Chapter Summaries

Wang Shouzhe weighed how to use the clan’s limited resources to strengthen its long-term foundations and protect it, then went to meet Ancestor Longyan after she summoned him. He entered Longyan Residence and found her standing by the pavilion railing with her hair now completely white.

• Wang Shouzhe reviewed the Fishing Brigade’s finances and considered its profit targets alongside the risk of overfishing.
• Wang Shouzhe assessed whether the clan’s resources should go toward a Spirit Platform Realm expert, expanding industries, cultivation, or treating Ancestor Longyan.
• Wang Shouzhe concluded that none of those options could be easily funded and kept healing Ancestor Longyan as a backup priority.
• Gongsun Hui sent Xia He to summon Wang Shouzhe to Longyan Residence at Ancestor Longyan’s request.
• Wang Shouzhe entered the courtyard and saw Ancestor Longyan standing by the pavilion railing, her hair entirely white.

Wang Shouzhe learned that Ancestor Longyan wanted to travel to Baidao Guard and began arranging a discreet, comfortable journey for her. He summoned Xu Zhirou and Wang Lici, but left Lici terrified by announcing that he would test her lessons.

• Ancestor Longyan praised Wang Shouzhe's recent actions and asked him to accompany her to Baidao Guard.
• Wang Shouzhe accepted and planned a secret route that would account for Ancestor Longyan's frail condition and need for care.
• Wang Shouzhe summoned Xu Zhirou to serve as Ancestor Longyan's attendant and invited Wang Lici as well.
• After chatting with Xu Zhirou, Wang Shouzhe praised Lici's diligence and announced that he would test her lessons.
• Wang Lici panicked, fearing the test after remembering how strictly Wang Shouzhe had treated her elder brother.

Wang Shouzhe arranged a secret river journey to East Port with Ancestor Longyan, Xu Zhirou, and Wang Lici. As the ship set out along the An River, Wang Shouzhe learned that the powerful Flood Dragon Trading Firm had begun as a gang backed by influential clans.

• Wang Shouzhe chose Xu Zhirou and Wang Lici to accompany Ancestor Longyan, then departed with them by boat before dawn.
• Wang Lici recited an essay to Ancestor Longyan, who praised her as the group traveled to Fenggu Sluice.
• Wang Dinghai met the party at the sluice and took them aboard a borrowed river ship bound for East Port.
• Wang Dinghai told Wang Shouzhe that he had borrowed the ship from a friend at the Changning Branch of the Flood Dragon Trading Firm.
• Wang Dinghai warned Wang Shouzhe that the Flood Dragon Trading Firm had grown out of the Flood Dragon Gang and had agreements with powerful local clans.

Wang Shouzhe traveled down the An River with Wang Dinghai, considering the region’s marriage alliances and the Wang Clan’s prospects. Near East Port, the Donggang Chen Clan sent a ship to welcome them, likely carrying Chen Fangjie, who was soon to become Wang Shouzhe’s brother-in-law.

• Wang Shouzhe reflected on how marriage alliances divided the aristocratic clans and how the Wang Clan maintained ties with its allies.
• Wang Dinghai showed Wang Shouzhe the Zhao Clan’s fishing fleet and reported that the Wang Clan’s concealed Moving Zithers had been catching large quantities of fish at night.
• Wang Shouzhe told Wang Dinghai to release small fish, and Wang Dinghai agreed to have the boatmen return them to the river.
• Wang Shouzhe and Wang Dinghai continued downriver toward East Port, where Wang Shouzhe considered the prosperity and strength of the Donggang Chen Clan.
• A ship bearing the Donggang Chen Clan’s golden Flag Bird banner signaled to Wang Shouzhe’s boat and came out to welcome the Wang Clan guests.

Wang Shouzhe arrived at East Port and secured passage for his party to Baidao Guard aboard a Donggang Chen Clan merchant ship. After the group boarded, he arranged for Ancestor Longyan to rest and called Wang Lici aside to speak with her.

