Chapter Summaries

Jiang Beiran agreed to help Huo Zhishang find his missing son, Huo Wenkang, and tracked the boy to Anxing Prefecture. There, he found a youth named Qian Xiaodong running a cabbage-selling scam before returning to a loving household to care for his sick grandfather.

• Jiang Beiran received Li Fucheng’s request and agreed to personally search for Huo Zhishang’s missing son, taking the boy’s shoes and drawing a portrait from Huo Zhishang’s memories.
• Jiang Beiran used the shoes, birth details, and portrait to locate Huo Wenkang and traveled to Wushu County in Anxing Prefecture.
• Jiang Beiran watched a youth sell ordinary cabbage as Top Scholar Vegetable with help from Liu Jiangnian and hired shills, then divide the profits with them.
• Jiang Beiran followed the youth to a village, where the villagers greeted him as Little Dong and he went home to bring medicine to his sick grandfather.
• The youth, Qian Xiaodong, reassured his grandmother that he had obtained the medicine honestly, while Jiang Beiran considered how to approach the family.

Jiang Beiran healed Qian Xiaodong’s grandfather and discovered that the boy triggered Earth Rank options, but he refused to take him as a disciple. Qian Xiaodong followed Jiang Beiran to Deling Town and tried to win him over, only to be left behind after asking again.

• Qian Xiaodong returned home and found Jiang Beiran treating his grandfather, whose pain eased after the acupuncture.
• Qian Xiaodong suspected Jiang Beiran might have come for his past cons, then decided to seek him as a master after seeing his grandfather improve.
• Jiang Beiran confirmed Qian Xiaodong had a protagonist’s fate and refused his apprenticeship request.
• Qian Xiaodong followed Jiang Beiran to Deling Town, guided him around, and impressed him with his shrewdness at the inn.
• Qian Xiaodong knelt and asked again to become Jiang Beiran’s apprentice, but Jiang Beiran vanished without accepting him.

Qian Xiaodong discovered that the Thousand Seas Lost Scripture let him read and study talisman arts, then learned that he had been adopted after Huo Zhishang found him while searching for his lost son. A birthmark confirmed their relationship, while Jiang Beiran returned to the palace and found the Six-Tailed Fox apparently dead.

• Qian Xiaodong tried to use a talisman from the Thousand Seas Lost Scripture but failed to produce any effect.
• Huo Zhishang asked Old Man Qian whether Qian Xiaodong was his biological grandson, and Old Man Qian revealed that the family had bought him from a child trafficker.
• Huo Zhishang told the family about losing his son and searching for him for seven years, and Qian Xiaodong became less resistant to him.
• Huo Zhishang activated a hidden birthmark on Qian Xiaodong's chest, confirming that Qian Xiaodong was his son, and the two embraced.
• Jiang Beiran returned to the palace and found the Six-Tailed Fox lifeless in the Four Directions Spirit-Locking Formation, then heard it protest that he should try to save it.

Jiang Beiran questioned the Six-Tailed Fox about her knowledge of Tang Kingdom and left her imprisoned until she could give him a reason to trust her. He returned to the Returning Heart Sect to discuss plans for the aristocratic clans, check on his pets, resume alchemy, and briefly meet Liu Zijin and the other four girls.

• The Six-Tailed Fox tried to bargain for her freedom, but Jiang Beiran asked her to help draw a suspension bridge and then questioned her about Tang Kingdom instead.
• The Six-Tailed Fox said she had never harmed anyone and offered to investigate human experts after returning home; Jiang Beiran told her he would consider saving her if she could convince him to trust her.
• Jiang Beiran returned to the Returning Heart Sect to seek the sect master, then visited the Back Mountain, checked on his pets, and made Spirit-Stabilizing Pills.
• Jiang Beiran met Liu Zijin and the other four girls outside Orchid Pavilion, confirmed he had become emperor, and said he had more than four thousand beauties in his rear palace.
• Yu Manwen sent Liu Zijin and the others away, and they decided to focus on defeating Senior Brother Wu so they could later seek out Jiang Beiran openly.

Jiang Beiran returned to Water Mirror Hall and rewarded Shi Fenglan with a new card game before helping her prepare medicinal baths for Liu Zijin and the other four disciples. He then met Sect Master Lu to discuss his plans for Lulin County and the trouble involving the Thunderclap Sect, leaving Lu Yinlong to hear Jiang Beiran’s confidence that he could make the county Feng Province’s most populous.

