Recaps

Chen Fan confronted Leon after Leon threatened him over Su Wan, then stopped Leon’s attack and won the support of students who had long resented the exchange students. Leon fetched Vice Principal Hu Zhongyuan, and Chen Fan stayed to face him.

• Leon claimed Su Wan as his and threatened Chen Fan, invoking his cardinal uncle and the Holy See.
• Chen Fan challenged Leon’s authority and warned him about the consequences of provoking trouble at Mysterious Spirit Academy.
• Leon tried to slap Chen Fan, but Chen Fan caught his wrist and declared that everyone had to follow the Immortal Palace’s rules.
• The students backed Chen Fan and confirmed that Leon attacked first, so Leon left to fetch Vice Principal Hu Zhongyuan.
• Chen Fan waited at the academy as Hu Zhongyuan arrived with teachers and security guards, angered to see him still there.

Chen Fan confronted Vice Principal Hu Zhongyuan over his protection of Leon and the harassment of female students, then revealed he was a reserve law enforcer and took over the investigation. Hu dismissed his authority until a woman arrived and challenged him.

• Hu Zhongyuan accused Chen Fan of attacking Leon and threatened to expel him, while dismissing accusations against Leon and blaming the female students.
• Chen Fan denounced Hu for protecting Leon and abusing his position, and Hu unleashed his cultivation pressure against him.
• Chen Fan shattered a protective immortal talisman that blocked Hu's pressure, then Hu ordered the guards to seize him.
• Chen Fan presented his Law Enforcement Immortal Hall token, identified Hu and Leon's suspected offenses, and declared that he was taking over the case.
• Hu tried to dismiss Chen Fan's authority and threatened him, but a woman's voice asked what about her.

Jiang Qingyuan intervened when Hu Zhongyuan used his authority to protect Leon and intimidate Chen Fan, then ordered the Jingzhou Law Enforcement Hall to investigate and arrest those involved. After the victims were promised support and the academy was placed under temporary oversight, Chen Fan left with Jiang Qingyuan and learned the Holy See and Freedom Divine Domain were unlikely to challenge the Immortal Palace over the case.

• Jiang Qingyuan arrived at the grove, checked on Chen Fan, and condemned Hu Zhongyuan for abusing his authority and obstructing law enforcement.
• Jiang Qingyuan summoned Lin Feng and ordered him to arrest Hu Zhongyuan, Leon, and the other two foreign exchange students and investigate the academy’s handling of the case.
• Lin Feng’s guards shackled the suspects, and Jiang Qingyuan ordered the academy’s files sealed, the victims’ cases investigated, and support and counseling provided to them.
• Jiang Qingyuan told Chen Fan to organize the evidence and witness testimony, promising him a share of the merit for the case.
• The students applauded as Chen Fan left with Jiang Qingyuan, who said the Holy See and Freedom Divine Domain would likely make only formal diplomatic complaints.

On the way back to Han University, Chen Fan learned that Hu Zhongyuan had protected foreign students in exchange for benefits from the Freedom Divine Domain and the Holy See. Jiang Qingyuan then revealed her plan to reform foreign student policies across the Immortal Palace’s universities, while keeping Huaqing University out of the loop.

• Jiang Qingyuan explained that the Freedom Divine Domain and the Holy See had bribed Hu Zhongyuan with resources and Holy Water Baptism, which could help him attempt Tribulation Transcendence but risked placing him under the Holy See’s control.
• Jiang Qingyuan told Chen Fan that the Netherworld had backed down after her senior schoolmate intimidated its elder, and that the Law Enforcement Immortal Hall could handle any larger threat.
• After they returned to Han University, Jiang Qingyuan cooked dinner, and Chen Fan organized the case files before joining her for the meal.
• Jiang Qingyuan told Chen Fan she planned to use the case to abolish foreign students’ special privileges and standardize assessments and punishments at Immortal Palace universities.
• Jiang Qingyuan said she would organize a joint declaration with Han University and Jingfu, while keeping Huaqing University uninformed so Jingfu could get ahead of its rival.

Chen Fan and Jiang Qingyuan secured the conviction of the foreign students and helped organize a joint declaration by eighty-one Immortal Palace universities ending special privileges for foreign exchange students. Chen Fan became a permanent Yellow Rank law enforcer, while the Freedom Divine Domain’s embassy plotted to kill him and provoke trouble at the border.

