Chapter Summaries

Fang Yue went to the Imperial Observatory to search for evidence against Duke Wei and found a detailed roster of the Wei Family’s masters. Li Wujiu tried to seize him, but Hui Hengwu intervened, leaving Fang Yue safe for the moment and ready to ask Hui Hengwu for another favor.

• Fang Yue reassured Chen Shi that he would handle his troubles with Duke Wei and put off her plans to arrange blind dates.
• Fang Yue searched the Imperial Observatory’s Storehouse and found a roster detailing Duke Wei and the Wei Family’s principal masters.
• Li Wujiu accused Fang Yue of stealing archives and ordered guards to surround and seize him.
• Fang Yue used his authority and imposing aura to hold Li Wujiu and the guards at bay.
• Hui Hengwu arrived, rebuked Li Wujiu, and forced him and the guards to leave.
• Fang Yue thanked Hui Hengwu and said he had another favor to ask.

Fang Yue learned from Imperial Observatory files that Duke Wei visited Clear Wind Temple on his birthday, then went there to ambush him. Their battle left both men gravely wounded and unable to continue, with the outcome unresolved.

• Hui Hengwu let Fang Yue examine classified files on Duke Wei and the Wei Family's principal experts.
• Fang Yue discovered Duke Wei's birthday visit to Clear Wind Temple on Little Granary Mountain and decided to attack him there.
• Duke Wei learned Fang Yue had uncovered his custom and brought his experts to the temple to kill him.
• Fang Yue's ambush failed when Duke Wei's forces anticipated him, and the experts surrounded him.
• Fang Yue fought Duke Wei and wounded him, but Duke Wei released a golden light that struck Fang Yue and left both men unable to fight.

Fang Yue survived the battle with Chen Shimei, then waited as Duke Wei’s estate lost its power and influence. Acting as the Imperial Observatory’s representative, he supervised the confiscation of the estate and entered its inner chambers to search for cultivation resources.

• Chen Shimei killed Duke Wei, blamed Fang Yue for the assassination, and ordered his soldiers to attack him.
• Fang Yue defeated the private soldiers and killed Chen Shimei in their duel before leaving the temple.
• Fang Yue listened incognito as people in Yujing City spread conflicting accounts of Duke Wei’s death and the Wei Family’s collapse.
• A City Inspector reported that guards had sealed the ducal estate, and Fang Yue ordered him to lead the confiscation.
• Fang Yue entered Duke Wei’s estate as soldiers forced their way in and began ransacking it.
• Fang Yue went to the inner chambers to seek cultivation manuals, pills, and other resources.

Fang Yue looted Duke Wei’s secret chamber, forced Chen Qin to pay him before fleeing, and followed a dagger’s warning to meet a Mysterious Woman. She revealed that Duke Wei’s death had been part of a larger conspiracy and gave Fang Yue a choice between fleeing the capital or cooperating with her group to uncover the truth.

• Fang Yue found the hidden compartment in Duke Wei’s chamber and discovered the Imperial Spirit Art, pills, and other treasures.
• Chen Qin confronted Fang Yue, but Fang Yue overpowered him and demanded one hundred thousand taels of silver before letting him leave.
• An attacker threw a dagger bearing a warning for Fang Yue to meet at the Mountain God Temple outside the city at Three Ke of Noon.
• Fang Yue went to the temple and met a veiled Mysterious Woman, who said Duke Wei’s death had concealed a greater conspiracy involving court officials, martial world forces, and possibly the imperial family.
• The Mysterious Woman told Fang Yue that he could flee the capital or stay and cooperate with her group to uncover the truth.

Fang Yue learned that the Mysterious Woman wanted him to help oppose King Zhenwu, but he refused to commit without investigating further. He asked Li Chunfeng to use the Imperial Observatory’s intelligence network to investigate Lin Wanyin and waited for the approval.

• Fang Yue agreed to hear the Mysterious Woman’s plan, then tore her veil and recognized her, promising to keep her identity secret.
• The Mysterious Woman identified King Zhenwu as their common enemy and said they aimed to expose his schemes and overthrow his tyranny.
• Fang Yue refused to join the plan immediately and told the Mysterious Woman he needed time and evidence to investigate King Zhenwu.
• Fang Yue returned home, recorded what he had learned, and decided to seek help from his friend Li Chunfeng at the Imperial Observatory.
• Fang Yue asked Li Chunfeng to investigate Lin Wanyin, the Prime Minister’s daughter, and Li agreed to request approval from his superiors.
• Fang Yue waited while the Mysterious Woman remained absent, and Li Chunfeng finally brought him news one evening.

