Chapter Summaries

Wang Simu passed Xu Qi'an information about the officials behind Xu Xinnian’s examination-fraud case, and Wei Yuan confirmed the plot was tied to attempts to obtain Xu Qi'an’s Vajra Divine Art. As Xu Xinnian faced a rigged interrogation, Xu Qi'an prepared to confront the case at court alongside Huaiqing and Lin'an.

• Wang Simu brought fish soup to Wang Zhenwen and Qian Qingshu, then learned details of the plot against Xu Xinnian and sent them to Xu Qi'an in a secret note.
• Xu Qi'an verified Wang Simu’s information with Wei Yuan and learned that Duke Cao and Chu Xianglong were targeting him for the Vajra Divine Art; Chu Xianglong offered to lessen Xu Xinnian’s punishment in exchange for its secrets.
• Rumors ruined Xu Xinnian’s public reputation, but at his interrogation he used a crude written parody to anger the vice minister of punishments, while the Directorate of Astronomy’s arcanist confirmed Xu Xinnian was telling the truth.
• Minister Sun pressured the deputy prefect and Prefect Chen to obtain evidence of Xu Xinnian’s guilt, and Prefect Chen ordered Lü Qing to discreetly alert Xu Qi'an.
• At dawn, Xu Qi'an approached the court with Huaiqing and Lin'an and said his chances were fifty-fifty.

Xu Qi'an’s plan turned the court’s attack on Xu Xinnian into a confrontation between civil officials and hereditary nobles, and Xu Xinnian cleared his name by composing a poem before Emperor Yuanjing. After court dismissed, Xu Qi'an confronted the assembled ministers at the Meridian Gate and left them stunned with a contemptuous taunt.

• Minister Sun accused Xu Xinnian and Grand Academician Zhao Tingfang of examination fraud, while Zhang Xingying accused Sun Min of extracting confessions through torture.
• Duke Cao unexpectedly argued against harsh punishment, and Prince Yu demanded a joint reinvestigation involving the Nightwatchers, invoking the wrongful death of Pingyang.
• Grand Secretary Wang proposed that Xu Xinnian compose a poem before the emperor, and Emperor Yuanjing summoned him and set the topic of loyalty to the sovereign and service to the country.
• Xu Xinnian recited a poem about battle and repaying the emperor’s favor, winning Emperor Yuanjing’s praise and a promise of entry to the Hanlin Academy if he placed in the second class.
• After court dismissed, Xu Qi'an stood alone at the Meridian Gate, spat out a contemptuous line toward the ministers, and walked away.

Xu Qi'an humiliated the court officials with a satirical verse at the Meridian Gate, then worked to turn public opinion in Xu Xinnian’s favor before the palace examination. The chapter ended with Lina asking to take Xu Lingyin as her disciple.

• Xu Qi'an mocked the officials at the Meridian Gate with a verse, while Wei Yuan and Emperor Yuanjing reacted with amusement and ordered the incident recorded in the histories.
• Huaiqing, Lin'an, Chu Yuanzhen, Wang Simu, and Yang Qianhuan heard about Xu Qi'an’s actions and praised his talent and audacity.
• Xu Qi'an asked Fuxiang and other courtesans to spread news of the court proceedings to help reverse public opinion about Xu Xinnian’s examination fraud case.
• Xu Qi'an considered his promises to Prince Yu and Duke Cao and planned to deliver the benefits he had offered.
• At dinner, Lina announced that she wanted to take Xu Lingyin as her disciple, startling the Xu family.

Lina persuaded the Xu family to let her teach Xu Lingyin Strength Gu, while Xu Qi'an fulfilled his promise to Chu Xianglong and went to the Prince of Huai's Residence. There, Chu Xianglong questioned the veiled princess consort about her unexplained disappearances just as Xu Qi'an arrived.

• Lina explained that Xu Lingyin's strength, sturdy bones, and huge appetite made her a rare talent for cultivating Strength Gu, and Xu Pingzhi agreed to let Lina teach her.
• An orange cat delivered the unconscious Sun family's young master to the Sun residence, where Minister Sun learned he had been whipped and angrily accused someone of breaking a promise.
• Xu Qi'an told Wei Yuan how he had compromised with Prince Yu and Duke Cao, then learned that his salary had been withheld for this month and next.
• Wei Yuan told Xu Qi'an that the Prince Who Guards the North's deputy general had returned to the capital to request military supplies and pay.
• Xu Qi'an rode to the Prince of Huai's Residence to meet Chu Xianglong, while Chu questioned the veiled princess consort about her disappearances and said he would escort her north to the prince.
• A guard announced Xu Qi'an's arrival, and the princess consort wondered what he was doing at the residence.

