Chapter Summaries

Xu Qi'an was brought to the Nightwatchers' yamen and questioned about the tax silver case and the Marquis of Martial Might's abducted daughter. After the Silver Gongs revealed that they had secretly followed him and witnessed his schemes, he realized their evidence was a test and learned that the Nightwatchers wanted to invite him rather than punish him.

• Two Nightwatchers escorted Xu Qi'an to the yamen for questioning.
• Li Yuchun and another Silver Gong questioned Xu Qi'an about Vice Minister Zhou, his movements, and the abduction; Xu Qi'an denied wrongdoing and concealed what he could.
• The unfamiliar Silver Gong read from a notebook describing Xu Qi'an's recent actions, revealing that the Nightwatchers had followed him.
• Xu Qi'an recognized that the Nightwatchers could have exposed him earlier, then confessed to everything to test their intentions.
• Li Yuchun explained that the questioning and evidence had been a test, and told Xu Qi'an that the Nightwatchers wanted to invite him.

Xu Qi'an joined the Nightwatchers under Li Yuchun after the Eldest Princess recommended him, choosing a boss whose principles matched his own. He passed the organization’s intelligence aptitude test in twelve breaths, impressing Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao.

• Li Yuchun explained that the Nightwatchers would recruit Xu Qi'an despite his low cultivation, and said the Eldest Princess had recommended him.
• Xu Qi'an rejected Silver Gong Sun’s offer and chose to work under Li Yuchun, who warned him to keep a clear conscience and offered to help him open the Heaven’s Gate for four hundred taels.
• Xu Qi'an completed his enrollment formalities with Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao, and agreed to join them at the Imperial Music Bureau that night.
• Song Tingfeng explained the Nightwatchers’ aptitude tests and presented Xu Qi'an with a logic puzzle involving two brocade boxes and truth-telling and lying clerks.
• Xu Qi'an solved the puzzle in twelve breaths, leaving Song Tingfeng impressed by his intelligence.

Xu Qi'an endured the Nightwatchers' Heart-Questioning Trial, where his refusal to bow before the sacred statues nearly marked him as irredeemable. He passed a secret sixth test by writing a poem about officials' duty to the people, and the clerk rushed to deliver his assessment to Duke Wei.

• Song Tingfeng explained the Heart-Questioning Trial and its aptitude ratings before Xu Qi'an climbed the tower alone.
• Xu Qi'an passed the Buddha, Dao Venerable, and Confucian School Sage without bowing, then struggled to kowtow before the sovereign while fighting the mirror's calming influence.
• The clerk revealed that Wei Yuan had created a sixth trial for anyone who passed all five floors without bowing, and led Xu Qi'an to a poem carved on a wooden platform.
• Xu Qi'an concluded the sixth trial tested whether he possessed a moral quality worth saving and wrote a poem condemning officials who abused the people.
• The clerk declared the trial over and hurried to deliver Xu Qi'an's work to Duke Wei, while Xu Qi'an asked Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao for a place to rest.

Wei Yuan reviewed Xu Qi'an’s recruitment records, rated him Upper first-class, and discussed his unruly outlook with Yang Yan and Qianrou. Xu Qi'an began the treatment for Qi Refining and asked Li Yuchun about the limits of the world’s cultivation systems.

• Wei Yuan reviewed Xu Qi'an’s background and test results, noted that the eldest princess had recommended him, and assigned him to Li Yuchun under Yang Yan’s command.
• Wei Yuan read Xu Qi'an’s words about the people and Heaven, discussed his views with Yang Yan and Qianrou, and marked his assessment Upper first-class.
• Li Yuchun had Xu Qi'an sit in a tub of Marrow-Cleansing Liquid to prepare for the Qi Refining Realm.
• Xu Qi'an asked Li Yuchun about martial artists and other cultivation systems, and Li Yuchun said a greater secret concerned their upper limits.

Li Yuchun explained the cultivation ranks to Xu Qi'an and opened his Heavenly Gate, only for Xu Qi'an to sense Qi and enter the Qi refining realm after a single cycle. Astonished by his apparent talent, Li Yuchun went to ask Wei Yuan about Xu Qi'an's aptitude grade.

