Chapter Summaries

Xu Qi'an sought Huaiqing’s advice about protecting Xu Cijiu’s prospects after he placed first in the metropolitan examination, then left her a novel that she secretly enjoyed. News of Xu Cijiu’s victory reached Cloud Deer Academy, where the Great Confucians learned that his poem had secured the championship.

• Xu Qi'an visited Huaiqing and heard that Qingzhou could offer Xu Cijiu room to advance, though he decided to keep his younger cousin in the capital for now.
• Xu Qi'an gave Huaiqing The Domineering Empress Falls for Me, and she read it for hours before hiding it away.
• Lin'an became absorbed in Great Sage of Love's Heaven, wept over its tragic ending, and asked her maid whether Xu Qi'an was handsome and interesting.
• Grand Secretary Wang praised Xu Xinnian’s poem, learned that he was a Cloud Deer Academy student, and agreed to let Miss Wang hold a literary gathering at the residence.
• A messenger brought Cloud Deer Academy the examination results, and Zhang Shen celebrated when he learned Xu Cijiu had placed first.
• The academy’s Great Confucians learned that Xu Cijiu’s poem had impressed the examiners and helped win him the metropolitan examination championship.

Dean Zhao Shou and the Great Confucians were moved by a poem Xu Qi'an had sent to Cloud Deer Academy through Xu Cijiu, then argued over who could claim him as a student. The Xu Residence celebrated Xu Xinnian’s metropolitan exam success, while the Buddhist Order’s delegation arrived at the capital, prompting Xu Qi'an to prepare for his first encounter with its monks.

• Zhao Shou and the three Great Confucians read Xu Qi'an’s poem about Cloud Deer Academy’s hardships and resolved to carve it into the Sub-Sage’s Hall.
• Zhang Shen, Chen Tai, and Li Mubai argued over who had taught Xu Qi'an, and Zhao Shou learned that Xu Cijiu had presented his elder cousin’s poem as his own.
• At the Xu Residence feast, Xu Qi'an and Xu Erlang learned that Zhang Shen had been injured in a fight with the other Great Confucians, while Xu Pingzhi boasted about raising his nephews.
• Buddhist chanting and a golden light appeared west of the capital, and a commander struck the alarm drum as the soldiers and townsfolk were drawn into devotion.
• Monk Shenshu told Xu Qi'an that the Buddhist Order had arrived, and Xu Qi'an worried that its monks might detect Shenshu or hear his thoughts.

Xu Qi'an reunited with the Nightwatchers who had believed him dead, then disguised himself as a monk to infiltrate the Western Regions delegation. He entered their relay station just as its leader, Du'e, was away at the palace.

• Xu Qi'an learned that the Buddhist delegation had arrived and decided to seek information about Monk Shenshu, but the Supervisor declined to see him.
• Xu Qi'an and Zhong Li encountered the returning Nightwatchers, who were stunned to find him alive; Xu Qi'an explained his resurrection and revealed that he had become a Silver Gong.
• Xu Qi'an invited his colleagues to the Imperial Music Bureau, while Song Tingfeng first claimed he had changed and then asked to join the outing.
• Xu Qi'an bribed a relay station attendant for the delegation's roster and learned that its leader, Du'e, had been summoned to the palace.
• Xu Qi'an disguised himself in a monk's robe as Hengyuan of Azure Dragon Temple, and the guards admitted him to the relay station.

Disguised as Hengyuan, Xu Qi'an questioned Monk Jingchen about the Buddhist entity sealed beneath Mulberry Lake and learned that it was a supposedly unkillable Buddhist traitor. After leaving the relay station, he ran into the real Hengyuan, who went inside to meet the Western Regions delegation.

• Xu Qi'an visited Monk Jingchen at the relay station and claimed he had learned about the Mulberry Lake entity through the cases involving Henghui and Prince Yu's daughter.
• Xu Qi'an explained the linked cases and praised Silver Gong Xu Qi'an to deflect Jingchen's questions about how he knew so much.
• Jingchen revealed that the entity was a Buddhist traitor whom the order could not kill, and that its sealing at Mulberry Lake stemmed from a five-hundred-year-old agreement with Emperor Wuzong.
• Xu Qi'an left after concluding that Shenshu was more powerful than he had expected, then encountered the real Hengyuan and gave him ten taels for the Nourishing Life Hall.
• Xu Qi'an changed back into his Nightwatcher uniform and went to an entertainment house while Hengyuan arrived at the relay station to meet the delegation.