Xu Qi'an handed Chu Xianglong a stone Buddha statue containing the Vajra Divine Art, and Chu Xianglong suffered severe Qi deviation when he tried to study it. The Consort of the Prince Who Guards the North welcomed Chu Xianglong’s injuries, while Li Miaozhen and Susu continued toward the capital and sensed blood nearby.

• Xu Qi'an gave Chu Xianglong the stone Buddha statue, then met the veiled Consort of the Prince Who Guards the North, who threw gold at him.
• Chu Xianglong used his bronze talisman to study the statue, triggered violent Qi in his body, and collapsed with severe injuries.
• The consort learned that Chu Xianglong had suffered Qi deviation and was pleased when told the Buddha statue might have caused it.
• Li Miaozhen and Susu traveled toward the capital, argued about Susu’s hopes of meeting Song Qing, and Li Miaozhen detected the smell of blood ahead.

Li Miaozhen entered the capital after discovering a murdered man whose damaged ghost repeated a warning about a bloodbath over three thousand li. There, she learned Xu Qi'an was alive, confronted him at Daoist Jinlian’s residence, and threatened to reveal his identity as Number Three.

• Li Miaozhen summoned the murdered man's remnant soul, which repeated, “A bloodbath over three thousand li,” and she took the corpse and soul to the capital for investigation.
• Li Miaozhen entered the capital and was stunned to find a notice revealing that Xu Qi'an was alive.
• Xu Qi'an learned through the Earth Book chat that Li Miaozhen had arrived and agreed to meet her at Daoist Jinlian’s residence.
• Daoist Jinlian explained that Xu Qi'an had survived by taking a Rebirth Pill and entering feigned death.
• Xu Qi'an arrived and greeted Li Miaozhen and Susu, and Li Miaozhen threatened to tell every Earth Book Fragment holder that he was Number Three.

Xu Qi'an and Li Miaozhen sparred, then traveled to his residence and discussed the Daoist sects and the Heaven and Human Contest. Li Miaozhen revealed that she had discovered a silenced corpse and uncovered something major, leaving Xu Qi'an to hear the details in his study.

• Li Miaozhen attacked Xu Qi'an with her flying sword, but he caught it with his Buddhist golden body before their clash tore apart the room.
• Daoist Jinlian suggested Li Miaozhen stay at Xu Qi'an's residence, and she agreed so she could meet Number Five and ask Xu Qi'an for help investigating a corpse.
• On the ride to the residence, Xu Qi'an told Li Miaozhen about an ancient tomb and questioned her about the Heaven Sect's attachment to the Heaven and Human Contest.
• Xu Qi'an, Li Miaozhen, and Susu arrived at the Xu Residence, where Lina and Xu Lingyin were sharing water chestnut cakes.
• Li Miaozhen told Xu Qi'an that she had found a man apparently killed to silence him and learned something major from his remnant soul, so Xu Qi'an took her to the study.

Xu Qi'an investigated a headless corpse brought by Li Miaozhen and found evidence that the dead man was a northern martial wanderer carrying a message about a bloody slaughter. Wei Yuan took the corpse and its damaged soul to the palace, where officials debated the Prince Who Guards the North’s request for military supplies, and Emperor Yuanjing asked Wei Yuan for his view.

• Xu Qi'an examined the corpse and deduced from its calluses and lack of riding marks that the dead man was a northern bowman, likely a martial wanderer delivering a message.
• Xu Qi'an presented the corpse and remnant soul to Wei Yuan, who recognized the urgency of the message and took them to the palace.
• Wei Yuan warned Xu Qi'an that Li Miaozhen could face danger from the court and foreign spies during the Celestial Person Pact.
• Emperor Yuanjing asked his ministers how to provide the Prince Who Guards the North with military pay and grain, and Yuan Xiong proposed making the common people transport the supplies.
• Grand Secretary Wang opposed the new corvée levy, while Chu Xianglong and the nobles argued that the northern army needed supplies; Emperor Yuanjing then asked Wei Yuan for his opinion.

Wei Yuan warned Emperor Yuanjing that the northern frontier might be in grave danger, prompting the court to send an investigation north while continuing to gather supplies. At the Xu Residence, Li Miaozhen agreed to teach Xu Lingyin, and Xu Qi'an learned the history behind Susu’s family’s downfall as he prepared to investigate it.