• Li Yuchun told Xu Qi'an that the Sage, the Gu God, the Shaman God, the Dao Venerable, and the Buddha stood outside the nine cultivation ranks, and that martial artists had no transcendent rank.
• Li Yuchun explained how difficult martial cultivation was and warned Xu Qi'an that the painful medicinal bath would prepare him for the Heavenly Gate ritual.
• Li Yuchun circulated Qi through Xu Qi'an, who sensed it after one cycle and entered the Qi refining realm after completing three cycles.
• Xu Qi'an tested his new strength by striking a window from a distance, and Li Yuchun left the chamber wondering whether he had found a peerless genius.
• Li Yuchun went to the Righteous Qi Tower, where Wei Yuan said Li Yuchun was fortunate to have gained a talented man; Li Yuchun asked about Xu Qi'an's grade.

Li Yuchun learned that Xu Qi'an had earned an unprecedented A-plus aptitude rating and sensed Qi in a single cycle, while Xu Qi'an settled into the Qi Refining Realm and joined the Nightwatchers. Li Yuchun sent Xu Qi'an and his new squad to investigate a man-eating monster on Mount Dahuang, making the mission his first live combat test.

• Li Yuchun saw Xu Qi'an's A-plus rating in the household register, learned he had sensed Qi in one cycle, and agreed to keep the rating secret.
• Wei Yuan and Yang Yan discussed watching Xu Qi'an's progress without giving him special treatment, while Wei Yuan suggested the talent might motivate his adopted son.
• Xu Qi'an spent the day circulating Qi, felt his body grow stronger, and tested his power by striking the ground and cracking it.
• At the Xu Residence, Xu Pingzhi and the family worried about Xu Qi'an's absence until Old Zhang delivered his message that he had become a Nightwatcher and would not return that night.
• Xu Qi'an collected his Nightwatcher equipment and learned from Song Tingfeng that he would join his squad for patrols.
• Li Yuchun assigned Xu Qi'an and his colleagues to investigate the man-eating monster on Mount Dahuang and told Xu Qi'an to treat the mission as his live combat test.

Xu Qi'an and the Nightwatchers joined Capital Prefecture constables to investigate a monster preying on lime workers at Mount Dahuang. Xu Qi'an inferred that the monster was driving people away from something on the mountain, and the group set out with a new lead.

• Xu Qi'an, Song Tingfeng, and Zhu Guangxiao reviewed a sparse case file about a monster killing lime workers near Mount Dahuang.
• Xu Qi'an found that his silver fragment had grown heavier, while Li Yuchun discovered that three mace of silver were missing from his pouch.
• The Nightwatchers met Capital Prefecture head constable Lü Qing and learned that the monster's attacks had spread from the river into the mountains, where more than twenty lime workers had recently vanished.
• Xu Qi'an studied a map and argued that the monster's attacks were deliberate because it targeted lime workers but ignored nearby villages.
• Lü Qing concluded that something on Mount Dahuang mattered to the monster.

Xu Qi'an and the Nightwatchers searched Mount Dahuang for the Yao blamed for the lime workers’ deaths, but found no trace of it in the river or on the mountain. At a remote lime kiln, Xu Qi'an discovered that the site concealed a mining tunnel and identified the white ore as saltpeter.

• Xu Qi'an and the others tried to drive the Yao from the river with explosive charges, but it did not surface.
• The group searched Mount Dahuang and learned from Lü Qing that the lime workers’ heavy taxes had left them without a livelihood.
• Xu Qi'an proposed finding the headmen of nearby villages, and the returning constable brought back Zhang, the headman of Hegou Village.
• Zhang led the group to a southern lime kiln where workers had died, and Xu Qi'an spotted that its tunnel was far deeper than a kiln should be.
• Xu Qi'an crushed a piece of white ore and tested its powder in a torch, causing violet-tinged flames and recognizing the ore as saltpeter.