• Chen Fangjie welcomed Wang Shouzhe and warned him that Baidao Guard was remote and less orderly than Changning Guard.
• Wang Shouzhe asked the Chen Clan to arrange passage to Baidao Guard, and Chen Fangjie booked three cabins on a merchant ship departing that afternoon.
• Wang Shouzhe visited Chen Clan Leader Chen Dewei, who thanked the Wang Clan for warning them about the Honey Insect plague.
• Chen Fangjie gave Wang Shouzhe a booklet about Baidao Guard and arranged for Chen Fanghua to assist the party aboard the Junyao.
• Wang Shouzhe's party boarded the ship, and he asked Xu Zhirou to help Ancestor Longyan rest before calling Wang Lici into a neighboring cabin to talk.

Wang Shouzhe arrived at Baidao Guard with his party after learning about its powerful clans, weak government control, and secretive Jinsha Black Market. As he traveled toward Jinsha Island’s inner city, he worried about Ancestor Longyan’s likely plans and began learning how the Donggang Chen Clan profited from maritime trade.

• Wang Shouzhe made Wang Lici take two books to study and confiscated all five packets of her candied fruit.
• Wang Shouzhe read Chen Fangjie’s booklet and learned about Baidao Guard’s clans, lawlessness, and Jinsha Black Market.
• Wang Shouzhe suspected Ancestor Longyan had come to the Black Market and resolved to speak with her after they disembarked.
• The Junyao docked at Jinsha Island, where Chen Fanghua arranged lodging, transport, and guidance for Wang Shouzhe’s party.
• Chen Fanghua explained that the Chen Clan traded grain and daily goods for seafood and oyster lime, which it transported inland for profit.

Wang Shouzhe learned that Ancestor Longyan planned to sell the Turtle Scale Treasure Shield and sacrifice herself to eliminate the Zhao and Liu Clan’s Spirit Platform ancestors, clearing a path for the Wang Clan. He accepted that plan only if no other options remained and revealed his own plan to reach the Spirit Platform Realm and let Longyan resolve matters with her teacher herself.

• Chen Fanghua explained lihui to Wang Shouzhe, who added developing cement to his clan’s plans, and led the party into Jinsha City to rest.
• Wang Shouzhe privately asked Ancestor Longyan whether she intended to sell the Longyan Sword or the Turtle Scale Treasure Shield, and she said the shield was useless to her.
• Ancestor Longyan revealed that she intended to use her remaining strength to kill the Spirit Platform ancestors of the Zhao and Liu Clans, even if it cost her life.
• Wang Shouzhe proposed striking on his wedding night, but Ancestor Longyan rejected the idea to protect his reputation and told him to deliver her remains to her teacher, Master Binglan.
• Wang Shouzhe accepted her plan as the only option if no other variables existed, then said he had another plan: he would reach the Spirit Platform Realm while Longyan dealt with her own affairs.
• Ancestor Longyan was deeply shocked when Wang Shouzhe told her she could apologize to her teacher herself.

Wang Shouzhe learned the cause and treatment costs of Ancestor Longyan's injuries and remained determined to help her. After calculating the expenses, he concluded the treatment was more manageable than he had expected.

• Ancestor Longyan explained that a cultivator connected to the Yin Sha Sect had wounded her with a Yin Sha Palm fifty years earlier, leaving poison in her body and severe damage to her organs.
• Ancestor Longyan said she needed a Fire Sun Pill every month to suppress the poison, along with ongoing supplies of Spirit Rice, Spirit Food, and Foundation Building Pills.
• Ancestor Longyan explained that beginning in the second year, she would also need a Creation Pill each month to heal her damaged organs, with treatment lasting about ten or eleven years.
• Wang Shouzhe calculated that the first year would cost about 4,100 Qian Gold and that the full treatment would cost around a hundred-odd thousand Qian Gold.
• Ancestor Longyan was baffled when Wang Shouzhe called the treatment costs good, and he told her that the situation was simpler than he had expected.

Wang Shouzhe persuaded Ancestor Longyan to delay her plan to sell the Turtle Scale Treasure Shield while he worked to earn money for her recovery. In Jinsha City, they discovered a rogue cultivator connected to the force that had poisoned her, and Ancestor Longyan killed him and his accomplice in an ambush.