Xu Qi'an explained why he had impersonated Hengyuan to investigate the object beneath Mulberry Lake, then declined Master Du'e's offer to join the Buddhist Order. After Xu Qi'an left, Du'e questioned Hengyuan about his friendship with him.

• Monk Jingchen mistook the real Hengyuan for an intruder and ordered him seized, but Hengyuan broke free and beat Jingsi until Jingchen stopped the fight.
• Master Du'e returned to Three Yang Relay Station, heard Jingchen's account of the false and real Hengyuan, and sent for Xu Qi'an.
• Xu Qi'an learned that Duke Wei had docked three months of his salary and heard from Xu Xinnian that Hengyuan and a swordsman had visited the Xu Residence.
• Xu Qi'an told Master Du'e that he had impersonated Hengyuan to learn about the object sealed beneath Mulberry Lake, and Du'e offered to reveal more if he joined the Buddhist Order.
• Xu Qi'an refused to become a martial monk because he wanted to marry and have children, then left the relay station.
• Du'e asked Hengyuan whether he resented Xu Qi'an for causing the misunderstanding, and Hengyuan said he could forgive and understand anything Xu Qi'an did.

Hengyuan persuaded Master Du'e that Xu Qi'an was a kind man, while the Buddhist delegation began demonstrating its strength in the capital. As the indestructible Jingsi faced a Bronze Skin Iron Bone challenger, Xu Qi'an spotted an old acquaintance in the crowd.

• Hengyuan told Master Du'e that Xu Qi'an had helped the poor and risked his life to protect a girl, and Master Du'e decided not to make trouble for him.
• Master Du'e assigned Jingsi to challenge martial artists on a fighting platform, sent Jingchen to preach, and planned to meet the Director.
• Xu Qi'an treated his colleagues to a costly night at the Imperial Music Bureau, then failed to get Wei Yuan to reimburse the expense.
• Jingsi drew crowds by defeating martial artists with his indestructible vajra body, while Jingchen's sermons attracted listeners in the northern city.
• Xu Qi'an watched Jingsi fight alongside Chu Yuanzhen and Hengyuan as a Bronze Skin Iron Bone martial artist challenged the monk.
• Xu Qi'an spotted an older woman he recognized watching the fight from the crowd.

Xu Qi'an learned from Chu Yuanzhen how to infuse his saber with emotion, while the Buddhist delegation’s challenge to the capital escalated when Master Du'e summoned a vast Dharma manifestation over the city. The chapter ended with the golden Buddhist face demanding that the Supervisor meet him, as Xu Qi'an and his family watched in fear.

• Xu Qi'an recognized the older woman at the arena as the person connected to the earlier attack on him, then discovered she wore the bodhi beads he had once given away.
• Chu Yuanzhen’s stone sword failed to defeat Jingsi, but Chu Yuanzhen later taught Xu Qi'an to channel emotion into his saber, and Xu Qi'an succeeded after Chu provoked him into anger.
• Emperor Yuanjing discussed the Buddhist delegation with Luo Yuheng and ordered the old eunuch to find someone to stop Jingsi from appearing on the platform again.
• Xu Qi'an’s family discussed the Western Regions monks’ growing influence and the capital’s inability to defeat Jingsi.
• Master Du'e summoned a huge golden Buddhist face over the capital and demanded to know why the Supervisor refused to meet him, while Xu Qi'an and his family rushed outside in alarm.

A Buddhist Dharma aspect descended over the capital and challenged the Director, but Luo Yuheng destroyed it with a sword strike. A stronger Wrathful Vajra Dharma Aspect appeared and spoke privately with the Director before dispersing, leaving Xu Qi'an to ask Monk Shenshu what he had witnessed.

• Xu Qi'an, Xu Xinnian, and Xu Pingzhi struggled under the pressure of a Buddhist Dharma aspect that demanded to face the Director.
• Luo Yuheng summoned an iron sword and shattered the first Dharma aspect with a vast streak of red sword light.
• A stronger Wrathful Vajra Dharma Aspect appeared, forcing Xu Pingzhi and Xu Xinnian down while Xu Qi'an resisted and stood with his saber.
• Xu Lingyin emerged unaffected by the pressure and pointed out the immortal in the sky, while Luo Yuheng recognized the Wrathful Vajra and left the matter to the Director.
• The Director and the Vajra discussed Shenshu, the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons' remnants, his severed arm, and the Buddhist Order's request to borrow the Heavenly Secrets Disc for three years; the Vajra then dispersed.
• Xu Qi'an helped Xu Pingzhi and Xu Erlang back to their rooms, then contacted Monk Shenshu to ask whether he had seen what happened.