Xu Qi'an and the Nightwatchers discovered a saltpeter deposit on Mount Dahuang, but a powerful salamander demon ambushed them before they could report it. After helping his colleagues weaken the demon, Xu Qi'an killed it with an enchanted crossbow as it tried to escape into the river.

• Xu Qi'an identified the cave's mineral as saltpeter, and Song Tingfeng ordered the team to return to the capital and report the discovery.
• A salamander demon attacked Xu Qi'an, shattered his copper gong, and fought Lü Qing, Song Tingfeng, Zhu Guangxiao, and the others.
• Xu Qi'an regained consciousness, used Bone-Eroding Poison to aid the fight, and rescued Lü Qing from the demon's attacks.
• The demon fled into the forest, and Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao struck it as Lü Qing and Xu Qi'an pursued.
• When the demon plunged into the river, Xu Qi'an fired an enchanted crossbow bolt through its head and killed it.

Xu Qi'an and the constables killed the demon and discovered that it had driven lime workers away from a saltpeter mine, prompting Li Yuchun to suspect the Demon Race. After earning time off, Xu Qi'an joined Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao on a visit to Shadowed Plum Pavilion, where he intended to confront his humiliation.

• Xu Qi'an killed the demon with a military crossbow, and he and Lü Qing dragged its body ashore before questioning the village head about the abandoned quarry.
• The village head and villagers thanked the constables, and Xu Qi'an accepted their basket of eggs before the group returned to the capital with the demon's corpse.
• Xu Qi'an told Li Yuchun that the demon had driven workers away to claim the saltpeter mine, and Li Yuchun began writing after murmuring that the Demon Race was involved.
• Song Tingfeng and Xu Qi'an filed injury paperwork to secure two days off, then Song and Zhu Guangxiao reminded Xu of their planned visit to the Imperial Music Bureau.
• Xu Qi'an paid for a tea gathering at Shadowed Plum Pavilion, arriving there with Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao to wash away his humiliation.

Xu Qi'an visited the Imperial Music Bureau, where Fuxiang recognized him as the poet Yang Ling and invited him to her room. After returning home and learning more about his family’s progress, he awoke to a message on the jade mirror asking where he was.

• At the Shadowed Plum Pavilion, Xu Qi'an learned that scholars were searching for Yang Ling, the poet behind a celebrated plum-blossom verse, and Fuxiang appeared after recognizing him.
• Fuxiang invited Xu Qi'an to her room, where they spent the night together and discussed Vice Minister Zhou’s exile; Xu Qi'an answered her questions cautiously and recited poetry for her.
• Xu Qi'an left the Imperial Music Bureau with Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao, then returned to the Xu Residence carrying silk for his aunt and sisters.
• Xu Qi'an told Second Uncle Xu and Xu Xinnian about his recent troubles, and learned that Xu Xinnian had entered the Confucian School’s Self-Cultivation Realm.
• After Xu Qi'an returned to his courtyard and fell asleep, a message appeared on his jade mirror: “Where are you?”

Xu Qi'an investigated the messages appearing on his jade mirror and discovered that they came from a Daoist named Zilian, who identified the mirror as a magical treasure of the Earth Sect. The exchange left Xu Qi'an learning that the Daoist Order was divided into Heaven, Earth, and Human sects.

• Xu Qi'an ignored the first message on the mirror, then attended a farewell banquet with County Magistrate Zhu and his colleagues at Dawn Moon House.
• Xu Qi'an escorted Xu Lingyue home by leaping over a courtyard wall, then received the same message from Nine again.
• Xu Qi'an replied to the mirror and learned that the sender was looking for Senior Brother Jinlian, the old Daoist who had given Xu Qi'an the mirror.
• Xu Qi'an refused to give his name but told Nine that an old Daoist had given him the mirror.
• Nine introduced himself as Zilian, identified the mirror as an Earth Sect treasure, and explained that the Daoist Order had Heaven, Earth, and Human sects.

Xu Qi'an researched the Earth Book and the Heaven and Earth Society in the Nightwatchers' archives, then bound the mirror to himself with his blood. The mirror connected him to its other holders, and Number Six warned him not to trust Number Nine.