• Chen Fan coordinated the case against Hu Zhongyuan, Leon, and Leon’s companions, while Jiang Qingyuan rejected the diplomatic department’s request for leniency.
• Jiang Qingyuan revealed that eighty-one universities had jointly declared they would end foreign students’ special treatment and enforce rules equally.
• Chen Fan and Jiang Qingyuan saw Huaqing University face public criticism for being left out of the declaration.
• Lin Feng informed Chen Fan that his permanent appointment as a Yellow Rank law enforcer had been approved, and Chen Fan received his official token.
• A cardinal at the Freedom Divine Domain’s embassy ordered his followers to kill Chen Fan and stir up trouble at the border.

Chen Fan learned that the Mysterious Spirit Academy case had reached the Immortal Palace Supreme Council, which ordered a public trial and livestreamed executions. Jiang Qingyuan revealed that she held senior roles in law enforcement, prosecution, and the court, and invited Chen Fan to watch her preside over the trial in three days.

• Chen Fan submitted the evidence dossier from the Mysterious Spirit Academy case to the Xuzhou Law Enforcement Immortal Hall records office.
• Jiang Qingyuan showed Chen Fan the Supreme Council debate and explained how the Immortal Palace's military, administrative, and independent institutions were organized.
• Chen Fan learned that the council had approved a public trial and livestreamed executions for the foreign cultivators in three days, despite diplomatic protests.
• Jiang Qingyuan explained that the executions would demonstrate the Immortal Palace's authority and that safeguards would prevent rescue attempts or outside interference.
• Jiang Qingyuan revealed that she was also chief prosecutor and standing chief judge, alongside her role as a Heaven-Rank Law Enforcement Envoy.
• Jiang Qingyuan invited Chen Fan to accompany her to the public trial, and he eagerly agreed.

Jiang Qingyuan presided over the public trial and execution of three foreign students, using the case to assert the Immortal Palace’s authority across the Nine Provinces. Afterward, Chen Fan praised her resolve, and Jiang Qingyuan teased him about sentencing him herself.

• Chen Fan accompanied Jiang Qingyuan to the execution grounds, where she explained that the trial would warn foreign powers against defying Immortal Palace law.
• Jiang Qingyuan presided over the livestreamed trial as prosecutors presented evidence against Leon and the other two defendants.
• Jiang Qingyuan rejected the defendants’ appeals to the Holy See and the Freedom Divine Domain and sentenced all three to death.
• Bai Ye ordered the condemned prisoners executed, and Jiang Qingyuan declared that everyone in the Nine Provinces had to obey Immortal Palace law.
• Chen Fan praised Jiang Qingyuan after the trial, and she explained that she had final authority in cases of this importance before teasing him about passing sentence on him.

After Jiang Qingyuan’s verdict sparked backlash, Jingfu University alumni and supporters overwhelmed the opposition, and she taught Chen Fan why publicizing injustice could build support. At home, Chen Fan massaged her sore ankle and then went to prepare her a late-night meal.

• Chen Fan watched overseas accounts and local officials criticize Jiang Qingyuan’s verdict, but Jingfu University alumni and ordinary supporters rallied behind her, while two military-region accounts liked their posts.
• Jiang Qingyuan explained Jingfu University’s principles and taught Chen Fan to expose injustice rather than endure it, because public attention could prevent interference and attract allies.
• Jiang Qingyuan admitted her feet were tired, and after Chen Fan offered to help, she agreed to let him massage her ankle.
• Chen Fan gently massaged Jiang Qingyuan’s ankle until the ache eased, and she praised his technique while blushing faintly.
• Chen Fan went to the kitchen to make Jiang Qingyuan lotus seed and spirit rice congee, and she watched him with a slight smile.

Jiang Qingyuan took Chen Fan to the Immortal Palace universities’ annual academic summit to introduce him to the Nine Provinces’ leading scholars and establish her support for him. After learning from the morning’s keynote speeches, Chen Fan agreed to present his practical approach to quantified cultivation at the youth forum that afternoon.

• Jiang Qingyuan brought Chen Fan to Han University's main campus and introduced him to prominent academic, military, and cultivation figures.
• Chen Fan met Professor Shen Moru and Professor Li Songyan, whose rivalry resumed when Li dismissed Chen Fan’s false spirit root.
• Han University's Principal Zhou, Jingfu's President Gu, and Huaqing's President Lin opened the summit, and Chen Fan listened to talks on source evolution, spiritual energy engineering, and border formations.
• Chen Fan considered presenting his method of quantified cultivation after the keynote speeches clarified several of his cultivation bottlenecks.
• Shen Moru encouraged Chen Fan to speak at the youth forum, Li Songyan doubted him, and Chen Fan accepted the invitation with Jiang Qingyuan’s support.