• Wei Yuan revealed a dead northerner’s testimony about a slaughter across three thousand li, and Emperor Yuanjing ordered the corpse examined.
• After an arcanist confirmed Chu Xianglong’s account of the northern campaign, Wei Yuan and Grand Secretary Wang urged a thorough investigation, and Emperor Yuanjing approved an imperial delegation to the northern frontier.
• Li Miaozhen stayed at the Xu Residence and offered to teach Xu Lingyin, while Xu Lingyin tried to lure Susu toward a wok of hot oil.
• Xu Qi'an learned that Xu Xinnian had declined another invitation from Miss Wang to tour the lake because the palace examination was near.
• Xu Qi'an asked Susu about their agreement, and Li Miaozhen explained that Susu’s father had been executed in Jiang Prefecture during Yuanjing’s fifteenth year and that her mother had killed the household women, including Susu, to spare them from the Imperial Music Bureau.

Xu Qi'an helped Li Miaozhen and Susu investigate the Su family massacre and warned Li Miaozhen that people might target her during the Heaven and Human Contest. Xu Xinnian sat the palace examination, where Yang Qianhuan caused an uproar at the Meridian Gate, and afterward Xu Qi'an invited him to celebrate at the Imperial Music Bureau.

• Li Miaozhen explained that Susu's father, Su Hang, had been executed for corruption, while Susu's missing memories suggested something had happened before the family's deaths.
• Xu Qi'an promised to look for Susu's younger brother, Su Chengzhi, and advised Li Miaozhen to remain cautious in the capital until the Heaven and Human Contest ended.
• Susu revealed to Xu Xinnian that Xu Qi'an knew she was a ghost and had promised to rebuild her body before making her his concubine for three years.
• Xu Xinnian set out for the palace examination with his family and encountered Hengyuan and Chu Yuanzhen, who mistakenly believed he was Number Three.
• Yang Qianhuan blocked officials at the Meridian Gate and recited a line from Xu Qi'an's poem, causing an uproar before Xu Xinnian entered the Golden Throne Hall to take the examination.
• After the examination, Xu Qi'an met Xu Xinnian outside the imperial city and invited him to celebrate at the Imperial Music Bureau.

Li Miaozhen arrived in the capital and challenged the Human Sect to a duel with Chu Yuanzhen at the Wei River in three days. As the news spread and Luo Yuheng considered how to delay the larger Heaven and Human Contest, an orange cat approached Xu Qi'an with a request that left him suspicious.

• Xu Qi'an fetched Zhong Li from the Directorate of Astronomy and learned that Yang Qianhuan had been whipped and confined for reciting Xu Qi'an's poem at the Meridian Gate.
• Li Miaozhen flew above the imperial city's walls and publicly challenged a Human Sect disciple to exchange techniques and discuss the Dao; Chu Yuanzhen accepted the fight for three days later at the Wei River.
• The challenge spread through the capital, and martial-world travelers discussed Li Miaozhen's identity and stories of Xu Qi'an's deeds in Yunzhou.
• Emperor Yuanjing warned Luo Yuheng that the Heaven Sect's Dao Chief would threaten her, and she said the contest could be postponed if neither side won.
• An orange cat told Xu Qi'an that Li Miaozhen had issued her challenge and asked for his help, prompting Xu Qi'an to suspect a trap.

Xu Qi'an agreed to challenge Chu Yuanzhen and Li Miaozhen in exchange for an Azure Pill, hoping to delay the Heaven and Human Contest and protect his friends. As the contest began, the chapter followed several spectators and ended with Miss Wang learning that Li Miaozhen had been staying at the Xu Residence.

• Daoist Jinlian asked Xu Qi'an to challenge Chu Yuanzhen and Li Miaozhen to delay the Heaven and Human Contest, and Xu Qi'an demanded a treasure and an Azure Pill in return.
• Emperor Yuanjing failed to recruit Yang Qianhuan or the capital's young fourth-rank martial artists, while Nangong Qianrou refused because of his promise to Wei Yuan.
• Luo Yuheng agreed to give Xu Qi'an her Azure Pill after learning that Li Miaozhen's full-power sword strike had failed to hurt him.
• Daoist Jinlian gave Xu Qi'an information about Li Miaozhen's Heaven Sect abilities, and Xu Qi'an swallowed the Azure Pill before the contest.
• Three days later, Chu Yuanzhen set out for the contest with Hengyuan, who asked him not to draw his sword, while Lin'an and Huaiqing traveled to watch.
• Miss Wang invited Xu Xinnian to the contest, then learned that Li Miaozhen had been staying at the Xu Residence.