• Jiang Beiran reunited with Shi Fenglan, shared a meal with her and Xiao Duo, and gave Shi Fenglan a new gambling game called Mount Hua Sword Debate.
• Shi Fenglan and Xiao Duo offered money and materials to help commoners, but Jiang Beiran explained that broader changes were needed to protect them from officials and gentry.
• Yu Manwen brought Liu Zijin and the other four disciples to Water Mirror Hall, where Shi Fenglan prepared their medicinal baths and Jiang Beiran processed the ingredients to preserve their spiritual power.
• Jiang Beiran returned to Heavenly Cloud Peak and met Sect Master Lu, who asked about his friction with a subordinate clan of the Thunderclap Sect.
• Jiang Beiran told Lu Yinlong that he had returned with confidence he could make Lulin County Feng Province’s largest county by population and needed the Sect Master’s help with a few matters.

Jiang Beiran presented his plans for developing Lulin County to Lu Yinlong, then met with the sect’s officials and won their support for carrying them out. Meanwhile, Lin Yuyan’s unstable aura frightened her fellow disciples, and Law Enforcer Ni took her to the Hall Master.

• Lu Yinlong reviewed Jiang Beiran’s plans and summoned White Fan Zhu Qiyi, Left Chancellor Gu Yi, and Right Chancellor Bai Anfu to discuss them.
• Jiang Beiran read Lin Yuyan’s letters and copybooks, then learned from Senior Apprentice Brother Lu’s letter that he had left seclusion and gone to Qiuyang County.
• Law Enforcer Ni sensed an ominous aura from Lin Yuyan, and her agitation polluted the surrounding spiritual energy, terrifying the nearby disciples.
• Law Enforcer Ni brought Lin Yuyan to the Hall Master after explaining what her aura had done.
• Jiang Beiran changed Sheng Kingdom’s morning court schedule to once every five days, and the ministers accepted his decision.
• Jiang Beiran explained his policies to Lu Yinlong and the three officials, who vouched for his plans, and Lu Yinlong ordered them to cooperate in carrying them out.

Lin Yuyan lost control under the influence of an ominous aura and left Ink Speech Hall, prompting Hall Master Ran to seek the sect master's help. When Lu Yinlong arrived with Jiang Beiran, Lin Yuyan immediately regained her senses, and the chapter ended with her agreeing to write to her father about the incident.

• Hall Master Ran questioned Lin Yuyan about possible exposure to an inauspicious object, but Lin Yuyan became distracted by thoughts of Senior Brother and tried to leave.
• Qin Protector blocked Lin Yuyan, who revealed glowing purple eyes, threatened him, and unleashed an ominous aura that frightened the people in Ink Speech Hall.
• Protector Qin reported the incident to Lu Yinlong, and Jiang Beiran chose to accompany him to Ink Speech Hall despite suspecting Lin Yuyan was involved.
• Lu Yinlong and Jiang Beiran found Lin Yuyan in Yaohua Garden, where she recognized Senior Brother and immediately returned to normal.
• Lu Yinlong sent Jiang Beiran away after the danger passed, and Lin Yuyan apologized before agreeing to write a letter to her father.

Jiang Beiran convinced Lu Yinlong that Lin Yuyan’s Mad Qi had erupted because she missed him, then promised to return to the sect every other day. After helping the sect’s leaders develop a major plan, he prepared to negotiate with the clans, while Lu Yinlong pointed him toward Lin Yuyan’s family.

• Jiang Beiran chose to tell Lu Yinlong that Lin Yuyan had feelings for him and that he had come because he feared for her, which satisfied the sect master’s questions.
• Jiang Beiran admitted he had avoided Lin Yuyan because he feared trouble, and Lu Yinlong advised him not to antagonize her; Jiang Beiran promised to return to the sect every other day.
• Jiang Beiran spent two days refining a plan with Gu Yi, Bai Anfu, and Zhu Qiyi, then volunteered to persuade the clan leaders to put it into action.
• Jiang Beiran asked Lu Yinlong to summon all the clan leaders for a joint meeting, and Lu Yinlong highlighted the influence of the Lin family of Punan Prefecture.
• Lu Yinlong asked whether Jiang Beiran had visited Water Mirror Hall, and Jiang Beiran confirmed that he regularly visited Shi Fenglan.