• Xu Qi'an agreed to return the Earth Book to Number Nine in exchange for the five hundred taels of gold Jinlian had charged him.
• Xu Qi'an visited the archives and learned about the Daoist Order, including the Earth Sect's pursuit of merit and the Human Sect's national preceptor.
• Xu Qi'an read that the Heaven and Earth Society was a semi-secret martial-world group with a history of helping suppress bandits, but found little about its current power.
• Xu Qi'an discovered that the Earth Book was an ancient treasure that recognized its master through blood, then smeared his blood onto the jade mirror.
• Xu Qi'an saw eight other points of light through the mirror's connection and received a message from Number Six warning him not to trust Number Nine.

Xu Qi'an learned that Number Nine could use the Earth Book fragment to locate him, but he distrusted Number Six’s warning as well. He handed the mirror over to Wei Yuan, who arranged to handle the planned exchange, and Xu Qi'an left the Nightwatchers' yamen mourning the treasure and gold he had given up.

• Number Six warned Xu Qi'an that Number Nine belonged to the Earth Sect and could use the Earth Book to pinpoint his location, then offered an address for returning the fragment.
• Xu Qi'an weighed returning the mirror, trading it for five hundred taels of gold, or giving it to the Nightwatchers, and chose to report it to Wei Yuan.
• Xu Qi'an told Wei Yuan how he had obtained the Earth Book and what had happened when he exchanged messages through it.
• When Number Nine asked about the trade, Wei Yuan told Xu Qi'an to set it for two hours later at Laurel Moon Tower, and Xu Qi'an sent the reply.
• Wei Yuan told Xu Qi'an to leave the matter to him, and Xu Qi'an left the yamen planning to soothe his disappointment at a pleasure house.

Xu Qi'an tried to understand the Earth Book fragments while relaxing at the Imperial Music Bureau, as Yang Yan pursued a covert exchange involving a jade mirror. Yang Yan defeated the Earth Sect elder’s body, but the elder’s Yin Spirit was trapped by a merit formation, and Xu Qi'an was summoned by Duke Wei the next morning.

• Xu Qi'an wondered how the Earth Book fragments communicated and speculated that the Heaven and Earth Society and Earth Sect were connected.
• A condemned Nightwatcher exchanged a small jade mirror for banknotes with a cloaked man at Laurel Moon Tower, but the cloaked man killed him and fled with the mirror.
• The cloaked man delivered the mirror to an old Earth Sect leader, who recognized that he had brought an enemy and killed him as Yang Yan arrived.
• Yang Yan broke the Hundred Ghosts Formation with his spear and destroyed the old man's body, but the old man's Yin Spirit escaped.
• The old man's Yin Spirit tried to enter a village, but a five-colored merit formation trapped it around an old Daoist.
• Xu Qi'an reported to the Nightwatchers' office the next morning, and a clerk summoned him to meet Duke Wei.

Xu Qi'an learned that the Earth Sect attacker had been driven away and that the saltpeter mine case might involve remnants of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons. That night, the old Daoist visited him, revealed the Earth Book’s connection to the Heaven and Earth Society, and invited him to join.

• Wei Yuan returned the Earth Book fragment to Xu Qi'an and explained that Yang Yan had driven off the Earth Sect Yin Spirit, while Nightwatchers would protect Xu Qi'an's family.
• Xu Qi'an learned from Li Yuchun that the Nightwatchers suspected remnants of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons were hiding near the capital and might be targeting Great Feng's gunpowder.
• Xu Qi'an went home instead of visiting Fuxiang and found the old Daoist waiting in his room.
• The old Daoist said his junior brother Zilian had ascended and gave Xu Qi'an the Number Nine Earth Book fragment, explaining that he had chosen nine people to form the Heaven and Earth Society.
• The old Daoist invited Xu Qi'an to join the Heaven and Earth Society, calling him blessed beneath a lucky star, and Xu Qi'an asked him to explain what that meant.

