Chapter Summaries

Pei Ye visited the Immortal Platform to ask about Qu Zhu and inspect the seized Soul-Seizing Pearls before the Sword Dao Golden Register ceremony. After the ceremony began, Zhang Xiaozhu gave Pei Ye access to the pearls, and Pei Ye stayed behind to examine them despite the danger they posed to the mind.

• Pei Ye declined Gao Feigong’s offer of a carriage and company, then walked to the Immortal Platform to find Xiao Changong.
• Pei Ye asked Zhang Xiaozhu for authorization to inspect the seized Soul-Seizing Pearls and learned that Qu Zhu had not appeared in the attempted ambush.
• Zhang Xiaozhu told Pei Ye that Qu Zhu had already obtained the Heart of the Western Court and might have left Shaolong, while Pei Ye lamented that Wu Hejian’s life had not helped them catch him.
• At the Jade Sword Platform, the Governor-General opened the ceremony and ordered the Register Compilation Assembly to continue from twenty-second place.
• Zhang Xiaozhu showed Pei Ye forty-four Soul-Seizing Pearls containing victims’ sword memories and warned that viewing them damaged the mind.
• Pei Ye asked to remain with the pearls and began preparing to inspect them.

Pei Ye studied the recovered beads and painstakingly catalogued the sword arts recorded in them while the Sword Selection Meet’s ranking deliberations grew increasingly fierce. Qiu Canglu and Zuo Sheng won major bouts, and the chapter ended with Sui Zaihua approving Yan Bingjian’s placement after a long debate.

• Pei Ye examined the first bead, recorded its sword arts in a notebook, and continued through the recovered beads despite growing mental strain.
• Qiu Canglu challenged Song Zhishu, defeated him, and was provisionally ranked eighteenth after the assembly debated the age difference.
• Qu Ying fought seven bouts and was ranked fifteenth, while Bai Fei won eight bouts and rose from thirteenth to ninth.
• Li Piaoqing arrived with Qu Xin at the Mount Tai Medicine Lodge seats and hoped the still-absent boy would appear at the Sword Selection Meet.
• Qi Mengchen challenged Nan Guannu, lost their contest, and retained her eighth-place ranking after the Governor-General approved the assembly’s decision.
• Zuo Sheng narrowly defeated Yan Bingjian, and Sui Zaihua approved the assembly’s verdict after its longest debate yet.

At the Register Compilation Assembly, Zuo Sheng challenged Cui Zijie, whose mist-born sword defeated Zuo Sheng’s abyssal Intent Sword. Xiang Zongyuan then defeated Su Xingke, and Cui Zijie demonstrated Mayfly Transforms into a Swan against Su Xingke, leaving the top-ranked contenders’ coming matches as the next focus.

• Zuo Sheng challenged Cui Zijie, and their Intent Swords ended with Cui Zijie’s Sword Born in the Mist at Zuo Sheng’s throat; Zuo Sheng retained fifth place.
• Su Xingke challenged Xiang Zongyuan, who defeated him with Withered Maple after overcoming his Sleeping Dragon Awakens.
• Cui Zijie defeated Su Xingke using Mayfly Transforms into a Swan, and Su Xingke returned to the platform in simmering silence.
• The spectators anticipated the mysterious first-place youth’s upcoming matches against the remaining top contenders.

Pei Ye endured the pain of studying the fortieth through forty-fourth pearls while the Jade Sword Platform debated how to rank Xiang Zongyuan, Cui Zijie, and Su Xingke. Sui Zaihua tested the swordsmen at eighth growth, and after Xiang Zongyuan and Cui Zijie revealed greater strength than they had shown in their matches, Su Xingke began displaying a third move.