Li Chunfeng revealed that Lin Wanyin was a deputy leader of the Shadow Society, while Wang Yun ordered him to arrange her death and frame Fang Yue. Fang Yue confronted Lin Wanyin at a brothel, heard her explain her motives, and was attacked by a City-Breaking Arrow as they discussed possible cooperation.

• Li Chunfeng told Fang Yue that Lin Wanyin was both the Prime Minister's daughter and one of the Shadow Society's three deputy leaders.
• After Fang Yue left, Wang Yun ordered Li Chunfeng to kill Lin Wanyin and ensure Fang Yue took the blame.
• Fang Yue went to a brothel where Lin Wanyin was hiding and asked to speak with her.
• Lin Wanyin admitted her identity and explained that she had joined the Shadow Society to oppose the corrupt Imperial Court and help the people.
• Lin Wanyin urged Fang Yue to consider cooperating with her, but a City-Breaking Arrow suddenly burst through the window and forced him to dodge.

Fang Yue and Lin Wanyin were ambushed by elite archers who lured them toward Yujing City's military camp, then set it ablaze to frame them as attackers. As they tried to escape the Great Wei Army, Shen Qingzhi confronted them, and Fang Yue fought him in the street.

• Lin Wanyin warned Fang Yue of an attack, and Fang Yue fended off three City-Breaking Arrows before they faced a sustained barrage from skilled marksmen.
• Fang Yue and Lin Wanyin pursued their hidden attackers through Yujing City until Lin Wanyin recognized the nearby military camp and urged them to turn back.
• An enemy fired a flaming arrow into the camp, causing a massive explosion that made the Great Wei Army mistake Fang Yue and Lin Wanyin for rebels.
• Fang Yue and Lin Wanyin fled the soldiers and arrows, but Shen Qingzhi, commander of Yujing City's garrison, ambushed Fang Yue with his spear.
• Fang Yue and Shen Qingzhi clashed fiercely while Lin Wanyin watched, increasingly impressed by Fang Yue's ability to hold his ground.

Fang Yue and Lin Wanyin survived an ambush by coordinated attackers, but a flute melody abruptly ended the assault and Shen Qingzhi withdrew. After Lin Wanyin left, a Man in Green pursued Fang Yue into the wilderness, where a hidden Middle-aged Man in White Robes killed him.

• Fang Yue and Lin Wanyin fought off attackers and Shen Qingzhi until a flute melody caused their enemies to retreat.
• Fang Yue and Lin Wanyin parted ways after deciding the area was unsafe.
• The Man in Green revealed himself and attacked Fang Yue, who fled from Yujing City into the wilderness.
• Fang Yue escaped the Man in Green on a hill, and a Black Demonic Tiger then attacked the pursuer before the Man in Green killed it.
• A Middle-aged Man in White Robes confronted the Man in Green and killed him with a sword through the chest.

After the Man in White Robes killed the Hall of Offerings’ second-rank offering, he tasked Fang Yue with finding someone in rebel-held Xiahe County and gave him a letter and Five Revolutions Vital Spirit Pills. Fang Yue returned home to say goodbye to Chen Shi, then traveled southwest and reached the border of Shanyang Prefecture, where he continued toward Xiahe County amid widespread displacement.

• Fang Yue found the Man in Green dead at the battlefield and met the Man in White Robes, who revealed that he had killed him.
• The Man in White Robes told Fang Yue to return to Xiahe County and find someone, then gave him a letter and Five Revolutions Vital Spirit Pills.
• Fang Yue returned to Wutu City, saw how unrest had troubled the city, and told Chen Shi he needed to leave for an important matter.
• Fang Yue spent a day with Chen Shi, then said farewell and set out for Xiahe County.
• After a month of arduous travel through areas filled with refugees, Fang Yue reached the border of Shanyang Prefecture and continued toward Xiahe County.

Fang Yue entered rebel-held Shanyang Prefecture by smuggling ship, then grew suspicious that the Smuggler Captain was working with the rebels. To travel safely to Xiahe County, he bought a stall owner's goods and joined Captain Li's trade caravan, which was preparing to depart.

• Fang Yue paid the Smuggler Captain to carry him across the great river into Shanyang Prefecture, and the captain bribed rebel patrols to let the ship pass.
• Three days later, Fang Yue followed the Smuggler Captain through a marketplace and overheard him discussing rebel inspections and Imperial Army movements.
• Fang Yue decided to keep a low profile and seek a trade caravan to Xiahe County.
• Fang Yue bought all the goods from a stall owner, who arranged for him to join a caravan traveling to Xiahe County.
• The stall owner introduced Fang Yue to Captain Li, and Fang Yue loaded his goods onto a cart and began observing the caravan's members.

Fang Yue traveled with Big Brother Li’s caravan toward Xiahe County, where he helped repel a bandit attack and grew suspicious of Old Man Cheng’s hidden abilities. Near Chenzhou City, bandit soldiers tried to seize Old Man Cheng’s granddaughter, but Fang Yue and the others confronted them and the caravan continued on.

