Recaps

Xie Feng learned that the legendary Military Confucian, Kong Qiusu, was his eldest senior brother and heard that Kong’s disciple Pei Jue led the Star Clan. He kept the four grandmasters at Pill Maple Academy to recruit students according to its principle of equal education for all.

• Han Yu and the other grandmasters praised Xie Feng’s Literary Dao talent, then told him about the legendary Kong Qiusu, who had vanished from the Dao Realm twenty years earlier.
• Xie Feng recognized Kong Qiusu as his eldest senior brother and asked where he had gone, but Han Yu and Lü Yan did not know.
• Han Yu advised Xie Feng to visit the Literary Clan to study the Literary Dao, while Xie Feng told the four grandmasters they could stay at Pill Maple Academy.
• The grandmasters tried to leave, then agreed to stay after learning the academy had no students and they would not be teaching Xie Feng.
• Xie Feng instructed the four grandmasters to recruit twenty students of any status, sex, class, or appearance, and Han Yu noted that Kong Qiusu had shared the same philosophy.

The Ghost Emperor, Yan Ming, Gu Tao, and nine Dao Lord elders attacked Xie Feng at Dark Ink Mountain. Xie Feng survived Gu Tao’s assault and unleashed the Extreme Dao Sword, killing Gu Tao and five elders, while the remaining attackers still faced him.

• The Ghost Emperor, Yan Ming, and Gu Tao arrived at Dark Ink Mountain with nine Dao Lord elders and prepared to kill Xie Feng.
• Xie Feng sensed their killing intent and confronted the three patriarchs, learning their cultivation levels from the Extreme Dao Sword.
• Gu Tao attacked Xie Feng with poison and a spear, but Xie Feng resisted the poison and countered with the Northern Nether Illusory Emperor Flame.
• Yan Ming urged the patriarchs and elders to attack together, and the group surrounded the alone Xie Feng.
• Gu Tao demanded to see the Extreme Dao Sword, and Xie Feng unleashed its Sword Qi, beheading Gu Tao and killing five Dao Lord elders.

Xie Feng fought off the Ghost Emperor and Yan Ming’s forces at Dark Ink Mountain, but his first strike had drained his strength and he was soon surrounded. Shui Yunjun, patriarch of the Literary Clan, arrived and claimed him as one of her own after recognizing his sword and learning that his master was the Marquis of Mo Yang.

• Xie Feng admitted he could not use the Extreme Dao Sword for a second strike, then drew the Emperor Sword, Cherished Wine Cup, and wounded an attacking elder.
• The Ghost Emperor and Yan Ming ordered their forces to surround Xie Feng, who considered using a voice transmission talisman as they closed in.
• Shui Yunjun arrived, asked about Cherished Wine Cup, and identified Xie Feng’s master as the Marquis of Mo Yang rather than Mu Bingxing.
• Shui Yunjun declared Xie Feng under her protection and killed an elder with one finger when he challenged her authority.

Shui Yunjun killed the Ghost Emperor to protect Xie Feng, forcing Yan Ming and the Blaze Clan elders to flee. She revealed that the Cherished Wine Cup Sword and its flame seed had once belonged to her and were a token of love she gave Xie Feng’s master, the Marquis of Mo Yang.

• Shui Yunjun declared that the Literary Clan would protect Xie Feng and killed the Ghost Emperor with the Cherished Wine Cup Sword.
• Yan Ming claimed the Blaze Clan had not harmed Xie Feng or joined the battle over Flame Island, then fled with three Blaze Clan elders.
• The Blaze Clan elders killed a Ghost Clan elder who tried to escape with them, then continued fleeing.
• Shui Yunjun confirmed Yan Ming had told the truth and observed that the Blaze Clan would likely stop attacking Xie Feng.
• Shui Yunjun explained that the Cherished Wine Cup Sword and its flame seed were hers, and recounted falling in love with Xie Feng’s master, the Marquis of Mo Yang.
• Shui Yunjun revealed that the sword had been the token of love she gave the Marquis of Mo Yang.

