Tong and Yi Feng welcomed Lin Hao and Yin Saide outside the tower, where rumors about their reputations spread through the crowd.
• Lin Hao and Yin Saide entered Tianxing Tower and began ascending its martial-graduate floors, while Liu Tong and Yi Feng stayed on the first floor.
• Lin Hao passed the third-floor force test and sent Hu Bin flying out of a window during the fourth-floor assessment.
• Jiang Yuntao welcomed Lin Hao onto the fifth floor, where he met Yin Saide, Wang Zhen, and six other young experts who had achieved Force Gathering.