• Wang Shouzhe promised Ancestor Longyan he would find a way to fund her recovery, and she agreed to wait a year before deciding what to do with the Turtle Scale Treasure Shield.
• Wang Shouzhe toured Jinsha City with Chen Fanghua and his family, then noticed Ancestor Longyan reacting strongly to a rogue cultivator selling pearls.
• Wang Shouzhe distracted the pearl seller, sent the others away, and Ancestor Longyan identified the man as connected to the Yin Sha poison that had tortured her for fifty years.
• Wang Shouzhe and Ancestor Longyan devised a plan to vent some of her anger without exposing the Wang Clan to a larger threat.
• That evening, Wang Shouzhe posed as a wealthy rough man and lured the pearl seller and his accomplice into a secluded alley, where Ancestor Longyan killed both with a Spirit Artifact.
• Wang Shouzhe and Ancestor Longyan collected the spoils and disappeared, leaving the two corpses behind.

After Wang Shouzhe’s group avenged Ancestor Longyan by killing two Ghost Domain thieves, they found a Yin Sha cultivation method among the spoils. Ancestor Longyan chose to use it despite its risks, leaving her to study the method and prepare for a faster recovery.

• Wang Zhong delivered the spoils and bait money to Wang Shouzhe, who praised him, ordered him to keep the operation secret, and rewarded him with twenty Qian Gold.
• Wang Shouzhe and Ancestor Longyan found an untitled book explaining how to cultivate Yin Sha power and conceal its aura.
• Wang Shouzhe judged the book to be an elementary method for cultivating outer pawns and warned that using it could limit Ancestor Longyan’s future advancement and conflict with her loyalty to the Purple Mansion Academy.
• Ancestor Longyan decided to cultivate Yin Sha power because it could speed her recovery and save the family resources.
• Ancestor Longyan took the jade gourd, which held stored Yin Sha power, and left to study the cultivation and concealment methods.

Wang Shouzhe and Ancestor Longyan went to Jinsha City’s Black Market to sell the Turtle Scale Treasure Shield, where Deacon Zhong recognized Longyan and revealed that he had been her junior at the Purple Mansion Academy. He pleaded to help her financially, but Longyan grew angry at his offer and demanded to know whether he meant to buy her.

• Wang Shouzhe and Ancestor Longyan entered the Black Market in disguise and asked Deacon Zhong to appraise the Turtle Scale Treasure Shield.
• Deacon Zhong recognized the shield as a relic of an important person from his sect and offered to increase its price if they revealed where they had obtained it.
• When Ancestor Longyan prepared to leave, Deacon Zhong recognized her as his former senior sister and said he had believed she died in the Outer Domain.
• Deacon Zhong recalled that the shield had been bestowed on Longyan by the Spirit Artifact Master Binglan and offered to gather money for her.
• Ancestor Longyan accused Deacon Zhong of trying to buy her, and he nervously insisted he only wanted to repay a kindness she had once shown him.

Wang Shouzhe sold Ancestor Longyan’s Turtle Scale Treasure Shield at the Jinsha Black Market and used the proceeds to arrange medicines, cultivation resources, and a formation set for the Wang Clan. After returning to the inn, he made progress in cultivation and resolved to keep the clan low-profile while building its strength.

• Wang Shouzhe sold the Turtle Scale Treasure Shield to Deacon Zhong for thirty thousand Qian Gold after Ancestor Longyan asked the Zhong Clan to count the sale as a favor owed.
• Wang Shouzhe persuaded Ancestor Longyan to buy Creation Pills to treat her injuries instead of saving the money for a Heaven Spirit Pill.
• Wang Shouzhe ordered cultivation pills for the clan, Foundation Building Pills for himself and Ancestor Longyan and Wang Xiaohan, a Lesser Five Elements Formation set for Lu Xiaoxiao, and a Breath-Concealing Jade Pendant.
• Wang Shouzhe negotiated a detailed purchase agreement with Deacon Zhong and returned to the inn with his companions.
• Wang Shouzhe cultivated through the night, saw his progress, and decided to lie low after returning home while the Wang Clan developed its strength.