Xu Qi'an investigated the Buddhist Order’s history and learned from Wei Yuan that Emperor Wuzong had allied with the Buddhists five hundred years earlier to kill the First Chief Astrologer and seal an evil object beneath Mulberry Lake. The chapter ended with Xu Qi'an learning that Master Du'e and the Chief Astrologer had agreed to a public contest, though its terms remained unknown.

• Xu Qi'an told Monk Shenshu that the Buddhist monks had called him a traitor, prompting Shenshu to recall fragments of his past before sending Xu Qi'an out of his hidden world.
• Xu Qi'an and the Earth Book group discussed Master Du'e’s rank, the Buddhist Dharma aspects above the capital, and Li Miaozhen’s journey toward the capital.
• Xu Qi'an searched the Nightwatchers’ archives and connected Buddhism’s past presence in the Central Plains with Emperor Wuzong’s rise and the suppression of Buddhism.
• Xu Qi'an asked Wei Yuan why Great Feng had helped seal the evil object beneath Mulberry Lake, and Wei Yuan revealed the bargain between Emperor Wuzong and the Buddhist Order.
• Wei Yuan told Xu Qi'an that Master Du'e had challenged the Chief Astrologer to a contest of doctrine and magic, with the Heavenly Secrets Disc and the Vajra Sutra as stakes.

Xu Qi'an joined a street patrol that turned into an outing at an entertainment house, where talk of the Buddhist delegation’s challenge spread through the capital. The court announced a contest of magic between the Directorate of Astronomy and the Western Regions monks, and as the delegation arrived, the Supervisor sent Chu Caiwei to seek help from Emperor Yuanjing.

• Wei Yuan suggested several political marriages for Xu Qi'an, but Xu Qi'an rejected them and joked that he wanted the Emperor to grant him a princess.
• Xu Qi'an took Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao on patrol, then led them into an entertainment house, where guests criticized the court for tolerating the Buddhist delegation.
• A runner announced that the Directorate of Astronomy would hold a contest of magic against the eminent Buddhist monks the next day, and Xu Qi'an and Li Yuchun read the imperial notice.
• The Western Regions delegation arrived at the square outside the Star Observation Tower, while the Supervisor told Chu Caiwei that Senior Brother Yang could not fight because he had suffered Qi deviation.
• Emperor Yuanjing worried about Great Feng’s standing in the contest, and Chu Caiwei arrived at Numinous Treasure Temple to deliver the Supervisor’s request for help.

Emperor Yuanjing ordered Xu Qi'an to represent the Directorate of Astronomy in its contest against the Buddhist Order, while Xu Qi'an learned that the Superintendent seemed confident he would win. The next morning, an unknown woman joined Xu Qi'an’s family on their way to the contest and asked whether Xu Lingyin was a relative’s child.

• Chu Caiwei told Emperor Yuanjing that the Superintendent had chosen Xu Qi'an to represent the Directorate of Astronomy against Du'e.
• Emperor Yuanjing summoned Xu Qi'an and ordered him to do everything possible to win the contest.
• Luo Yuheng told a veiled woman that Xu Qi'an would represent the Directorate, and the woman reacted angrily to his selection.
• Wei Yuan reasoned that the Superintendent would not risk the Heavenly Secrets Disc unless he believed Xu Qi'an could win.
• Xu Qi'an told his family about the contest, then learned from Daoist Jinlian that the woman connected to him might be the veiled woman.
• The next morning, an ordinary-looking woman stopped Xu Pingzhi’s carriage, said Xu Qi'an had settled the matter of her sachet, and asked whether Xu Lingyin was a relative’s child.

Xu Pingzhi’s family watched the capital gather for the contest of arts, where Xu Lingyin charmed Wei Yuan and Master Du’e revealed the Buddhist mountain hidden inside his golden alms bowl. As the Directorate of Astronomy’s challenger, Xu Qi'an made a grand entrance and entered the bowl to face Jingsi in the trial of Ascending the Mountain.

