Chapter Summaries

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.

Xie Feng used the funds he obtained from Xiao Tianzi to bring cultivation manuals and the Literary Dao Tower to Pill Maple Academy, then explored the tower and advanced to the early Literary Emperor realm. After returning to the academy, he encountered Lü Yan with ten unfamiliar children.

• Xiao Tianzi questioned Xie Feng about Kong Qiusu, promised to keep the meeting secret, and saw Xie Feng off with the money.
• Xie Feng transported two million top-tier Literary Dao cultivation manuals and the Literary Dao Tower to Pill Maple Academy.
• Xie Feng entered the tower and chose its super advanced cultivation space, where he found a Literary Dao Tree.
• Xie Feng cultivated beneath the tree and advanced from the late Literary Venerable realm to the early Literary Emperor realm.
• Xie Feng inspected the tower's other spaces, returned to Pill Maple Academy, and saw Lü Yan arriving with ten unfamiliar children.

Xie Feng reprimanded Han Yu for imposing an entrance assessment, reminding him that Pill Maple Academy followed the principle of education without discrimination. After meeting the students and learning that Hai Kuoyun had spread rumors about him, Xie Feng heard Tang Ran challenge him to explain the Literary Dao and began answering with a sudden display of power.

• Xie Feng summoned Han Yu and demanded to know why he had created an entrance assessment without the academy's approval.
• Xie Feng reminded Han Yu that Pill Maple Academy upheld equal education without discrimination, and Han Yu admitted his mistake.
• Xie Feng gathered all twenty children, introduced himself, and learned that Hai Kuoyun had ordered rumors about him to be spread.
• Tang Ran asked what the Literary Dao was and why students should study it, and Xie Feng said he would explain.
• Xie Feng unleashed the Power of the Literary Dao, forcing Tang Ran to his knees and shocking the other students.

Xie Feng taught Tang Ran that the Literary Dao existed to protect himself and others, then sparred with his senior brother Kong Qiusu to learn from his overwhelming mastery. Kong Qiusu began teaching Xie Feng a cultivation technique after calmly passing through his strongest attack.

• Xie Feng taught Tang Ran the Guard formula and showed him how it could defend against an attack.
• Xie Feng explained that strength was meant to protect oneself and others, and Tang Ran accepted his lesson.
• Jialan asked who deserved protection, and Xie Feng answered that a nation’s people and a family’s loved ones did.
• Xie Feng and Kong Qiusu began sparring, and Kong Qiusu effortlessly countered Xie Feng’s Literary Dao attacks.
• Xie Feng unleashed Vast as Wrath, but Kong Qiusu walked through the storm untouched and reached toward Xie Feng’s brow to teach him a cultivation technique.

Kong Qiusu taught Xie Feng his formidable cultivation art, Emperor Su’s Eight Returns, and explained its dangers and his faith in Xie Feng’s potential. Xie Feng was moved by his senior brother’s affection, while Little Sword broke down sobbing at their exchange.

• Kong Qiusu accidentally drained Xie Feng with Emperor Su’s Eight Returns, then stopped and restored him.
• Kong Qiusu explained that the art plundered eight aspects of a cultivator but that absorbed Dao laws could conflict and strain the body.
• Kong Qiusu told Xie Feng that their master had praised his exceptional aptitude and that he regarded his fellow disciples as family.
• Xie Feng asked whether Kong Qiusu feared being surpassed, and Kong Qiusu said he would be proud if Xie Feng became greater than him.
• Little Sword sobbed after hearing the brothers express their devotion to each other.

Xie Feng learned that the Spirit, Ghost, and Pill Clans had called an assembly of the ten clans in Delusion City, and Shui Yunjun warned him that it might be a trap. At the assembly, Yan Ming cautioned Kui Xin not to provoke Xie Feng, but Kui Xin insulted him.

• Shui Yunjun visited Xie Feng at Pill Maple Academy and told him that Hai Kuoyun, You Chenfeng, and Kui Xin had organized a ten-clan assembly in Delusion City.
• Xie Feng and Shui Yunjun agreed that the assembly could be a trap, and Shui Yunjun promised to act if anyone threatened him.
• You Chenfeng, Hai Kuoyun, and Kui Xin welcomed attendees to the assembly before the remaining clan patriarchs arrived.
• Kui Xin glared at Yan Ming over Yang Lin's death and tried to confront him, but Hai Kuoyun stopped him to preserve their plan.
• Yan Ming warned Kui Xin three times not to provoke Xie Feng, and Kui Xin retorted that Yan Ming was a coward afraid of Shui Yunjun.