Jiang Beiran reviewed the powerful families tied to the Five Golden Flowers, trained Gu Qinghuan in forging, and considered how to exploit Liang Kingdom’s rival sects. Wu Qingce returned with news that Ten Thousand Jun had become a Dharma Treasure, and Jiang Beiran prepared to help him take a full-strength Thunder Flame Body Tempering Pill.

• Jiang Beiran realized that the Five Golden Flowers came from influential families and concluded that Liu Zijin possessed the Innate Three Yang Body.
• Jiang Beiran watched Gu Qinghuan forge Mystic Iron, praised his progress, and read his report on Liang Kingdom’s unstable politics and sects.
• Jiang Beiran planned to provoke Liang Kingdom’s sects into fighting over promised spoils and told Gu Qinghuan to finish his investigation.
• Wu Qingce returned with Ten Thousand Jun, and Jiang Beiran confirmed that the weapon had developed a weak Artifact Spirit and become a Dharma Treasure.
• Jiang Beiran reminded Wu Qingce to help stabilize Feng Province, assessed his progress absorbing a Thunder Flame Body Tempering Pill, and offered him a full-strength pill.

Jiang Beiran helped Wu Qingce survive the full-strength Thunder Flame Body Tempering Pill, reforging his body and greatly raising his potential. He promised Gu Qinghuan a Spirit Pill once his body grew stronger, then returned to the palace, where the Six-Tailed Fox tried to persuade him to train her by calling him her master.

• Wu Qingce agreed to take the full-strength Thunder Flame Body Tempering Pill, and Jiang Beiran used the Array Formation Room's talismans and spiritual energy to protect him through the transformation.
• Wu Qingce withstood the trials in his sea of consciousness, regained control of his body, and absorbed silver liquid as it was reforged.
• Jiang Beiran told Gu Qinghuan that Wu Qingce had succeeded and promised to improve Gu Qinghuan's aptitude after forging strengthened his body.
• Jiang Beiran returned to the imperial palace and gave the Six-Tailed Fox purple crystal ore to eat.
• The Six-Tailed Fox performed her abilities and offered to cooperate with Jiang Beiran in hopes that he would train her.

Jiang Beiran returned to the Imperial Study, gave Mu Yao a fabricated biography of Shangguan Wan'er, and let her review memorials. In the Imperial Garden, Deng Xianghan revealed how her father had worked with the Liang Kingdom to incite a war between orthodox sects and the Demonic Sect, then begged Jiang Beiran to save her family.

• Jiang Beiran left the Six-Tailed Fox and returned to Quiet Heart Hall, where the palace staff hurried to greet him.
• Jiang Beiran gave Mu Yao the first volume of a biography of Shangguan Wan'er, then assigned her the remaining memorials to review.
• Jiang Beiran took Deng Xianghan to the Imperial Garden and asked her to explain her father's dealings with the Liang Kingdom.
• Deng Xianghan explained that her father had accepted Liang Kingdom resources and organized sects and Demonic Sect members to drive the two sides into conflict.
• Deng Xianghan said she remembered the names of those involved but had kept them as leverage to protect her family.
• Deng Xianghan begged Jiang Beiran to save her family and offered to serve him, ending with an awkwardly suggestive remark.

Jiang Beiran took Deng Xianghan’s whistle for contacting Liang Kingdom and considered his plans for Sheng Kingdom, but a Liang Kingdom youth suddenly entered the Imperial Study and attacked Mu Yao. Jiang Beiran revealed his strength, subdued the intruder, and turned his proposed alliance into a negotiation on his own terms.

• Deng Xianghan gave Jiang Beiran the whistle her father had provided to contact Liang Kingdom, and Jiang Beiran kept it while promising to consider her father’s situation.
• Jiang Beiran reviewed his plans to restore order in Lulin County, stir up conflict within Liang Kingdom, and seek cultivation methods and treasures.
• A young man from Liang Kingdom appeared in the Imperial Study, pierced Mu Yao’s shoulder, and demanded that Jiang Beiran cooperate with his kingdom.
• Jiang Beiran stopped the youth’s attack with one hand, startling Mu Yao and forcing the intruder to treat him as an equal.
• The youth offered three sixth-grade pills as an apology for injuring Mu Yao, and Jiang Beiran accepted them before asking how Liang Kingdom would guarantee its proposed alliance.