• Xu Pingzhi brought his family through the guards’ passage to the Nightwatchers’ section, where Xu Lingyin approached Wei Yuan for food and impressed him with her courage and strong natural foundation.
• Master Du’e cast a golden alms bowl that revealed a hidden mountain, and Jingsi entered it to preside over the second trial.
• Wei Yuan and Yang Qianhuan explained that the contest required a challenger to ascend the mountain and enter its temple without converting to Buddhism, and that the Directorate of Astronomy had three chances.
• Xu Qi'an emerged from the Star Observation Tower, recited bold verses, and entered the golden bowl as the crowd cheered for Great Feng.

Xu Qi'an entered the Buddhist Order’s Eight Sufferings Formation and endured visions of a lifetime of hardship that nearly shattered his mind. He drew on the anger and resolve of the capital’s people to break the formation, but Master Du'e immediately announced a second trial, the Vajra Formation, while Xu Qi'an was exhausted.

• Xu Qi'an entered the Eight Sufferings Formation and relived a cycle of hardship from birth to old age, which tempted him to abandon his beliefs and enter the Buddhist fold.
• Monk Shenshu told Xu Qi'an that he could break the formation with the power of all living beings.
• Xu Qi'an sensed the capital’s people’s anger and answered their calls to draw his saber by channeling their emotions into a slash.
• Xu Qi'an shattered the Eight Sufferings tablet, and his slash cracked Master Du'e’s golden bowl, prompting the crowd to cheer.
• Master Du'e announced the Vajra Formation as the second trial, while Xu Qi'an sat exhausted on the stone steps.

Xu Qi'an broke Monk Jingsi’s Vajra Formation with a single saber strike after first challenging him to confront the suffering of ordinary people, and the capital erupted in celebration. He continued up Buddha Mountain to face the third trial, where an old monk began debating Chan with him.

• The nobles and officials debated Xu Qi'an’s chances, and Miss Wang suggested that Great Feng could send a high-ranked martial artist if he passed the first trial.
• Xu Qi'an rested before Jingsi, then challenged the monk’s understanding of human suffering and persuaded him to consider lowering his Indestructible Vajra.
• Arhat Du'e interrupted Jingsi before he could act, prompting officials and onlookers to accuse the Buddhist Order of interfering.
• Xu Qi'an drew on dormant power from Monk Shenshu’s blood essence and defeated Jingsi’s golden body with one saber strike.
• The capital celebrated Xu Qi'an’s victory as he continued up the mountain and encountered an old monk beneath a bodhi tree for the third trial.
• The old monk and Xu Qi'an traded questions about transcending suffering, until Xu Qi'an admitted he had been speaking nonsense.

Xu Qi'an sought a way past the Buddhist Order’s contentless third trial and used a discussion about Buddhist doctrine to expose its limits. He declared that Mahayana Dharma meant all beings could become Buddhas, leaving the monks shaken and one monk’s Buddhist heart shattered.

• Xu Qi'an abandoned his threat of violence after learning that the old monk was an obsession severed by Bodhisattva Wenyin, then tried to reason with him beneath the bodhi tree.
• Princess Huaiqing recognized that the third trial had no set question, allowing the Buddhist Order to reject any response and keep Xu Qi'an trapped indefinitely.
• Xu Xinnian insulted the monks to provoke them, and Master Du'e warned Monk Jingchen that his heart had become disturbed.
• The old monk explained how Buddhist vows determined Arhat or Bodhisattva fruition, and Xu Qi'an realized that the Buddhist Order's ranks and doctrine followed a different structure.
• Xu Qi'an called the Buddhist Order's teaching Hinayana Buddhism and argued that Mahayana Dharma meant all beings were Buddhas, challenging the belief that there could be only one Buddha.
• A monk lost control and rushed toward the crowd after Xu Qi'an's words shattered his Buddhist heart.

Xu Qi'an explained Mahayana Dharma to Arhat Du'e, leading him to sudden enlightenment and introducing a new Buddhist school of thought. The chapter left the Buddhist Order facing a likely split between Mahayana Dharma and Hinayana Buddhism, while Great Feng’s leaders welcomed the political opportunity.

• Xu Qi'an guided the old monk beneath the bodhi tree to enlightenment, and the monk vanished as the tree produced luminous bodhi fruits.
• Arhat Du'e demanded that Xu Qi'an explain Mahayana Dharma and Hinayana Buddhism before leaving the contest.
• Xu Qi'an argued that Hinayana Buddhism prized rank and self-deliverance, while Mahayana Dharma taught that everyone possessed Buddha-nature and could become a Buddha.
• Master Du'e achieved sudden enlightenment after Xu Qi'an declared that seeing one’s true nature was to be a Buddha, and the monks gained new insights.
• Emperor Yuanjing, Wei Yuan, and Grand Secretary Wang recognized that Mahayana Dharma could divide the Buddhist Order and benefit Great Feng.