Xie Feng pieced together that Mu Bingxing had lived many lives, including as Taihua Jun and the Marquis of Mo Yang, and had accumulated numerous romances. After fleeing Shui Yunjun, Yan Ming encountered a terrifying man in white who questioned him about Xie Feng and killed three Blaze Clan elders before leaving.

• Xie Feng reflected on his master's many reincarnations and suspected Jing Yuan and Shui Yunjun were not his only romantic connections.
• Yan Ming fled with three Blaze Clan elders after Shui Yunjun's attack and complained that their clan had been dragged into trouble.
• A powerful man in white appeared and repeatedly asked Yan Ming whether he knew Xie Feng, killing an elder after each unsatisfactory answer.
• Yan Ming swore he had never harmed Xie Feng, and the man in white withdrew his Sword Intent and disappeared.
• Yan Ming suspected the man was the missing Marquis of Mo Yang and returned to the Blaze Clan shaken, resolving to avoid trouble.

Yan Ming recalled the Blaze Clan’s forces sent after Xie Feng and killed Yang Lin to prevent the Pill Clan from attacking Flame Island. On Dark Ink Mountain, Xie Feng read while his white-robed master watched from outside, admitting he felt too guilty to face his former disciple.

• Hao Feng told Yan Ming that he had sent two hundred Dao Master Realm elites to attack Xie Feng at Pill Maple Academy, so Yan Ming ordered their immediate recall and forbade anyone from approaching Dark Ink Mountain.
• Yang Lin told Yan Ming that the Pill Clan had joined the planned assault on Flame Island and that its army would arrive soon.
• Yan Ming canceled the alliance and demanded that the Pill Clan withdraw, then strangled Yang Lin and destroyed his soul when Yang Lin refused to stop talking about the attack.
• At Pill Maple Academy, Xie Feng read inside while his white-robed master watched silently from outside the window.
• The woman in the silver dress asked why the white-robed man would not go in, and he confessed that he regretted neglecting Xie Feng and did not know what to say when they met.

Shui Yunjun visited Xie Feng and gave him the Dao-Burying Sword Art, which could let the Cherished Wine Cup Sword devour other swords and grow stronger. When she revealed it could consume the Extreme Dao Sword avatar, Xie Feng considered the benefits while the sword panicked and pleaded with him.

• The man in white fled after recognizing Shui Yunjun and admitting that he owed her even more than he owed his disciples.
• Shui Yunjun visited Xie Feng, asked about his cultivation, and invited him to call her Shui Yunjun or Little Xie.
• Shui Yunjun presented Xie Feng with the Dao-Burying Sword Art as a first-meeting gift from his master's lady.
• Shui Yunjun explained that the art could make the Cherished Wine Cup Sword devour swords, including the Extreme Dao Sword avatar, and gain their power.
• Shui Yunjun drew the Extreme Dao Sword from Xie Feng's sleeve, while it begged him not to let it be devoured.
• Xie Feng chose to believe Shui Yunjun and told the Extreme Dao Sword that the art could strengthen it and let it appear openly as the Cherished Wine Cup Sword.

Xie Feng learned the Dao-Burying Sword Art and merged the Extreme Dao Sword with the Cherished Wine Cup Sword, gaining a new weapon and rising to the sixth tier of the Dao Master Realm. He then planned to recruit students from the Literary Clan, while Xiao Tian told Pei Jue that he was leaving the Star Clan by choice.

• Xie Feng mastered the Dao-Burying Sword Art almost immediately, astonishing Shui Yunjun.
• Shui Yunjun forced the Extreme Dao Sword to merge with the Cherished Wine Cup Sword, and Xie Feng took hold of the resulting weapon, advancing to the sixth tier of the Dao Master Realm.
• The Extreme Dao Sword survived as part of the new Cherished Wine Cup Dao Sword, and Xie Feng began calling it Little Sword.
• Xie Feng asked Shui Yunjun for permission to visit the Literary Clan and recruit students for Pill Maple Academy, and she agreed.
• At the Star Clan, Xiao Tian told Pei Jue he was leaving of his own accord, and Pei Jue demanded to know why.

