Recaps

Xu Qi'an helped defend the Earth Sect’s Nine-Colored Lotus, killed Qiu Qian, advanced to Fifth Rank, and returned the seeds to the people who aided him. Back in the capital, he learned more about Wei Yuan’s knowledge of the stolen Fate and began investigating Emperor Yuanjing’s records with Xu Erlang.

• Emperor Yuanjing sent Prince of Huai’s spies after the Nine-Colored Lotus, while Xu Qi'an learned the Martial Arts Alliance had gathered in Jianzhou and Daoist Jinlian waited for someone to arrive.
• Xu Qi'an returned to Yuezhi Mountain Manor with Yang Qianhuan as rival factions threatened the lotus, and he persuaded martial artists including Yang Cuixue to withdraw.
• After Qiu Qian maimed and killed Lingyun, Xu Qi'an pursued him, cut off his knees and head, and collected his soul before defeating the Left and Right Emissaries with help from Nangong Qianrou.
• Xu Qi'an learned from Qiu Qian’s soul that the First Chief Astrologer backed an old imperial bloodline seeking the Fate inside him, then Cao Qingyang led an assault on the manor as the lotus ripened.
• Xu Qi'an reached Fifth Rank during his duel with Cao Qingyang, but conceded after his Vajra Divine Art broke, and Luo Yuheng then defeated Cao Qingyang and took the lotus root and seedpod.
• Xu Qi'an returned Cao Qingyang’s soul and helped the Heaven and Earth Society distribute the lotus seeds, receiving two for himself before departing Jianzhou.
• Xu Qi'an awakened his black-and-gold saber with a lotus seed, named it Peace, and heard the Martial Arts Alliance ancestor warn him to honor his vow and seek the second rank.
• Back in the capital, Xu Qi'an learned Wei Yuan knew the Fate had been stolen and Shenshu was inside him, then visited Mu Nanzhi and reviewed Emperor Yuanjing’s records with Xu Erlang, who found something wrong with them.

Xu Qi'an rescued the Wang Faction and pursued clues linking Emperor Yuanjing to concealed records, human trafficking, and Hengyuan's disappearance. As Wei Yuan prepared a campaign against the Shaman God Cult, Xu Qi'an defeated the northern delegation's scholarly challenge and learned that Xu Xinnian would accompany the army.

• Xu Qi'an supplied Duke Cao's secret letters through Xu Xinnian, forcing Emperor Yuanjing to halt the attack on the Wang Faction.
• Xu Qi'an gained access to Ministry of Personnel archives and found a missing scholar's name among records connected to Su Hang.
• Xu Qi'an redeemed Fuxiang before she danced for him and died in his arms.
• Xu Qi'an decoded Fuxiang's stories and linked Emperor Yuanjing to Earl Pingyuan's trafficking organization after the Prince of Huai's spies abducted Hengyuan.
• Xu Qi'an learned that people vested with Fate could not attain immortality and discovered that the late emperor had sought contact with the Earth Sect.
• Xu Xinnian presented Xu Qi'an's Sun Tzu's Art of War at the literary gathering, compelling Peiman Xilou to concede defeat.
• Wang Simu visited the Xu Residence and mistook Auntie's straightforward behavior for concealed authority, while Xu Erlang said he wanted greater standing before marrying her.
• Xu Qi'an advised Peiman Xilou to strike Jing's capital, and Emperor Yuanjing approved Wei Yuan's campaign while ordering Xu Xinnian to accompany the army.

Xu Qi'an investigated the Dragon Vein and uncovered the late emperor’s connection to the Earth Sect’s corruption while Wei Yuan led Great Feng’s campaign against the Shaman God Cult. After Wei Yuan died sealing the Shaman God, Xu Qi'an reached Yuyang Pass and faced Nurhejia’s advancing army.

• Xu Qi'an and Luo Yuheng entered the passage beneath Earl Pingyuan's residence, rescued Hengyuan, and found the bones of abducted people in the abyss.
• Xu Qi'an, Huaiqing, Li Miaozhen, and Zhong Li investigated the late emperor’s tomb and concluded that Emperor Yuanjing had replaced him after absorbing the Prince of Huai.
• Wei Yuan led Great Feng’s forces to Jingshan City, where he revealed his hidden martial cultivation and confronted Emperor Zhende and the Shaman God Cult.
• Wei Yuan invoked the Confucian Sage, climbed the altar, and sealed the Shaman God, dying in the process as Jingshan City was left in ruins.
• Xu Qi'an learned that Wei Yuan had fallen, received his letter from Zhao Shou, and flew with Li Miaozhen to Yuyang Pass, where the surviving soldiers welcomed him.
• Zhang Kaitai told Xu Qi'an how Wei Yuan had secretly rebuilt his cultivation after crippling it following the Battle of Shanhai Pass.
• Nurhejia led eighty thousand Yan and Kang troops toward Yuyang Pass, and Xu Qi'an cut down a siege tower with the Peace Saber.

Xu Qi'an avenged Wei Yuan by killing Emperor Zhende, only to be ambushed by the First Chief Astrologer and taken for his Fate. He learned that Xu Pingfeng was his father and that his family ties had protected him, then survived the extraction and returned to the capital as the political and personal fallout continued.

• Xu Qi'an defeated the Yan and Kang armies at Yuyang Pass, reached the Fourth Rank, and survived his wounds with help from Li Miaozhen and Yang Qianhuan.
• After learning that Zhende and the Shaman God Cult had conspired against Wei Yuan and Great Feng, Xu Qi'an reached the Third Rank and gathered allies to kill the emperor.
• Xu Qi'an killed Yuan Xiong and Zhu Yang, confronted Emperor Yuanjing, and pursued him to Southern Park, where he learned the emperor was Zhende and killed him with the Nation-Guarding Sword and Dragon Fang.
• The First Chief Astrologer ambushed Xu Qi'an, sealed his powers, and revealed his plan to reclaim Fate, while his concealment caused many of Xu Qi'an’s companions to forget him.
• Xu Qi'an recognized the First Chief Astrologer as Xu Pingfeng, who revealed that he was Xu Qi'an’s father and had intended to use him as a vessel for Fate.
• Xu Pingzhi and Zhao Shou tried to stop the extraction, but Xu Pingfeng refined Xu Qi'an’s Fate before the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox, Zhao Shou, and the Martial Arts Alliance’s patriarch intervened.
• The Superintendent and Xu Qi'an drove off the Colorless Dharma Idol Bodhisattva and wounded Xu Pingfeng, who escaped, while Xu Pingzhi carried the injured Xu Qi'an back toward the capital.
• The crown prince began stabilizing the court, Xu Qi'an’s companions learned of Xu Pingfeng’s plan, and the Superintendent told Xu Qi'an he had two important things to reveal.