Xu Qi'an mastered the Buddhist Order’s Indestructible Vajra but resisted Arhat Du'e’s attempt to convert him. When the Buddha’s power forced him toward his knees, the people of Great Feng rallied behind him, and a summoned carving knife helped him destroy the Buddha statue and end the Buddhist realm before he fainted.

• Arhat Du'e declared Xu Qi'an the winner of the third trial after Xu’s insights helped him understand Mahayana Dharma.
• Xu Qi'an perceived the Vajra Sutra’s mysteries, mastered Indestructible Vajra, and resisted the Buddhist conversion imposed by the Asura Heart Questioning trial.
• The Buddha’s manifestation pressed Xu Qi'an toward the ground, but he refused to kneel as the people of Great Feng shouted their support.
• The rosewood box at Cloud Deer Academy burst open, and a black carving knife flew to Xu Qi'an in response to the people’s collective will.
• Xu Qi'an used the carving knife to shatter the Buddha statue and the Buddhist realm, then collapsed while holding down his sable cap.

Xu Qi'an’s victory over the Buddhist Order restored the capital’s confidence, while Emperor Yuanjing tried to claim credit for it and the Hanlin scholars resisted. At Numinous Treasure Temple, Luo Yuheng learned that Xu Qi'an had wielded a Confucian carving knife and was stunned to hear he had touched it.

• The capital celebrated Xu Qi'an’s victory, and Xu Erlang carried his unconscious brother away with the carving knife still in his hand.
• Arhat Du'e regretted that Xu Qi'an had not joined the Buddhist Order, but accepted that the time was not right to bring him to the Western Regions.
• A tavern proprietor gathered accounts of the contest and learned that Xu Qi'an’s defiant poem was omitted from some retellings because martial artists feared repeating it.
• The imperial eunuch ordered Hanlin scholars to rewrite their history so Emperor Yuanjing received credit, but a compiler struck him and the scholars drove him out.
• Nanzhi recounted the contest to Luo Yuheng, who became shocked and urgent when she learned that Xu Qi'an had touched the carving knife that shattered the Buddhist manifestation.

Luo Yuheng learned from Daoist Jinlian that Xu Qi'an carried vast Fate, while Headmaster Zhao Shou revealed that the Sage's Carving Knife had awakened for him because of it. Xu Qi'an began to suspect the Director was behind his Fate, then went to meet a palace eunuch sent to question him about the contest.

• Luo Yuheng questioned Daoist Jinlian about Xu Qi'an, and he confirmed that Xu Qi'an possessed enough Fate to flood the heavens.
• Daoist Jinlian told Luo Yuheng that the Director had concealed Xu Qi'an's nature and warned him that well water should not meddle with river water.
• Headmaster Zhao Shou told Xu Qi'an that the Sage's Carving Knife had awakened because its wielder needed great Fate.
• Xu Qi'an considered whether his Fate came from the imperial family or the Director, and suspected the Director was involved.
• Zhao Shou told Xu Qi'an that a palace eunuch had arrived to deliver the Emperor's questions, and Xu Qi'an went with him to the main hall.

After recovering, Xu Qi'an requested a Vermilion-Written Iron Certificate as his reward for the contest of magical arts, and Emperor Yuanjing granted it. Xu Qi'an returned home that evening, where Xu Erlang summoned him to the study with a serious matter to discuss.

• Luo Yuheng rejected Daoist Jinlian's suggestions about dual cultivation and left after threatening to record his pastimes with cats in the Human Sect's chronicles.
• Chu Caiwei told Xu Qi'an that the Supervisor advised him to ask the emperor for a Vermilion-Written Iron Certificate.
• Zhao Shou explained the certificate's limits, and Xu Qi'an requested one from Eunuch Chen while crediting the Supervisor for his strength and Cloud Deer Academy for the carving knife.
• Emperor Yuanjing approved Xu Qi'an's request and visited Luo Yuheng, who reassured him that Cloud Deer Academy could have activated the carving knife.
• Xu Qi'an visited Wei Yuan, returned home for a family dinner, and followed Xu Erlang to the study after his younger brother said he had something to tell him.