• Xiang Zongyuan defeated Cui Zijie with the Withered Flower Register after seventy-seven exchanges, and the spectators cheered both swordsmen.
• Pei Ye studied the pearls in his secluded room, endured severe mental strain, and used the Edict Diagram's soothing coolness before reviewing his notes.
• The Jade Sword Platform divided over the ranking of Xiang Zongyuan, Cui Zijie, and Su Xingke, so Sui Zaihua descended into the Sword Field to test Xiang Zongyuan at eighth growth.
• Xiang Zongyuan unleashed the Withered Flower Register at full strength, but Sui Zaihua returned a peach blossom to its tree and broke the sword intent.
• Cui Zijie displayed a stronger Mayfly Transforms into a Swan than he had used in his match, and Sui Zaihua broke it as well.
• Su Xingke used Plucking the Pearl from the Dragon's Jaw and Sleeping Dragon Awakens before unleashing a third move.

Pei Ye arrived at the Jade Sword Platform as the Register Compilation Assembly finalized the rankings of Xiang Zongyuan, Cui Zijie, and Su Xingke and prepared to honor him. The crowd recognized an unfamiliar young man at the entrance, leaving his identity and reception poised to unfold.

• Su Xingke revealed his fierce sword intent and lost his sword to Sui Zaihua, drawing applause from the Jade Sword Platform.
• The assembly considered Xiang Zongyuan's swordsmanship and provisionally ranked him second in the Sword Manual.
• Sui Zaihua weighed Cui Zijie against Su Xingke, and Su Xingke accepted a lower rank after acknowledging his loss to Cui Zijie.
• Cheng Yuanqi and Fu Yun searched for Pei Ye when he failed to arrive for his ceremony, while Pei Ye watched the proceedings from the crowd and spoke with a sweet-cake seller.
• As the assembly prepared to honor Pei Ye, Li Piaoqing trembled at the sight of an unfamiliar young man entering the Jade Sword Pavilion.

Pei Ye read Wu Dong’s final letter, which revealed that Wu Dong suspected Sui Zaihua and Qu Zhu were the same person and had risked his life to test the theory. The letter left Li Piaoqing with the task of finding evidence, beginning with the Soul-Seizing Pearl.

• Pei Ye arrived at the Sword Field and told Sui Zaihua he had come to collect his reward.
• Wu Dong’s letter explained how he investigated the Joy-in-Death Tower’s influence and reconsidered Sui Zaihua’s connection to Qu Zhu.
• Wu Dong concluded that Qu Zhu and Sui Zaihua had always been one person, with a different soul inside Sui Zaihua from the beginning.
• Wu Dong asked Li Piaoqing to investigate the origin of the Soul-Seizing Pearl and prove his conclusion.
• Pei Ye realized Wu Dong had made his final gamble alone, trusting Li Piaoqing to carry the investigation forward.

Pei Ye challenged Qu Zhu inside the Mindscape Realm, using the Dragon Immortal Secret Edict to hold back Qu Zhu’s Western Court Immortal Realm. Pei Ye surprised Qu Zhu with a sequence of refined sword techniques and broke his sword, but he knew the fight had only begun.

• Pei Ye decided to confront Qu Zhu himself rather than rely on others to judge the governor-general’s guilt.
• Pei Ye entered the pavilion and activated the Dragon Immortal Secret Edict against Qu Zhu’s Heart of the Western Court, creating a battlefield in the Mindscape Realm.
• Qu Zhu attacked Pei Ye with overwhelming swordsmanship, breaking through his opening defenses.
• Pei Ye countered Qu Zhu’s killing strike, disrupted his sword momentum, and wounded his collarbone.
• Pei Ye used Bai Yuliang’s Yellow Jadeite sword art to break Qu Zhu’s sword and claimed the first round.

Pei Ye defeated Qu Zhu in a duel by countering nearly a thousand sword styles he had learned through the Soul-Seizing Pearls. Qu Zhu then revealed his perfected third form of Snow-Collapsing Chapter, and its overwhelming light engulfed Pei Ye’s world.

• Pei Ye and Qu Zhu fought through hundreds of exchanges as Pei Ye countered every sword style Qu Zhu unleashed.
• Pei Ye realized Qu Zhu had used the Soul-Seizing Pearls to imprint swordsmen’s techniques and learn nearly a thousand schools of swordsmanship.
• Pei Ye explained that he had recognized Qu Zhu’s method after seeing him use Chasing the Sun, Surpassing the Shadow in the Scripture Repository.
• Qu Zhu used the third form of Snow-Collapsing Chapter, forged through decades of hardship, as darkness and snow filled the battlefield.
• Qu Zhu’s broken swords blazed with white light, overwhelming Pei Ye and swallowing the worlds created by the Western Court and the Immortal Edict.