Pei Jue watched Xiao Tian leave after secretly marking him, then resolved to enter the Nether Passage Secret Realm to gain power and change the Star Clan. At Pill Maple Academy, Xie Feng learned that rumors were thwarting recruitment and traveled to Aurora City, where Lü Yan explained the Star Clan’s rigid class divisions and the city lord presented ten talented youths.

• Xiao Tian declared that he was leaving so he would no longer be Pei Jue’s weakness, and Pei Jue secretly planted a tracking mark on him.
• Pei Jue told Xiao Tian to return in ten years, then resolved to seek the Nether Passage Secret Realm and visit a friend.
• Han Yu and the others told Xie Feng that students had refused to join Pill Maple Academy because of rumors portraying him as a bloodthirsty fiend.
• Xie Feng traveled to Aurora City after Lü Yan reported that the city lord was willing to send talented youths to the academy.
• Lü Yan explained the Star Clan’s rigid hereditary class system to Xie Feng, and the city lord introduced ten talented youths from Aurora City.

Xie Feng refused to accept the Star Clan’s exclusion of commoners from education and left Aurora City without recruiting three promising youths. He learned that Pei Jue was Kong Qiusu’s disciple and revealed that Kong was his eldest senior brother, while Pei Jue questioned whether Xie Feng was truly angry at the clan’s hierarchy.

• Xie Feng challenged the city lord for withholding three talented commoner youths, but left when the city lord insisted they were unworthy of education.
• Xie Feng and Lü Yan departed Aurora City, and Xie Feng said he had no reason to argue with someone whose principles differed so greatly from his own.
• Pei Jue appeared, and Lü Yan introduced him as the Star Clan chief and Kong Qiusu’s disciple; Xie Feng revealed that Kong was his eldest senior brother.
• Lü Yan explained that the city lord had barred the three commoner youths from joining Pill Maple Academy, and Pei Jue admitted he had no solution.
• As Xie Feng prepared to return to Dark Ink Mountain, Pei Jue observed that Xie Feng seemed angry at the hierarchy, and Xie Feng denied it.

Pei Jue learned that Xie Feng was his junior martial uncle, while Pill Maple Academy grew into a major institution over the following months. After Master Xiang gifted the academy three thousand Literary Dao cultivation techniques, Xie Feng agreed to buy two million more and asked to inspect a glowing Literary Dao Tower.

• Xie Feng left Pei Jue with Lü Yan, who revealed that Xie Feng was Pei Jue’s junior martial uncle and urged him to keep the identity secret.
• Pei Jue agreed to keep Xie Feng’s identity secret and to pay his respects when they met again.
• Aurora City sent ten students to Pill Maple Academy, while Sushang, Ge Kuangwo, Changying, Lü Yan, Zhou Jin, and Xie Feng’s allies helped expand the academy’s teaching staff, facilities, and resources.
• Shui Yunjun introduced Xie Feng to Master Xiang, who gifted Pill Maple Academy three thousand cultivation techniques from his lineage’s collection.
• Xie Feng agreed to buy two million cultivation techniques for two hundred billion Dao Crystals, then asked Master Xiang if he could inspect the Literary Dao Tower.

Xie Feng secured the Literary Dao Tower and sought funds for his purchases, accepting help from Lü Yan and Shui Yunjun before heading to the Floating World Bank. He arrived in Floating World City and asked to meet its boss, Xiao Tianzi.

• Master Xiang sold Xie Feng the Literary Dao Tower for six hundred billion Dao Crystals.
• Xie Feng asked Lü Yan for eight hundred billion, and she said she could provide only two hundred billion without selling the Jade Qilin Workshop.
• Shui Yunjun gave Xie Feng one hundred million Dao Crystals and offered further support, but he decided to seek the rest himself.
• Xie Feng asked Shui Yunjun about the Floating World Bank, learned it held vast reserves, and went there alone.
• An attendant escorted Xie Feng to meet the bank's boss, Xiao Tianzi.

Xie Feng visited Xiao Tianzi at the Floating World Bank and used Shui Yunjun’s insignia to convince him to lend money. After obtaining three amethyst cards, Xie Feng explained that he needed funds to support Pill Maple Academy, but his request was still unfolding.