Huaiqing, Lin'an, and a crowd of officials and martial-world figures gathered at the Wei River to watch Chu Yuanzhen face Li Miaozhen in the Heaven and Human Contest. Just as the duel was about to begin, Xu Qi'an arrived by boat to the sound of zither music.

• Xu Xinnian told Wang Simu that Li Miaozhen and his elder brother had forged a close friendship during the Yunzhou case, and Wang Simu praised Xu Qi'an's talent.
• Wang Simu declined Lin'an's invitation to share her carriage, claiming she still had a cold, then admitted to Xu Xinnian that Huaiqing intimidated her.
• Huaiqing and Lin'an traveled to the Wei River with Nightwatchers and palace guards, where they joined a vast crowd awaiting the Heaven and Human Contest.
• Lan Caiyi told the crowd that Xu Qi'an was only seventh rank, prompting outrage among the capital's commoners, while Biaobiao defended him.
• Chu Yuanzhen and Li Miaozhen arrived by flying swords and prepared to fight, but zither music interrupted them as Xu Qi'an appeared on a black-canopied boat.

Xu Qi'an challenged Chu Yuanzhen and Li Miaozhen during the Heaven and Human Contest, enduring their combined attacks before falling into the Wei River with a serious wound. His body then absorbed the surging medicinal power and blood essence, and he emerged glowing with golden light, leaving the crowd stunned.

• Xu Qi'an arrived by boat and recited a poem revealing his intention to challenge Chu Yuanzhen and Li Miaozhen, who accepted.
• Chu Yuanzhen and Li Miaozhen broke Xu Qi'an's protective Qi shield with a coordinated attack and battered him with water swords and a flying weapon array.
• Li Miaozhen used her mental art to turn Xu Qi'an's sabre against him, breaking his golden body and sending him into the river with a deep chest wound.
• Beneath the river, Xu Qi'an's wound healed as the medicinal power and Monk Shenshu's remaining blood essence boiled through his body, covering him in brilliant golden light.
• Xu Qi'an burst from the Wei River and landed on the bank, astonishing the spectators as the golden light receded.

Xu Qi'an revealed that his Vajra Divine Art had reached minor accomplishment and fought back against Li Miaozhen and Chu Yuanzhen using Confucian spells and a Golden Core. After a fierce battle in the Wei River, he emerged carrying the unconscious Li Miaozhen, leaving the spectators to witness his victory.

• Xu Qi'an explained that Li Miaozhen and Chu Yuanzhen's attacks had helped him advance his Vajra Divine Art, and the two decided to join forces against him.
• Xu Qi'an used pages from a book to summon invisible wings and increase his speed, striking Li Miaozhen and dodging Chu Yuanzhen's attacks.
• Li Miaozhen trapped Xu Qi'an in a ghost formation, but Xu Qi'an used his Golden Core to destroy the ghosts and break the formation.
• Xu Qi'an reflected Chu Yuanzhen's Heart Sword attack, strengthened his Primordial Spirit with Words Become Law, and defeated him after whispering something in his ear.
• Xu Qi'an pursued Li Miaozhen across the river, used Words Become Law to pull her into his embrace, and fought with her underwater.
• Xu Qi'an emerged from the Wei River carrying the unconscious Li Miaozhen, while the spectators watched in silence.

Xu Qi'an won the contest after defeating two Fourth Rank experts with Confucian magic, then suffered its backlash and fell from the sky with Li Miaozhen. Chu Yuanzhen returned to Numinous Treasure Temple and told Luo Yuheng that Xu Qi'an had interrupted the Heaven and Human Contest, which had yet to begin.

• The crowd celebrated Xu Qi'an's victory, while Chu Yuanzhen realized Xu Qi'an had used his poem to help him abandon his plan to kill Li Miaozhen.
• Xu Qi'an flew away with Li Miaozhen, reviewed the costs of the contest, and collapsed when the Confucian magic backlash struck.
• Chu Yuanzhen returned to Numinous Treasure Temple and told the Human Sect's Daoists that he had lost.
• Luo Yuheng comforted Chu Yuanzhen, who explained that Xu Qi'an had defeated both him and Li Miaozhen and that the Heaven and Human Contest had not yet begun.

After Xu Qi'an stopped the Heaven and Human Contest, Luo Yuheng and Daoist Jinlian suspected that his rapid progress and hidden secrets were connected to the Buddhist Order. Xu Qi'an woke at home, reconciled with Li Miaozhen, and began questioning Lina about how she knew he collected silver.