Jiang Beiran questioned Su Xiuyu, a Liang Kingdom envoy who had infiltrated the palace, and learned that he had come to negotiate cooperation. Jiang Beiran agreed to cooperate, but insisted that the arrangement would follow his terms.

• Su Xiuyu said he had used the Void Illusion Veil to bypass the palace defenses, and Jiang Beiran returned the Mystic Grade Dharma Treasure after inspecting it.
• Su Xiuyu introduced himself as Yan Siyuan’s final disciple of the True Origin Sect and explained that Liang Kingdom’s sects wanted to negotiate a new alliance after Deng Bo’s failure.
• Jiang Beiran pressed Su Xiuyu about the proposed benefits, and Su Xiuyu offered two Universe Rings of Spirit Stones and treasures as a show of sincerity.
• Mu Yao realized that Jiang Beiran was the mysterious person who had helped rescue her and returned to brewing tea when he called for her.
• Jiang Beiran agreed to cooperate with Liang Kingdom, declaring that the method of cooperation would be decided by him.

Jiang Beiran coerced Su Xiuyu into carrying a false proposal back to Liang Kingdom, then used Gu to bind him after Su tried to resist. Su survived the process, discovered his cultivation had increased, and remained under Jiang Beiran’s control.

• Jiang Beiran showed Su Xiuyu the cooperation contract, tested Word Spirit on him, and brought him to see the Six-Tailed Fox in the Four Directions Spirit-Locking Formation.
• Su Xiuyu mistook the formation and fox for an illusion until Jiang Beiran used Spiritual power to prove they were real, then instructed him what to tell his Master about Sheng Kingdom and Feng Province.
• Jiang Beiran revealed a Heart-Devouring Centipede and ordered Su Xiuyu to accept Gu, but Su tried to escape with three Mountain-Crushing Talismans.
• Jiang Beiran disabled the talismans, punched Su Xiuyu, and placed several Gu in his body while Mu Yao watched in alarm.
• Su Xiuyu endured a painful transformation, regained his normal appearance, and discovered he had advanced to the fourth stage of Mystic Spirit.

Jiang Beiran forced Su Xiuyu to become his covert agent by planting Gu in his body, then spared Mu Yao after she promised to keep his secret. Later, he gave Yin Jianghong the list and discussed Deng Bo’s fate and his plans for dealing with the orthodox sects.

• Jiang Beiran warned Su Xiuyu that Gu worms would control him if he revealed the secret, and Su Xiuyu pledged to serve him in exchange for help strengthening the True Origin Sect.
• Jiang Beiran sent Su Xiuyu away with a Ying Bee Bird as a means of contact, then confronted Mu Yao and asked why he should spare her.
• Mu Yao promised to hide Jiang Beiran’s secret because she trusted him and believed he would not harm Yin Jianghong, so Jiang Beiran agreed to let her live for now.
• Jiang Beiran gave Yin Jianghong the list from Deng Xianghan and asked about Deng Bo, learning that Deng Bo was already dead while his daughters would be spared if they behaved.
• Jiang Beiran told Yin Jianghong that his conflict with the orthodox sects had been a probe and explained his new plans, which made Yin Jianghong laugh approvingly.

Jiang Beiran finished securing the information needed to reform Feng Province, then told Deng Xianghan that her father could not return and promised to protect her family. At the Returning Heart Sect, the Five Golden Flowers believed Senior Brother had improved their medicinal baths and resolved to defeat Senior Brother Wu, while discovering their fathers were all coming to town together.

• Yin Jianghong departed after giving Jiang Beiran the list needed to complete the Feng Province reforms.
• Jiang Beiran punished Kong Qianqian and Mu Yao, then told Deng Xianghan her father could not return and promised safety for her, her mother, and her sisters.
• Jiang Beiran began teaching Mu Yao how to review memorials while the Five Golden Flowers returned from their medicinal baths.
• Liu Zijin and the others guessed Senior Brother had secretly improved their medicinal baths and vowed to defeat Senior Brother Wu.
• Fang Qiuyue, Liu Zijin, and the Yu Family Three Sisters realized their fathers were all arriving in town in two days and planned to ask Protector Yu why.