Chen Fan presented a data-driven method for optimizing sword practice, impressing the summit and provoking a bidding war between Jingfu and Huaqing. Jiang Qingyuan asserted that Chen Fan would continue his studies at Jingfu, and the chapter ended with her praising his presentation.

• Chen Fan presented research quantifying sword-move efficiency and argued that precise, reproducible methods could help ordinary cultivators improve faster.
• Chen Fan defended his approach against an elderly sword cultivator who objected that reducing swordsmanship to numbers would undermine sword intent.
• Li Songyan praised Chen Fan and tried to recruit him to Huaqing, prompting an argument with Shen Moru.
• President Lin offered Chen Fan a scholarship and research resources at Huaqing, while President Gu insisted Chen was bound for Jingfu.
• Jiang Qingyuan stated that Chen Fan was her student and would pursue further studies at Jingfu, ending the recruitment dispute.
• Jiang Qingyuan praised Chen Fan after he returned to his seat, and he said he was glad not to have caused her trouble.

After the summit, Jiang Qingyuan secured support for Chen Fan’s cultivation-education research project, and the two discussed how to develop it as they walked. Holy See death warriors then ambushed them, leaving Chen Fan facing five enemies while Jiang Qingyuan concealed her power and did not intervene.

• Jiang Qingyuan told Chen Fan she would fund his research and assign engineering students to help turn his methods into teaching materials.
• Chen Fan proposed beginning with the twelve basic sword forms, and Jiang Qingyuan advised him to verify each step carefully.
• Chen Fan sensed danger on a secluded path and pulled Jiang Qingyuan behind him as three Yin blades attacked.
• Five Holy See death warriors surrounded Chen Fan, led by a Foundation Establishment perfection cultivator, while Jiang Qingyuan concealed her presence.
• Chen Fan shielded Jiang Qingyuan, mocked the attackers, and prepared to fight as the leader ordered a coordinated attack.

Chen Fan used his traits to withstand five Holy See operatives and tested [Same Moment Name Change] by transferring their combined attack to Zhou Xuantong. He emerged unharmed, realizing the trait could redirect all damage to its designated target.

• Five Holy See operatives attacked Chen Fan, but he activated [Anger] and fought them off with his Fire Cloud True Fire.
• Chen Fan activated [Exceptional Talent] and [Diligence Can Make Up for Lack of Aptitude], improving his ability to read and counter the operatives’ moves.
• The operatives combined their power into the Yin Erosion Five Kills and launched an attack approaching the Golden Core early stage.
• Chen Fan used [Same Moment Name Change] to transfer the attack to Zhou Xuantong, who felt only a faint itch in his office.
• Chen Fan stood unharmed after the attack and realized the trait had transferred all the damage, leaving the operatives stunned.

Chen Fan tested his traits while fighting five death warriors, then defeated them with Jiang Qingyuan’s help when their leader tried to self-detonate. Afterward, Jiang warned him that the Holy See would retaliate and arranged for his project approval documents to arrive the next day, while Chen Fan prepared to advance his sword Dao quantification project.

• Chen Fan tested Gold and Jade Splendor and Child of Destiny, discovering that they steadied and purified his flames and brought bad luck to an opponent.
• Chen Fan used his traits and Fire Cloud True Fire to defeat the four Foundation Establishment Late Stage death warriors.
• The remaining death warrior leader tried to detonate his Foundation Establishment pill, but Jiang Qingyuan restrained him and erased all five warriors with pale blue flames.
• Jiang Qingyuan criticized Chen Fan’s combat technique, warned him about the Holy See, and said she would send his project approval documents the next day.
• Chen Fan returned to his dorm, recorded his trait tests, and resolved to get the sword Dao quantification project underway.

Chen Fan used a loophole to bypass the Immortal Palace’s spiritual network firewall and browse the X Platform as he searched for a way to legitimize his Spirit Stones. Jiang Qingyuan caught him, and he apologized while secretly intending to do it again.

• Chen Fan considered how to launder the million High-Grade Spirit Stones from his [Eight Bushels of Wealth] trait without attracting the Inspectorate’s attention.
• Chen Fan exploited a vulnerability in the spiritual network firewall and accessed the X Platform, where users argued over Leon’s death and the Immortal Palace.
• Chen Fan read that TSL planned to build a gigafactory in Jingzhou and considered using the growing foreign trade to create a legitimate channel for his Spirit Stones.
• Jiang Qingyuan confronted Chen Fan after Director Zhang traced unusual network activity to his room.
• Chen Fan apologized to Jiang Qingyuan and promised not to bypass the firewall again, though he privately planned to do so later.