• Fang Yue kept a low profile in the caravan, learned its routines, and spotted suspicious figures scouting their camp.
• Bandits attacked the camp, and Old Man Cheng revealed his sword skills while helping the escort guards drive them off.
• Fang Yue wondered about Old Man Cheng’s identity as the caravan continued toward Xiahe County and passed through the war-damaged town of Chenzhou City.
• Big Brother Li warned that Xiahe County was tightly controlled and might require strict inspections.
• Bandit soldiers stopped the caravan outside Chenzhou City and tried to seize Old Man Cheng’s granddaughter, but Fang Yue subdued one soldier and Old Man Cheng threatened the others.
• The bandit soldiers let the caravan pass, and it traveled nearly ten li from Chenzhou City.

The caravan was ambushed by a regular bandit army, and its members fought desperately as the cavalry’s crossbows broke their defensive line. Seven masked knights watched from a distant hillside, waiting to see whether the person they sought would reveal himself as the caravan neared collapse.

• The Chenzhou garrison commander ordered a soldier to secretly follow the caravan and planned to attack it later in a sparsely populated place.
• Fang Yue warned Big Brother Li that the caravan should stay alert, but a regular bandit cavalry force soon surrounded them near a dense forest.
• Big Brother Li refused to surrender, while several escorts laid down their weapons and joined the bandits; the remaining caravan members vowed to defend themselves.
• The cavalry fired crossbows and tore through the caravan’s defenses, while Big Brother Li and Old Man Cheng fought the bandit commander and his men.
• Seven masked knights watched from a distant hillside and decided to wait for the person they sought to appear; they saw the caravan’s defenses begin to collapse.

Fang Yue stayed behind after the caravan split up and returned to the ambush site, where he killed the bandit soldiers who had looted the goods. The caravan members who followed Big Brother Li headed toward home, while the chapter left their journey unresolved.

• The lead bandit general suddenly killed his deputy, throwing the bandit army into chaos and opening a gap for the caravan to escape.
• Big Brother Li led the caravan survivors to a forest refuge, where he offered to take willing merchants home and let indebted merchants leave rather than face their creditors.
• Fang Yue declined to return with Big Brother Li, accepted the silver he offered, and encouraged him to keep faith.
• Fang Yue returned to the ambush site and attacked the bandits as they looted the caravan's goods.
• Fang Yue killed the commanding general and every remaining bandit soldier.
• Big Brother Li and the merchants who chose to return set off along a mountain path.

Fang Yue watched Big Brother Li’s caravan recover its goods, then entered war-torn Xiahe County to pursue his mission. After several days of searching, he followed a familiar black-cloaked figure to a secret rebel stronghold and slipped inside to investigate.

• Big Brother Li led the merchants back to the bandits’ site, where they found the bandit soldiers dead and their goods largely intact, then packed up and left.
• Fang Yue watched the caravan depart, and seven knights examined the battle site before pursuing toward Xiahe County.
• Fang Yue reached ruined Xiahe County, entered among the commoners, and discreetly checked into an inn to gather information about his mission’s target.
• After spending several days observing the city, Fang Yue spotted a familiar black-cloaked figure and followed them to a secluded courtyard he had heard was a rebel stronghold.
• Fang Yue used his lightness skill to enter the guarded courtyard and began searching for the black-cloaked figure.

Fang Yue infiltrated a secret stronghold, discovered women imprisoned for a scheme involving an evil Martial Art, and rescued them. He arranged for a wealthy merchant tied to King Wucheng to help the women escape the city while he kept the conspirators’ plans under wraps.

• Fang Yue overheard men discussing a secret passage and a plot, then slipped into their chamber and memorized a map showing the passage’s entrance.
• Fang Yue defeated a concealed Shadow Figure, opened the passage behind the map, and found a dungeon where women were imprisoned and abused.
• Fang Yue freed the women and learned from a black-clad soldier that they had been captured to provide Yin Essence Energy for his lord’s evil Martial Art; the soldier died before naming the lord.
• Fang Yue led the women out, subdued the family of a wealthy merchant allied with King Wucheng, and sheltered the women in the merchant’s residence.
• Fang Yue ordered the wealthy merchant to use his connections to arrange the women’s safe departure from the city, and the merchant began contacting a trusted official.

The wealthy merchant arranged to smuggle the women out of Xiahe County Town, while Zhao Xin secretly used the caravan to lure out those behind the dungeon escape. After the Black-clothed Men rescued the women and learned Fang Yue was absent, they encountered Fang Yue on their way back to town, where a fight began.