• Xie Feng met Xiao Tianzi and asked to borrow eight hundred billion from the Floating World Bank.
• Xiao Tianzi doubted Xie Feng’s claims about his relationship with Shui Yunjun until Xie Feng showed him her clan leader’s insignia.
• Xiao Tianzi offered Xie Feng fifty million Dao Crystals, which Xie Feng accepted as a loan and used to persuade him to lend another fifty million.
• Xiao Tianzi handed Xie Feng a third amethyst card after Xie Feng argued that lending five hundred million was little different from lending one hundred million.
• Xie Feng told Xiao Tianzi that he was the head of the newly built Pill Maple Academy and needed money for its students, teachers, and facilities.

Xie Feng left the Floating World Bank after Xiao Tianzi refused to lend him eight hundred billion, and Xiao Tianzi warned his steward to keep the bank clear of Xie Feng’s dangerous connections. The next morning, Shui Yunjun visited Pill Maple Academy to find Xie Feng, whose familiar way of addressing her astonished Han Yu and the others.

• Xie Feng tried to persuade Xiao Tianzi to lend him fifty billion, but Xiao Tianzi refused and claimed the bank was struggling.
• Xie Feng left without asking for the money, and Xiao Tianzi offered to let him keep the six hundred million already lent to him as a gift to Pill Maple Academy.
• Xiao Tianzi told his head steward that Xie Feng brought trouble wherever he went and ordered him to keep the bank out of Xie Feng’s affairs.
• Xiao Tianzi told the head steward to prepare for an important banquet the next day.
• Shui Yunjun arrived at Pill Maple Academy and asked Han Yu where Xie Feng was, leaving the academy staff amazed at their apparent closeness.
• Xie Feng entered the courtyard and addressed Shui Yunjun by name, and Han Yu and the others were surprised that she showed no displeasure.

Shui Yunjun took Xie Feng to Yan Wuming’s banquet in North Sheng City, where his presence drew attention from the Literary Clan’s prominent guests. The banquet began with Xie Feng keeping to himself, while Xiao Tianzi nervously watched him from across the room.

• Shui Yunjun invited Xie Feng to a banquet celebrating Yan Wuming’s rebuilt pavilion, and Xie Feng agreed in hopes of finding patrons for Pill Maple Academy.
• Shui Yunjun introduced Xie Feng to Yan Wuming as the head of Pill Maple Academy, prompting Yan Wuming to recognize him as the Heavenly Ranking’s number one.
• The guests whispered about Xie Feng’s standing and his connection to Shui Yunjun as he ignored their gossip.
• Xie Feng spotted Xiao Tianzi among the guests, and Xiao Tianzi lowered his head and worried that Xie Feng intended to scam him again.
• More than a hundred prominent guests took their seats, the banquet began, and Xie Feng quietly drank tea instead of socializing.

At Yan Wuming’s banquet celebrating the rebuilt Tengwang Pavilion, Xie Feng rebuffed curious guests before Shui Yunjun intervened and sent them away. Yan Wuming then proposed a literary gathering that appeared designed to showcase Zhao Yu, but Xie Feng accepted the writing materials when they reached him.

• Guests crowded around Xie Feng with questions, and he told them they were annoying and asked them to leave.
• Shui Yunjun came over, addressed Xie Feng as “Xiao Xie,” and ordered the guests back to their seats after he said he only found them noisy.
• Yan Wuming proposed that the guests compose pieces about the pavilion and named it Tengwang.
• Guests praised Zhao Yu, who was confident that the work he had prepared would impress everyone.
• When the pageboy offered writing materials to Xie Feng, Xie Feng tapped the table for him to set the tray down despite the pageboy’s cough of warning.

Xie Feng stunned the Literary Dao gathering by writing a revised version of Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng, whose brilliance surpassed everyone’s expectations. As his essay shook Tengwang Pavilion, Zhao Yu despaired over his own work and grew jealous.