Jiang Qingyuan caught Chen Fan bypassing the Immortal Palace’s firewall but gave him her old, high-access X Platform account after recognizing her younger self in him. Chen Fan logged in, and the account’s profile information left him frozen.

• Jiang Qingyuan warned Chen Fan that the Immortal Palace’s firewall could expose his proxy tricks and admitted she had kept his actions from the Inspectorate.
• Jiang Qingyuan recalled secretly bypassing the firewall in her youth and gave Chen Fan her old encrypted account, warning him not to cause trouble with it.
• Chen Fan accepted the jade talisman and promised to use the account only to read, while privately celebrating the new access and his closer relationship with Jiang Qingyuan.
• After Jiang Qingyuan left, Chen Fan logged into her old account, and its profile information stunned him.

Chen Fan discovered that Jiang Qingyuan had once been a rebellious spirit-net troublemaker, then learned that an illegal loan platform had fabricated a debt in his name. He traced the platform to a large-scale operation targeting students but withdrew when its professionally encrypted backend hinted at powerful backing.

• Chen Fan browsed Jiang Qingyuan's old X Platform profile and posts, discovering her past as a notorious wall-climber and online debater.
• Chen Fan received an overdue notice claiming he owed Treasure-Gathering Spirit Loans 4,520 Spirit Coins on a loan he had never taken.
• Chen Fan followed the repayment link and found that the platform had fabricated his identity details and charged illegal fees.
• Chen Fan used Jiang Qingyuan's spirit-net backdoor to breach the platform's firewall and confirmed it had no legal registration or lending license.
• Chen Fan found more than a thousand borrowers on the platform's list, many of them college students, but withdrew when he encountered advanced encryption protecting its core database.

Chen Fan rejected reporting the illicit Treasure-Gathering Spirit Loans platform and devised a way to siphon funds by exploiting flaws between its user database and clearing module. He planned to observe the platform before attempting to steal one million Spirit Coins and launder them alongside his own Spirit Stones.

• Chen Fan ruled out reporting the platform because it could expose his unauthorized access and implicate Jiang Qingyuan.
• Chen Fan decided to rob the illicit lenders and identified weaknesses in their sloppy financial records and settlement systems.
• Chen Fan devised a scheme to plant fake repayment records and exploit the clearing module to claim excess-repayment refunds without accessing the protected core database.
• Chen Fan settled on siphoning one million Spirit Coins and laundering them with his own Spirit Stones through black-market channels.
• Chen Fan destroyed his written plan and decided to study the platform's clearing patterns before choosing a time to act.

Chen Fan tested Treasure-Gathering Spirit Loans’ repayment system and confirmed that its delayed database reconciliation left an exploitable vulnerability. The General Finance Bureau detected his transactions, placed him under intensive surveillance, and reported his suspected involvement to its superiors.

• Chen Fan borrowed six thousand Spirit Coins through the platform, then transferred five thousand of his own coins as an early repayment to test its processes.
• After tracking the repayment and bill updates, Chen Fan determined that the platform’s clearing module did not verify transactions against its core database in real time.
• Chen Fan spent another thirty thousand Spirit Coins on tests and chose to act shortly before the hour-of-the-Ox reconciliation two days later.
• An inspector at the Illegal Finance Monitoring Center noticed Chen Fan’s repayments and recognized his connection to Jiang Qingyuan.
• Liu Feng ordered level-one monitoring of Chen Fan’s account and instructed staff to trace his funds and report his suspected involvement to the general office.

At a confidential meeting, Executive Wang and the investigators decided to recruit Chen Fan, whose small repayment to Treasure-Gathering Spirit Loans had drawn attention, as an ordinary borrower observing the platform from the fringes. Jiang Qingyuan agreed to ask Chen Fan what he wanted, then summoned him to her office.

• Director Zhou reported rising loans and complaints, while Heaven-Rank Envoy Li argued that the investigators needed more time to expose the forces behind Treasure-Gathering Spirit Loans.
• The investigators learned that Chen Fan, Jiang Qingyuan’s student, had repaid thirty thousand Spirit Coins to the platform at a settlement point.
• Executive Wang proposed having Chen Fan monitor the platform’s ordinary activity because his student background would make him less suspicious than trained agents.
• Executive Wang contacted Jiang Qingyuan and offered Chen Fan an Immortal Academy slot and two million Spirit Coins in dedicated funding if he helped.
• Jiang Qingyuan said she would ask Chen Fan before agreeing, then messaged him to come to her office if he had no morning classes.