Daoist Jinlian explained that the Earth Sect’s leader had fallen to demonic corruption and that he formed the Heaven and Earth Society to kill him and cleanse the sect. Xu Qi'an accepted his place in the society, then introduced himself to its members as Chen Jinnan through the Earth Book.

• Daoist Jinlian revealed that Earth Sect leader Zilian had fallen to demonic corruption after karmic backlash and that he had founded the Heaven and Earth Society to kill him.
• Xu Qi'an learned that the Earth Sect leader was Second Rank and agreed to join the society after Daoist Jinlian described its members as future talents who could help one another.
• Daoist Jinlian left Xu Qi'an with the Earth Book fragment, and Xu Qi'an decided to rely on Wei Yuan while remaining wary of the old Daoist’s plans.
• Xu Qi'an entered the Earth Book’s mirror world and introduced himself to the members as Chen Jinnan.
• Number Six thanked Number Three for helping Daoist Jinlian, and Number Two asked what had happened while they were away.

Xu Qi'an used the Heaven and Earth Society’s mirror gathering to trade information while disguising his identity and probing the other members. The gathering ended with Number Six testing Xu Qi'an’s knowledge of the Confucian ranks, and he answered correctly.

• Xu Qi'an posed as an arrogant critic of government offices, leading Number Two and Number Six to suspect he was a scholar from Cloud Deer Academy.
• Number One revealed that he was in the capital, reported a hill pierced through east of the city, and asked Number Two about the bandit unrest in Yunzhou.
• Number Two reported that at least sixty thousand people had fled Yunzhou and that she had found deeper forces behind the bandit gangs she had wiped out.
• Xu Qi'an reported Vice Minister Zhou’s downfall and tested Number One, who instead revealed that he was investigating Xu Qi'an’s visit to Cloud Deer Academy on the Jiazi day.
• Daoist Jinlian said he wanted to know whether Subsage Cheng’s stone stele had cracked, and Xu Qi'an kept the truth to himself.
• Number Six explained that Warlocks had appeared only after Great Feng was founded, then asked Xu Qi'an to name the Confucian School’s second rank; Xu Qi'an answered that it was Great Confucian.

Xu Qi'an reflected on the Heaven and Earth Society before Wei Yuan investigated trouble within the Earth Sect. At the Nightwatchers' office, Xu Qi'an went to report to Wei Yuan about the events of the previous night.

• Xu Qi'an considered the Heaven and Earth Society's members and weighed the risks and benefits of dealing with those in the capital.
• Wei Yuan visited the female Imperial Preceptor, learned that she would not explain what had happened to the Earth Sect, and ordered Yang Yan to investigate it at any cost.
• Xu Lingyin boasted that she was invincible among her peers, while Aunt raised the prospect of arranging a marriage for Xu Lingyue.
• Xu Xinnian announced that he would return to Cloud Deer Academy to prepare for the autumn examinations, and Xu Qi'an promised to discuss Xu Lingyue's marriage with him and Second Uncle Xu.
• Xu Qi'an went to the Righteous Qi Tower intending to tell Wei Yuan everything that had happened the previous night.

Xu Qi'an told Wei Yuan about the Heaven and Earth Society and was assigned to spy on its members for the Nightwatchers. At the scripture repository, he chose the incomplete saber art Heaven and Earth One-Saber Slash.

• Xu Qi'an told Wei Yuan that Daoist Jinlian had invited him to join the Heaven and Earth Society and explained the Earth Sect's demonic corruption.
• Wei Yuan realized Jinlian might be seeking a secret alliance and ordered Xu Qi'an to uncover the identities of the Society's members for the Nightwatchers.
• Wei Yuan advised Xu Qi'an to choose a simple, pure saber technique and sent him to the scripture repository with Li Yuchun.
• Li Yuchun learned that the Directorate of Astronomy had recently supplied new supreme arts, including a fragmentary manual of the saber Dao.
• Xu Qi'an read Heaven and Earth One-Saber Slash and chose the art, drawn to its principle of concentrating everything into a single strike.