While Wang Shouzhe and Ancestor Longyan cultivated at an inn, Wang Lici accidentally bought a Gambling Stone containing several Spirit Stones. Her ability to sense what was inside intrigued Wang Shouzhe, who sent her to test it with more stones.

• Wang Shouzhe stayed with Ancestor Longyan as she converted her cultivation method, and she guided him in his studies.
• Wang Lici returned after spending ten Qian Gold on a Gambling Stone, and Wang Shouzhe discovered its white interior held abundant spiritual energy.
• Ancestor Longyan examined the stone and estimated it contained three to four Spirit Stones.
• Wang Lici explained that she had sensed something tasty inside the stone, prompting Ancestor Longyan to suggest she might have unusual spiritual perception.
• Wang Shouzhe gave Wang Lici thirty Qian Gold to buy three more stones she sensed contained something tasty, then sent Wang Zhong and Wang Yong after her.

Wang Shouzhe tested Wang Lici’s ability to find Spirit Stones in gambling stones, secured resources for the family, and returned toward Ping'an Town with Ancestor Longyan’s treatment underway. The journey was interrupted when a second-grade aquatic Fierce Beast struck Wang Dinghai’s ship.

• Wang Lici chose a large gambling stone that yielded a valuable Spirit Stone, and Wang Shouzhe rewarded her with a lavish seafood feast.
• Deacon Zhong Xingwang delivered 31,000 Qian Gold worth of resources, including twenty Creation Pills, and Wang Shouzhe cultivated their connection over a meal.
• Wang Lici found two more stones that yielded six Spirit Stones, then Wang Shouzhe’s group left Baidao Guard aboard the Junyao merchant ship and transferred to Wang Dinghai’s vessel.
• Ancestor Longyan mastered refining Killing Intent and began treating the injuries within her body as the family traveled home.
• A second-grade aquatic Fierce Beast struck Wang Dinghai’s ship, and Wang Dinghai called Wang Shouzhe out to help.

Wang Shouzhe and Wang Dinghai killed an East Sea Arrow Flagfish that attacked their ship, though two boatmen died and another was lost. They compensated the crew, escaped the Zuo Clan’s fishing grounds, and planned to store the valuable fish maw for Wang Luoyi’s dowry.

• Wang Shouzhe joined Wang Dinghai and the retainers in attacking the East Sea Arrow Flagfish after it lunged at their ship.
• The crew killed the fish with arrows and a barbed fishing spear, but two boatmen died and another went missing.
• Wang Shouzhe gave Wang Dinghai one hundred Qian Gold to compensate the dead boatmen’s families and reward the surviving crew.
• Wang Dinghai ordered the crew to stow the fish and leave the Zuo Clan’s waters before the clan’s fishing fleet could question them.
• Wang Zhong and Wang Yong estimated that the fish would yield at least seven hundred jin of meat, and Wang Shouzhe ordered its fish maw saved for Wang Luoyi’s dowry.

Wang Shouzhe returned to the Wang Clan Main Residence after a smooth journey, seeing the farm’s abundant harvest and reflecting on the clan’s collateral branches and bloodline customs. He rewarded Xu Zhirou and Wang Lici, but gave Lici books instead of the delicacies she wanted.

• Wang Shouzhe rewarded Wang Zhong and Wang Yong with 10 Qian Gold each for their work.
• Wang Shouzhe saw the plentiful harvest at Fenggu Farm and reflected on how the Wang Clan, like farming families, sought to build its strength over generations.
• As the Black-Awning Boat traveled toward the main residence, Wang Shouzhe considered the collateral branches’ place in the clan and the importance of bloodline inheritance.
• The boat reached the Wang Clan Main Residence, and Wang Shouzhe sent Ancestor Longyan back to Longyan Residence.
• Wang Shouzhe gave Xu Zhirou 50 Qian Gold for her care of Ancestor Longyan and urged her to look after her health.
• Wang Lici hoped to receive some of the journey’s delicacies, but Wang Shouzhe rewarded her with books and warned that he might test her.