• The wealthy merchant paid Zhao Xin three hundred taels of silver to help his caravan leave the city, and Zhao Xin secretly planned to use it to expose the people behind the escape.
• Zhao Xin increased surveillance as Fang Yue supervised the women being hidden among the caravan’s goods.
• A man carrying Zhao Xin’s Command Token persuaded the guards to let the caravan pass through the city gate.
• The Black-clothed Men ambushed the caravan in a forest, defeated its escorts, and rescued the women, but found Fang Yue was not with them.
• The Black-clothed Leader headed back toward Xiahe County Town to report Fang Yue’s absence, but Fang Yue appeared on the road and the Black-clothed Men attacked him and his companion.

Fang Yue killed the Black-clothed Leader and fought General Shen and a thousand cavalrymen until a mysterious flute player turned the battle in his favor. After recovering, Fang Yue met the Man in Green, who invited him to Shanyang Prefecture in a month for an opportunity involving the Great Dragon Pill.

• Fang Yue outmaneuvered and killed the Black-clothed Leader before Zhao Xin and Lord Shen surrounded him with more than a thousand cavalrymen.
• General Shen, a military arts expert serving King Wucheng, attacked Fang Yue, and the two fought as General Shen combined his strength with the cavalry's.
• A flute melody weakened General Shen and the cavalry, allowing Fang Yue to force them to retreat.
• Fang Yue recovered from his injuries and vital energy, then asked the hidden flute player to reveal himself.
• The Man in Green introduced himself as a wandering musician and invited Fang Yue to meet him in Shanyang Prefecture one month later.
• The Man in Green revealed that the meeting concerned the Great Dragon Pill, and Fang Yue left open the possibility of going.

Fang Yue rescued the merchant and women from the black-clad soldiers, then found the peerless movement technique Ethereal Steps among the merchant’s treasures. In Xiahe County Town, an Imperial Court agent revealed a chance to seize the Dragon Vein Stone from King Wucheng when he leaves Shanyang Prefecture next month, and Fang Yue asked about the plan.

• The Man in Green invited Fang Yue to Shanyang Prefecture City, but Fang Yue stayed cautious about the Great Dragon Pill and returned to the caravan’s ambush site.
• Fang Yue killed the black-clad soldiers who were abusing the bound women, freed the captives, and let the merchant leave with his goods.
• Fang Yue discovered the peerless movement technique Ethereal Steps in the merchant’s chest and took it with him.
• Fang Yue met an undercover Imperial Court agent in a teahouse in Xiahe County Town, who told him King Wucheng had brought the Dragon Vein Stone out of the Demon Realm.
• The agent said King Wucheng would leave Shanyang Prefecture next month, creating an opportunity to recover the Dragon Vein Stone, and Fang Yue asked what the plan was.

Fang Yue prepared to infiltrate Shanyang Prefecture to recover the Dragon Vein Stone while posing as a medicinal herb shop owner in Xiahe County Town. After Li Sidao approached him on King Wucheng’s behalf, the Grey-robed Man advised Fang Yue to accept the recruitment offer so he could enter the Prefecture City openly.

• The Grey-robed Man told Fang Yue that King Wucheng would leave Shanyang Prefecture next month and gave him a map marking possible hiding places for the Dragon Vein Stone.
• Fang Yue studied the map overnight, then acquired a new identity as the wealthy merchant’s son who owned a medicinal herb shop in Xiahe County Town.
• Fang Yue befriended local martial artists, sparred with Li Tieniu, and gathered intelligence about Shanyang Prefecture.
• Li Sidao, a Hero Seeker Envoy under King Wucheng, invited Fang Yue to join King Wucheng’s camp, and Fang Yue asked for time to consider.
• The Grey-robed Man praised Fang Yue’s response, promised secret protection, and told him to accept Li Sidao’s offer when he returned so Fang Yue could enter Shanyang Prefecture’s Prefecture City openly.

Fang Yue accepted Li Sidao’s offer to join King Wucheng’s faction and traveled to the Prefecture City with other recruited talents. After arriving at their temporary residence, he met Su Jin, whose reasons for approaching him remained unclear.

• Fang Yue pretended to accept Li Sidao’s offer, received King Wucheng’s Command Token, and agreed to leave for the Prince’s Mansion in three days.
• Official Chen escorted Fang Yue from his herbal shop, and Fang Yue met Lin Feng, Zhao Wan'er, and Xu Ming while traveling to the Prefecture City.
• Fang Yue and the other talents discussed King Wucheng’s grand cause, while Fang Yue concealed his real goal of obtaining the fate-bearing treasure and the Great Dragon Pill.
• After more than ten days, Fang Yue arrived in Shanyang Prefecture and settled with the other talents in a separate courtyard.
• Su Jin approached Fang Yue and asked to be friends, prompting him to wonder about her intentions.