Pei Ye defeated Qu Zhu in their sword contest by choosing darkness, then mastering the Heart Sword that exposed Qu Zhu’s weakness. He killed the Heart of the Western Court before the Jade Sword Pavilion and revealed his name to the Sword Field.

• Pei Ye used his sword to spread darkness through Qu Zhu’s realm of light, dissolving it despite his badly ruined body.
• Pei Ye’s clear reflection revealed the sword’s Heart Poison within Qu Zhu, and Pei Ye used the third Snowy Night Flying Goose Sword Form, [Bright Mirror, Ice Heaven Reflects Me], to defeat him.
• Pei Ye returned to the Jade Sword Pavilion and pinned Qu Zhu to a pillar with Jade Tiger.
• Qu Zhu told Pei Ye that he alone would remember him, and Pei Ye severed Qu Zhu’s neck.
• Pei Ye threw the Bronze Sparrow Token into the Sword Field and identified himself as Pei Ye of Fenghuai.

After Pei Ye’s imprisonment for killing Lord Sui, Li Piaoqing tried to establish that he had acted on Wu Hejian’s behalf and was allowed to visit him. The case was transferred to the Divine Capital, while Pei Ye awoke in his Mindscape Realm and entered a celestial palace reached through the Heart of the Western Court.

• The Shaolong Sword Dao Golden Register was finalized with Xiang Zongyuan in first place, while Pei Ye’s actions and the disappearance of Feather-Tied Books unsettled the officials.
• Li Piaoqing gave Zhang Xiaozhu a letter meant to prove Pei Ye had carried out Wu Hejian’s commission, and Zhang allowed her to visit the imprisoned youth.
• Li Piaoqing saw Pei Ye unconscious and bound in the Immortal Platform’s deepest cell, then asked Zhang whether he would be executed.
• Zhang Xiaozhu told Li Piaoqing that an order from the Divine Capital had transferred Pei Ye’s case and demanded his immediate escort there.
• Pei Ye awoke in his Mindscape Realm, saw the Heart of the Western Court suppressing the Dragon Immortal Secret Edict, and entered the pearl’s gateway into a realm of jade towers and golden palaces.

Pei Ye awakened the ancient Mysterious Fire Spirit Child Divine Palace, while Sima's body was reborn as Qu Zhu. Pei Ye then awoke in chains on his way to the Divine Capital, where his newly promoted escort agreed to help him write letters.

• Pei Ye climbed the long-abandoned immortal peak, entered a palace, and awakened the Star-Guard · Mysterious Fire Spirit Child Divine Palace.
• Sima's will revived in a rebuilt body, read the dying man's message, chose the name Qu Zhu, and set off toward Shaolong Prefecture.
• Pei Ye regained consciousness in a cage inside a carriage and learned that he was accused of killing the Governor-General of Shaolong.
• Pei Ye discovered that his cat was also in the carriage and learned that his case had been transferred to the Immortal Platform in the Divine Capital.
• Pei Ye ate red dates offered by his escort and asked him to help write letters to his friends.

Pei Ye entered the Divine Capital in chains after surviving a calamity, while letters he had written reached Li Piaoqing and Ming Qitian. The chapter ended with Pei Ye tapping the bars of his cage and preparing to speak to Yan Feiqing.

• At Crane-Retaining Terrace, Chen Lihuai traced Shaolong's sword lineages and identified Jadeite Mountain's ancient inheritance as the Feather Lineage.
• Li Piaoqing reread Pei Ye's apologetic letter, in which he urged her to restore the Emerald Feather Sword Sect and said Shaolong was clean.
• Chen Lihuai invited Li Piaoqing and Bai Fei to demonstrate their swords, and Li Piaoqing stepped into the center of the terrace.
• Ming Qitian read Pei Ye's delayed letter teaching her Chinese Chess, then read his newer note saying he was fine and would play with her in person.
• Pei Ye arrived in the Divine Capital confined in a cage, tapped its bars, and drew Yan Feiqing's attention.