• Xie Feng ignored the crowd’s doubts and began writing after taking in the pavilion’s scenery.
• Xie Feng wrote the opening lines of Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng, initially drawing scorn from Yan Wuming and the guests.
• Xie Feng praised Scholar Meng and General Wang in his essay, delighting both men.
• Xie Feng’s lines about sunset clouds, a lone wild duck, and autumn waters unleashed a surge of literary brilliance and won Yan Wuming’s admiration.
• Zhao Yu compared his prepared essay with Xie Feng’s work, judged his own inferior, and grew jealous.
• Xie Feng continued writing as literary brilliance formed a vast white dragon around Tengwang Pavilion.

Xie Feng completed the Preface to Tengwang Pavilion, awakening the Literary Dao Dragon and Phoenix inheritance and rapidly increasing his cultivation. The inheritance transported him to a mountain cave, where he encountered his long-lost eldest senior brother, Kong Qiusu, and broke their long silence with an awkward remark.

• Xie Feng finished the preface, earning praise from Yan Ru, Yan Wuming, Zhao Yu, Shui Yunjun, and the other scholars.
• The Literary Dao Dragon and Phoenix appeared, spreading Literary Qi that caused scholars nearby to break through in their cultivation.
• The dragon-and-phoenix inheritance entered Xie Feng, whose Chaos Sacred Demon Body and Northern Nether Illusory Emperor Flame helped him refine it and soar to late Literary Venerable Realm.
• The inheritance transported Xie Feng to a mountain cave, where he found the illusory soul of his eldest senior brother, Kong Qiusu.
• After Xie Feng and Kong Qiusu stared at each other in silence for nearly an hour, Xie Feng complained that their standoff was awkward, and Kong Qiusu challenged his description of their eyes.

Xie Feng reunited with Kong Qiusu, who had lost his physical body and most of his memories, and brought his senior brother into his dantian. As Xie Feng prepared to leave, he learned that his master had helped him wield the Extreme Dao Sword.

• Kong Qiusu initially failed to recognize Xie Feng, then remembered him as his junior brother, Little Feng.
• Xie Feng asked about Kong Qiusu's missing physical body, but Kong Qiusu admitted he had forgotten where it was and how he lost it.
• Xie Feng offered to shelter Kong Qiusu in his body and help him recover his body and memories, and Kong Qiusu agreed.
• Kong Qiusu entered Xie Feng's dantian and claimed he could destroy Little Sword with a single palm strike.
• Little Sword complained about the disrespect it had suffered and revealed that Xie Feng's master had threatened its master.
• Xie Feng realized his master had helped him wield the Extreme Dao Sword, explaining why its power had felt familiar.

Xie Feng returned to Tengwang Pavilion and faced a young man who accused him of plagiarizing Preface to Tengwang Pavilion. Xie Feng exposed the accuser’s contradictions, and Yan Wuming ordered him thrown out, but the man attacked Xie Feng and was knocked down by Kong Qiusu’s power.

• A young man accused Xie Feng of stealing Preface to Tengwang Pavilion and claimed that his master, Ning Jun, had written it.
• Shui Yunjun challenged the young man’s claims, and Xie Feng pointed out contradictions in his story and cited the Literary Dao’s recognition of his work.
• The guests condemned the young man, and Xie Feng declared that he would not let the slander go unanswered.
• Yan Wuming ordered the guards to throw the young man out, but the man blamed Xie Feng and charged at him.
• Kong Qiusu’s power knocked the young man down, and Yan Wuming ordered that no fighting take place inside Tengwang Pavilion.

Kong Qiusu absorbed Li Mao’s intelligence, leaving him acting like an idiot, while Xie Feng concealed his senior brother’s role. Yan Ru recognized a trace of Kong Qiusu’s presence and took Li Mao away for treatment, but the others hesitated to testify for Xie Feng.

• Kong Qiusu absorbed Li Mao’s intelligence, and Li Mao began behaving like a small child as the onlookers wondered if he had gone stupid.
• Xie Feng learned from Kong Qiusu that he had taken Li Mao’s IQ to nourish his soul body, while Little Sword panicked that Kong Qiusu might consume its intelligence too.
• Yan Ru confronted Xie Feng about the strange Qi that had left Li Mao, but Xie Feng denied knowing anything about it.
• Kong Qiusu explained that Xie Feng’s Void Heaven Spirit Eyes had seen Li Mao’s intelligence Qi, while Yan Ru had recognized a trace of Kong Qiusu’s presence because he had long worshipped him.
• Yan Ru offered to take Li Mao to a medical expert and promised to return him to Ning Jun in three days, then asked the gathered witnesses to support Xie Feng if Ning Jun complained; no one dared answer.