Wang Shouzhe arranged an extravagant increase in his cultivation resources so he could advance toward the Spirit Platform Realm and discussed the worsening locust disaster with Gongsun Hui. He learned that self-cultivating farmers faced ruin while the Zhao Clan and Liu Clan appeared poised to seize land, leaving the clan’s response unresolved.

• Wang Shouzhe made Wang Lici distribute seafood snacks fairly to every family member under twenty and record the recipients in a ledger.
• Wang Shouzhe asked Gongsun Hui to raise his monthly Spirit Food, pill, and Spirit Stone allowances, and she warned that some clan elders might object.
• Wang Shouzhe explained that he wanted to cultivate faster so he could protect himself in a dangerous world.
• Gongsun Hui told Wang Shouzhe that the locust disaster had cut self-cultivating farmers’ harvests by around seventy percent, while tenant farmers had more protections and alternate sources of income.
• Gongsun Hui warned Wang Shouzhe that the Zhao Clan and Liu Clan appeared to be exploiting the crisis to annex land.

Wang Shouzhe learned that the locust disaster and grain-tax order were pushing the Zhao and Liu Clans toward land annexation, and he resolved to stop them. He secured Gongsun Hui’s offer to invite Ancestor Mang and recruited Wang Mei, whose disguise skills impressed him as he began planning his response.

• Gongsun Hui told Wang Shouzhe that the Zhao and Liu Clans faced heavy losses and would have to pay their summer taxes in grain.
• Wang Shouzhe declared that he would strike against the Zhao and Liu Clans to prevent them from exploiting the crisis and annexing land.
• Gongsun Hui offered to invite her grandfather, Ancestor Mang, to support the Wang Clan during the conflict.
• Wang Shouzhe summoned Wang Zhong for intelligence work, and Wang Zhong recommended Wang Mei for her skill at disguise and infiltration.
• Wang Mei demonstrated her disguises by appearing first as a male retainer and then as a beautiful young woman, astonishing Wang Shouzhe and the others.

Wang Shouzhe assigned Wang Zhong and Wang Mei to lead an intelligence mission, then prepared to visit his elder sister Wang Luoyi. On the way, he overheard his younger brothers sparring and discovered that Wang Lici had called him the Great Devil King.

• Wang Shouzhe appointed Wang Zhong to coordinate the intelligence operation and tasked Wang Mei with using her makeup and social skills to gather information without risking herself.
• Wang Shouzhe sent Wang Gui to summon Wang Yong, Wang Wu, and Wang An, then considered building an intelligence organization around Wang Mei.
• Wang Xiaoyu invited Wang Shouzhe to dine with Wang Luoyi, and he prepared gifts before setting out for her courtyard.
• Wang Shouzhe heard Wang Shouyong and Wang Shoulian sparring while Wang Lici teased them about their weakness and called Wang Shouzhe the Great Devil King.

Wang Shouzhe overheard his younger siblings and niece plotting to make him stop assigning them lessons, then confronted them and proposed an annual challenge as the price of avoiding study. The children accepted, and Wang Shouzhe caught Wang Luojing trying to sneak a centipede into his arms.

• Wang Lici, Wang Luojing, Wang Luoqiu, Wang Shouyong, and Wang Shoulian plotted to ambush Wang Shouzhe and make him promise not to force them to study.
• Wang Shouzhe stepped out and caught the children plotting, then questioned Wang Shouyong and Wang Shoulian about their plan.
• Wang Luoqiu complained about studying, so Wang Shouzhe offered the siblings an annual chance to challenge him; if they won, he would let them avoid lessons for the year.
• Wang Luoqiu accepted the agreement for everyone and encouraged the others to study and cultivate if they lost.
• Wang Shouzhe reassured Wang Luojing and rejected Wang Lici’s attempt to copy her, then flicked away a centipede Wang Luojing had slipped into his arms.