After sealing off the Immortal Lord’s connection to the Edict Diagram, Pei Ye explored the Mindscape Realm and reflected on his new link to the mortal world. He remained unconscious and imprisoned after Yan Feiqing knocked him out, then began to regain awareness in an unknown place.

• Pei Ye explored the Mindscape Realm and found that the Heart of the Western Court had severed the Edict Diagram’s connection to the Immortal Lord.
• Pei Ye considered the Heart of the Western Court’s connection to the mortal world and wondered which unreachable temple was Great Liang.
• Pei Ye asked Little Cat about his condition, but Little Cat could only guess that he was still alive.
• When the carriage stopped, Yan Feiqing knocked Pei Ye unconscious before he could ask for an explanation.
• Pei Ye waited in his Mindscape Realm, then felt his consciousness being pulled back toward his heavy, sluggish body.

Pei Ye was transferred from the Immortal Platform’s dungeon to the Southern Office, where an assistant minister questioned him about assassinating the governor-general of Shaolong. The Three Offices awaited the Immortal Platform’s case file before judging him, and Pei Ye ended by asking whether their prison provided decent food and drink.

• The Immortal Platform ordered Pei Ye imprisoned indefinitely, but the Three Offices demanded custody so they could judge his assassination of the governor-general.
• Deputy Commissioner Fu handed Pei Ye over to the Three Offices, while Xing Zhi warned the officials not to be fooled by his acting.
• Pei Ye was taken to the Southern Office’s prison, where the assistant minister and clerks questioned him and recorded his details for four hours.
• The assistant minister said Pei Ye’s account still required verification and that the Three Offices would await the Immortal Platform’s case file before determining his crime.
• Pei Ye admitted that he had killed the governor-general, then asked the assistant minister whether the Three Offices provided good food and drink.

Pei Ye was imprisoned in the Southern Office with several dangerous convicts, but a Wilderness tribesman whose true qi had not been sealed transformed into a Desolate Fiend and attacked the prisoners. Pei Ye dodged his first blows without cultivation, and Black Cat told him to use his hand restraints to block the next attack.

• Pei Ye ate millet rice and introduced himself to the prisoners, including Wen Zaizi, Bian Zhongfeng, Xie Chuantang, and Yu Hua.
• Xie Chuantang said she had been imprisoned for investigating the Phantom Tower, silencing the other prisoners.
• Officers brought a Wilderness tribesman into the prison, and Pei Ye and the other prisoners felt an unexplained sense of danger.
• The tribesman rose, broke his restraints and cell bars, and attacked Xie Chuantang and Pei Ye; Bian Zhongfeng identified him as a Desolate Fiend.
• Pei Ye dodged the tribesman's first attacks using his shackles, while Black Cat warned him that help would take time and told him to block with his hand restraints.

Pei Ye escaped the Wilderness man's attack in the Southern Office prison by using the Vermilion Lotus Flame and a forgotten sword to kill him. The next morning, the Immortal Platform transferred Pei Ye to a secure prison carriage, where he heard another carriage draw alongside.

• Pei Ye broke the Spirit-Binding Reins with the Wilderness man's punch and used the Vermilion Lotus Flame to hold him off while he ran toward the East Corridor.
• Pei Ye found Xie Chuantang striking the locked exit door and asked her for the forgotten sword nearby.
• Pei Ye used Drifting Returning Wind and the Vermilion Lotus Flame to cut through the Wilderness man's defenses and behead him.
• The court deputy and officials arrived, and Pei Ye surrendered his sword as Black Cat reassured him.
• The Immortal Platform transferred Pei Ye to a secure carriage, and he later heard another carriage traveling beside his.

The Three Judicial Authorities reviewed the assassination attempt and let the Immortal Platform retain the accused, while Pei Ye was secretly freed through a coordinated plan. After discovering he had exchanged identities with Meng Li, Pei Ye traveled with Qi Zhaohua to the Cultivation Literature Academy to meet her Benefactor.