After Xie Feng impressed the banquet guests with his essay, Shui Yunjun helped him turn their admiration into a flood of rewards. Xiao Tianzi tried to slip away before being asked to contribute, but Yan Wuming spotted him and brought him to Xie Feng.

• Yan Wuming praised Xie Feng's essay and offered to buy it, while Yan Ru rewarded him with a hundred thousand Dao Crystals.
• Xie Feng urged Shui Yunjun to encourage the guests to give rewards, and she presented him with a black card while praising his talent.
• The guests competed to offer Xie Feng increasingly large sums, and General Wang pledged three hundred million Dao Crystals.
• Xiao Tianzi crept toward the exit to avoid paying Xie Feng, but Yan Wuming called him back and introduced him as the wealthy owner of Floating World Bank.

At the Tengwang Pavilion banquet, Xie Feng tricked Xiao Tianzi into rewarding him 7.73 billion Dao Crystals, then earned further wealth from Yan Wuming for the rights to Preface to Tengwang Pavilion. After traveling to the Literary Emperor Palace with Shui Yunjun, Xie Feng reflected on his closeness to his eldest senior brother and struggled to settle his thoughts.

• Yan Wuming drew attention to Xiao Tianzi, who offered Xie Feng a one-billion-Dao-Crystal gift for Preface to Tengwang Pavilion.
• Xie Feng used Xiao Tianzi’s praise of the preface to claim a thousand taels of gold per character, taking 7.73 billion Dao Crystals from him.
• Kong Qiusu told Xie Feng to visit the Floating World Bank that night, while Xie Feng warned him against violence and questioned his treatment of Li Mao.
• After the banquet, Yan Wuming paid another hundred billion to buy one year of usage rights for Preface to Tengwang Pavilion.
• Xie Feng accompanied Shui Yunjun to the Literary Emperor Palace, where he thought about his bond with his eldest senior brother and could not focus on reading.

Xie Feng gave Kong Qiusu new clothes and brought him to the Floating World Bank, where Xiao Tianzi confronted Xie Feng over the money he had lost. As Xiao Tianzi prepared to attack, Xie Feng revealed that Kong Qiusu wanted to speak with him and warned him not to hit the frail scholar too hard.

• Xie Feng and Kong Qiusu discussed the Three Character Classic and argued over whether human nature was inherently good or evil.
• Xie Feng gave Kong Qiusu a new set of clothes, and they decided to visit the Floating World Bank.
• Xiao Tianzi cried over the 7.73 billion he had given Xie Feng, then ordered guards to ambush Xie Feng in the guest room.
• Xiao Tianzi confronted Xie Feng and demanded his money back, while Xie Feng dismissed his complaint and provoked him.
• Xiao Tianzi summoned Dao laws and prepared to fight, but Xie Feng said Kong Qiusu wanted to speak with him and cautioned him not to hit the scholar too hard.

Xie Feng’s eldest senior brother, Kong Qiusu, forced Xiao Tianzi to submit and then gave Xie Feng control of the Floating World Bank. Xie Feng accepted the gift while reflecting on Kong Qiusu’s regret over lost companionship, and Xiao Tianzi began to ask him a question.

• Kong Qiusu appeared at Xie Feng’s call, and Xiao Tianzi recognized him as the master of the Floating World Bank.
• Kong Qiusu summoned Xiao Tianzi behind a screen, where he used Golden Mouth and Jade Words to beat him into submission.
• Xiao Tianzi offered Xie Feng ten black-gold cards worth a trillion and revealed that Kong Qiusu was his superior.
• Kong Qiusu told Xie Feng that the Floating World Bank was now his, and Xie Feng accepted the gift.
• Kong Qiusu spoke of using money to make up for regrets, and Xiao Tianzi leaned toward Xie Feng to ask a question.