• Chu Yuanzhen told Luo Yuheng that Xu Qi'an had defeated him and Li Miaozhen, and described Xu Qi'an's unexpectedly advanced Vajra Divine Art.
• Luo Yuheng and the orange cat discussed how Daoist Jinlian's Azure Pill had helped Xu Qi'an and suspected his secret was linked to the Buddhist Order.
• Emperor Yuanjing learned that Xu Qi'an had stopped the Heaven and Human Contest, while Wei Yuan heard the Gold Gongs' account and sent them disciplinary notes before heading to the Directorate of Astronomy.
• Xu Qi'an woke at the Xu Residence and learned that Luo Yuheng had retrieved his soul after it left his body.
• Li Miaozhen confronted Xu Qi'an about intervening, warned him that Heaven Sect elders might act, and promised to help keep the sect under control.
• Xu Qi'an asked Lina how she knew he was the person picking up silver and what else she knew.

After learning that Heaven Gu Granny linked Xu Qi'an to two thieves who stole something precious twenty years ago, Xu Qi'an investigated the clues and connected them to Great Feng's Fate and the Battle of Shanhai Pass. He ended his deductions with a sudden realization about the Tax Silver Case.

• Xu Qi'an coaxed Lina into revealing that Heaven Gu Granny identified him as Number Three and said two thieves had stolen something precious twenty years earlier.
• Lina told Xu Qi'an that one thief was Heaven Gu Granny's husband, who left the Southern Frontier to avert the Gu God's prophesied apocalypse and never returned.
• Xu Qi'an sent Lina away, and she took Xu Lingyin to Laurel Moon Tower before making the child practice her horse stance.
• Xu Qi'an wrote down clues linking the theft to the Battle of Shanhai Pass, Great Feng's Fate, and a mysterious Yunzhou arcanist.
• Xu Qi'an suddenly connected the stolen Fate and his own hidden past to the Tax Silver Case.

Xu Qi'an pieced together possible links between the Tax Silver Case, the Fate hidden inside him, the Gu God, and the mysterious sorcerer, then investigated Zhou Xianping and the Battle of Shanhai Pass. He concluded that he needed to become stronger and went to the Righteous Qi Tower to ask Wei Yuan for answers.

• Xu Qi'an reasoned that the Tax Silver Case may have been designed to get him out of the capital so the mastermind could reclaim the Fate hidden inside him, and he connected the Gu God’s prophecy to the Confucian Sage statue in the Extreme Abyss.
• Xu Qi'an realized Monk Shenshu’s presence inside him may have deterred the mastermind in Yunzhou and suspected the Superintendent had arranged for Shenshu to protect him.
• Xu Qi'an visited the Nightwatchers' office, read Zhou Xianping’s file, and learned the former vice minister had embezzled two million taels but died on the way to exile after only a few thousand taels were found at his home.
• Xu Qi'an set goals to increase his noble rank and reach the Fourth Rank, then reviewed records describing the Battle of Shanhai Pass as a conflict involving Great Feng, the Buddhists, and several allied enemies.
• Xu Qi'an decided to ask Wei Yuan about the Battle of Shanhai Pass and left for the Righteous Qi Tower.

Xu Qi'an reported his intervention in the Heaven and Human Contest to Wei Yuan, learned how to cultivate fifth-rank Transforming Force, and heard Wei Yuan recount the Battle of Shanhai Pass. The chapter ended with Yang Qianhuan emerging from seclusion and asking what had happened while he was underground.

• Xu Qi'an told Wei Yuan that Daoist Jinlian had asked him to intervene in the Heaven and Human Contest and had paid him with an Azure Pill.
• Wei Yuan explained that fifth-rank Transforming Force let martial warriors control their strength without wasting force, and described how comprehension became more important than resources after the fifth rank.
• Wei Yuan recounted how the southern barbarians, northern barbarians, Demon Race, Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons, Buddhist Kingdom, and Shaman God Cult entered the Battle of Shanhai Pass, which ended in a costly victory for Great Feng and the Buddhist Kingdom.
• Xu Qi'an concluded that the two thieves had helped incite the war and wondered why the mysterious warlock had stolen Fate, but he chose not to tell Wei Yuan that he carried it.
• An unidentified writer sent an honored master a secret letter predicting Great Feng's decline and describing Xu Qi'an's Mahayana Dharma teaching as an opportunity in the west.
• Yang Qianhuan emerged from five days of seclusion underground, dismissed a warning not to imitate Xu Qi'an, and asked the ninth-rank warlock what had happened outside.