The ten-clan assembly gathered in Delusion City as several clan leaders discussed plans against the Literary Clan and Xie Feng. Shui Yunjun and Xie Feng arrived together, drawing every gaze and leaving the assembly poised for confrontation.

• Yan Ming warned Kui Xin against provoking Xie Feng, but Kui Xin dismissed him and continued toward the assembly.
• Kui Xin, Hai Kuoyun, and You Chenfeng discussed their plan to target Shui Yunjun and Xie Feng, while Yan Ming overheard their conspiracy.
• Haidera told Mang Yan that he wanted to test Xie Feng, whom he considered a more intriguing target than Shui Yunjun.
• Zhou Jin, Ge Kuangwo, Chen Ling, and other guests arrived and took their seats.
• Shui Yunjun arrived at the assembly with Xie Feng behind her, and the assembled leaders watched them closely.

Xie Feng and Shui Yunjun attended the Assembly of the Ten Clans, where You Chenfeng slighted them before Buddha Venerable Lingdu showed Xie Feng unusual courtesy. Hai Kuoyun then revealed that the Spirit, Nether, and Pill Clans wanted the Literary Clan removed from the ten great clans.

• You Chenfeng offered Xie Feng no seat until Shui Yunjun challenged him, and Xie Feng mocked the Ghost Clan's quick change of leadership.
• Buddha Venerable Lingdu arrived, treated Xie Feng with respect, and took a seat beside You Chenfeng.
• The leaders welcomed the gathered powers as the Assembly of the Ten Clans began.
• Hai Kuoyun announced that the Spirit, Nether, and Pill Clans proposed striking the Literary Clan from the ten great clans.
• The attendees reacted with shock and argued over whether the Literary Clan deserved its standing.

Hai Kuoyun called for the Literary Clan to be removed from the ten great clans and forced into seclusion, while Shui Yunjun questioned his plan. You Chenfeng nominated Chen Ling’s Dust Clan to replace them, but Chen Ling stood with Xie Feng and refused to be used; Hai Kuoyun then put the proposal to a vote.

• Hai Kuoyun accused Shui Yunjun and the Literary Clan of destabilizing the Dao Realm and demanded their removal from the ten great clans.
• Shui Yunjun asked whom Hai Kuoyun intended to support, and You Chenfeng nominated Chen Ling’s Dust Clan.
• Chen Ling rejected You Chenfeng’s proposal and made clear that she stood with Xie Feng.
• Shui Yunjun and Xie Feng discussed the three clans’ attempt to pressure the Literary Clan, while Little Sword argued with Kong Qiusu in Xie Feng’s dantian.
• Hai Kuoyun called for attendees to vote on the Literary Clan’s expulsion by raising red or blue cards.

At a banquet where two hundred factions voted on removing the Literary Clan from its position, Xie Feng and Shui Yunjun faced a close contest between support and opposition. With the final votes still undecided, Xie Feng turned to Cloud Clan Leader Yun Qingmeng and asked after her princess.

• Hai Kuoyun, You Chenfeng, and Kui Xin raised red cards against the Literary Clan, and many factions followed their lead.
• Zhou Jin, Ge Kuangwo, and their allies raised blue cards in support, and Xie Feng also cast a blue card after Shui Yunjun entrusted him with her decisions.
• Buddha Venerable Lingdu declared Buddha Island neutral, prompting several factions to choose neutrality as well.
• Xue Yan and Qing Wu declared the Snow Clan and Moon Clan neutral, and Yan Ming chose neutrality for the Blaze Clan.
• The tally reached seventy red cards, seventy blue cards, fifty-four neutral votes, and six undecided factions: the Dark Sea Clan, Star Clan, Cloud Clan, Blaze Clan, Snow Clan, and Moon Clan.
• Xie Feng addressed Cloud Clan Leader Yun Qingmeng and asked whether her princess had been well.

Xie Feng tried to persuade the clans at the assembly to support the Literary Clan, while Haidera chose to back its removal and Yi Cang declared the Star Clan neutral. Xie Feng then used an argument about Pei Jue’s authority to press Yi Cang to change the Star Clan’s vote, leaving Yi Cang unconvinced.

• Yun Qingmeng withheld the Cloud Clan’s vote until the other clans had decided, despite Hai Kuoyun’s objections.
• Mang Yan advised Haidera that the Dark Sea Clan should avoid being drawn into a conflict, but Haidera pushed his red card forward to support removing the Literary Clan.
• Yi Cang declared the Star Clan neutral, giving Hai Kuoyun’s side a narrow lead.
• Xie Feng questioned Yi Cang about the Star Clan’s strength and Pei Jue’s authority, then argued that Yi Cang should follow Pei Jue and choose the blue card.
• Yi Cang asked why he should believe Xie Feng’s claim that Pei Jue would support him.