Jiang Beiran received Guan Shi'an’s Spirit Gathering Flag and learned he was to visit Moon-Veiling Sect, then checked on Wu Qingce’s recovery after the Thunder Flame Body Tempering Pill. As Feng Province’s affairs advanced, Lin Yuyan sought forgiveness, but the ominous force within her began affecting the wildflowers again.

• Guan Shi'an told Jiang Beiran that he had personally chosen the Spirit Gathering Flag for him, praised his role in pacifying Feng Province, and asked him to visit Moon-Veiling Sect in three days before his seclusion.
• Jiang Beiran found Wu Qingce recovered and able to stand, though Wu Qingce’s newly powerful thunder Mystic Qi accidentally blasted apart half the forging room.
• Jiang Beiran learned that Lulin County’s Clan Leaders would gather in Cangtao City the next day and told Lu Yinlong that Feng Province’s rebels had been identified.
• Jiang Beiran arranged the Clan Leader meeting with Zhu Qiyi, then returned to Blue Heart Hall and found no message from Senior Apprentice Brother Lu.
• Lin Yuyan apologized to Jiang Beiran, who interrupted her explanation and warned her to respect his bottom line; after she left, the wildflowers along the road began to wither as the ominous force escaped her seal again.

Mo Xia reunited with Jiang Beiran at Blue Heart Xuan and asked to play chess with him, while Jiang Beiran later visited Shi Fenglan and refused to keep the Bird of Paradise she had taken from home. The chapter ended with Yu Manwen joining Jiang Beiran and Shi Fenglan’s card game and asking to learn how to play.

• Mo Xia spotted Jiang Beiran at Blue Heart Xuan, watched him narrowly lose to Cheng Li Hall, and followed him to request a chess match.
• Jiang Beiran agreed to meet Mo Xia at midnight before heading to Water Mirror Hall.
• Shi Fenglan showed Jiang Beiran a Bird of Paradise and offered it in exchange for a month of games, but he refused and ordered her to return it.
• Jiang Beiran told Shi Fenglan he would still visit and play with her, then returned with her to the main hall.
• Yu Manwen arrived, asked about Jiang Beiran’s dealings with the Sect Master, and accepted character cards so Shi Fenglan could teach her the game.

Jiang Beiran began testing Mo Xia as a potential subordinate by playing chess with him and encouraging him to improve his cultivation. He then traveled to Cangtao City to receive local families as emperor, bringing Deng Xianghan and Mu Yao with him as the envoys began arriving.

• Jiang Beiran invited Mo Xia to play chess, recognized his rapid improvement, and arranged to meet him every three days.
• Jiang Beiran offered Mo Xia extra games for improving his ranking in the hall's monthly competition and gave him an Exquisite Chessboard.
• Jiang Beiran arrived in Cangtao City and inspected the luxurious guest house prepared for him by the local officials.
• The steward told Jiang Beiran that nearly all the local families had arrived, with only the Liu Family and the Li Family absent.
• Jiang Beiran appeared with Deng Xianghan and Mu Yao, and Mu Yao reluctantly agreed to help receive the visiting families.

Jiang Beiran met the clan leaders of Lulin County before presenting them with plans for land reform and economic development. The leaders worried about the scale of the changes, and Jiang Beiran began persuading them that the proposals would benefit the county.

• Jiang Beiran greeted the assembled clan leaders, including Yu Kang'an, and met the Yu Family Three Sisters, who tried to avoid drawing attention to themselves.
• Jiang Beiran visited the other reception halls and noticed Liu Zijin and Fang Qiuyue among the clan leaders’ daughters; Liu Zijin later reported his appearance to Liu Qinghan, who studied a painting of him in his imperial robe.
• The clan leaders gathered in the Council Hall and read Jiang Beiran’s proposals for Lulin County, raising concerns about how the changes would affect their businesses.
• After giving the leaders four hours to read, Jiang Beiran asked Yu Kang'an to voice his concerns; Yu Kang'an questioned the cost and scale of the proposed reforms.
• Jiang Beiran assured the clan leaders that the Returning Heart Sect’s support meant the proposals would benefit Lulin County, though the leaders remained unsure whether they themselves would benefit.