• Li Junfu and the Three Judicial Authorities concluded that the attack on the prisoner showed he remained connected to the case, and Li Junfu ordered an official report before leaving to request an investigation into the Wilderness People Rampage Case.
• Qi Zhaohua opened Pei Ye’s carriage and helped him restore his appearance, while the real Pei Ye silently thanked him from the neighboring cage.
• Pei Ye realized that Meng Li had taken his place in prison and that he had regained his freedom, though his True Qi Ring remained in place.
• Qi Zhaohua told Pei Ye that they were going to meet her Benefactor at the Cultivation Literature Academy, who was also the great tree sheltering him.
• At the academy, Qi Zhaohua let Pei Ye go upstairs alone, and Black Cat spoke from within his belly, telling him to come up.

Pei Ye met Xu Chuo, the master of the Cultivation Literature Academy, who explained her past alliance with Yue Muzhou and declared her intention to kill King of Yan Yongbei. She promised to protect Pei Ye as he continued Yue Muzhou’s unfinished plan, then arranged for him to rest and study; afterward, Pei Ye confronted Black Cat about misleading him.

• Pei Ye found Xu Chuo in the Jade Gathering Tower and thanked her for arranging his release from prison.
• Xu Chuo told Pei Ye that she and Yue Muzhou had planned to act together, and that she had begun publishing “Broken Chivalrous Bones” as part of their undertaking.
• Xu Chuo declared that she wanted King of Yan Yongbei dead and promised to free Pei Ye from any charges and personally support him if he carried out the plan.
• Xu Chuo explained that Pei Ye’s case had effectively ended and arranged for him to recover, enter the Sword Cultivation Academy, and study at the Imperial College.
• After Xu Chuo departed, Pei Ye scolded Black Cat for telling her that he enjoyed reading and composing verse but could not read the characters.

Pei Ye arrived in the Divine Capital, where Qi Zhaohua brought him to the Star-Plucking Tower to meet old friends. The gathering reunited him with Shang Lang, Xing Zhi, Fang Jidao, and Yan Feiqing, while Xing Zhi discussed her prospects for promotion to Purple Sash.

• Pei Ye bathed, recovered from his journey, and rode with Qi Zhaohua through the bustling Divine Capital to the Star-Plucking Tower.
• Pei Ye and Qi Zhaohua plucked Clear Body Pills from lotus blossoms and discussed how he should address Xu Chuo and seek help in the city.
• Qi Zhaohua introduced Pei Ye to Shang Lang, Xing Zhi, Fang Jidao, and Yan Feiqing, who had gathered in a private chamber.
• Pei Ye toasted Xing Zhi, learned Zhu Gaoyang was recovering and expected to visit the Divine Capital, and heard she was preparing to enter the Profound Gate and seek a Purple Sash appointment.
• Shang Lang told Pei Ye that family matters had made life difficult, then praised his victory as Bowang's Autumn Champion.

After the gathering, Qi Zhaohua told Pei Ye how she had left Bowang City, struggled to find a meaningful path in the Divine Capital, and met Xu Chuo, whose words changed her ambitions. She explained why she returned to the capital to accomplish something independently, while Pei Ye realized the Hall master's recent literary triumph suggested she was only about twenty.

• Pei Ye reunited with Fang Jidao, learned he hoped to enter the Heavenly Principles Academy, and spoke with Yan Feiqing about his swordsmanship.
• Pei Ye discovered Yan Feiqing carried a bubble of True Qi to keep the air around him clean, and Xing Zhi returned the belongings confiscated from Pei Ye.
• After the gathering ended, Qi Zhaohua told Pei Ye that she had broken off her engagement and gone to the Divine Capital seeking a life beyond marriage and literary acclaim.
• Qi Zhaohua recounted how Zheng Zhaocheng offered to recommend her as an official in exchange for sleeping with him, and how a poem by an older scholar made her question the value of her pursuits.
• Qi Zhaohua recalled meeting Xu Chuo on a rainy night, when Xu Chuo's words helped her see the limits of relying on beauty and poetry for advancement.
• Qi Zhaohua told Pei Ye she returned to the Divine Capital to pursue her own ambitions, and Pei Ye noted that the Hall master's recent literary victory suggested she was around twenty.