Chapter Summaries

Qi Yueli discovered and destroyed the Dragon Transformation Array beneath Prince Duan’s residence, exposing his collusion with the Northern Desert and the crimes of two other officials. When the Censorate presented evidence, the three men’s attempt to accuse Gu Yuan collapsed, and Prince Duan lost hope after seeing the broken Desert Flood Dragon Banner.

• Qi Yueli read Gu Yuan’s diary, found the Desert Flood Dragon Banner and Dragon Transformation Array beneath Prince Duan’s residence, and destroyed them.
• A Divine Master in the Northern Desert learned the array had been discovered and ordered a delegation sent to Great Qi under the pretense of congratulating the empress.
• Evidence of Prince Duan’s treason and the Minister of Revenue’s and Prefect of the Capital’s corruption appeared at the Censorate, prompting the censors to rush to the palace.
• Prince Duan, the Minister of Revenue, and the Prefect of the Capital asked Qi Yueli to punish Gu Yuan for killing their sons, but the censors declared Gu Yuan had done well and accused the three officials of serious crimes.
• The censors presented a chest of evidence, including the broken Desert Flood Dragon Banner, and Prince Duan collapsed in despair.

Huai'an learned that Prince Duan, the minister of revenue, and the governor of the Capital Prefecture had been arrested, clearing Gu Yuan of wrongdoing and earning him a promotion. As Gu Yuan prepared to confiscate their property, the Empress warned her court against further schemes and considered the Marquis of Pingxiang, Gu Ming, for the vacant revenue post.

• Xiaoyun told Huai'an that Prince Duan, the minister of revenue, and the governor of the Capital Prefecture had been arrested for treason, and Huai'an celebrated Gu Yuan's release.
• Shangguan Weiming delivered the Empress's decree promoting Gu Yuan to imperial commandant of the fourth rank, senior grade, and assigning him to confiscate the three officials' property.
• Gu Yuan suspected the Empress was testing him with the confiscation assignment and set out intending to behave like a corrupt official.
• At court, Qi Yueli warned the ministers to stop scheming and asked them to recommend candidates for the vacant minister of revenue and governor posts.
• Chancellor Du recommended the Marquis of Pingxiang, Gu Ming, for minister of revenue, and Qi Yueli showed interest.

Gu Yuan seized most of the silver confiscated from three households, but Qi Yueli allowed it and appointed Gu Ming minister of revenue, temporarily relocating the ministry to the Gu residence. On the road to Qi Capital, Lu Zhaoming learned that the empress favored Gu Yuan and that he should befriend him, though he was eager to test the reputed martial arts genius.

• Gu Yuan ordered Zhao Sheng to send ten million taels of the confiscated silver to the Gu residence and report only three million to Qi Yueli, then gave his own reward to the raiding soldiers.
• After Shangguan Weiming reported Gu Yuan's plan, Qi Yueli ordered the silver delivered to the Gu residence and told those seeking money to go there.
• Shangguan Weiming appointed Gu Ming minister of revenue and designated the Gu residence as the Ministry of Revenue's temporary workplace.
• Gu Yuan read Qi Yueli's diary and decided to visit the Bureau of Music to spend lavishly, while Qi Yueli stopped reading in exasperation.
• On Shu Ridge Road, Lu Zhaoming told his sister and Lu Ling that tomb robbers had abandoned his plan to kill the King of Qingzhou's heir after encountering a Ghost Master.
• Lu Zhaoming's sister advised him to befriend Gu Yuan when they reached Qi Capital, and Lu Zhaoming looked forward to meeting the martial arts genius.

Gu Yuan took Meixiang from the Bureau of Music as his sworn little sister after declaring that everyone was equal, alarming the officials who heard him. At the Gu residence, his family welcomed Meixiang despite Gu Ming’s objections, while Empress Qi Yueli learned of Gu Yuan’s words and resolved to teach him a lesson during their evening training.

• Gu Yuan invented a shared Shuzhou connection with Meixiang and asked her to become his sworn little sister, then publicly declared that everyone was equal and even the empress was an ordinary woman.
• Meixiang agreed to become Gu Yuan’s sister, and he took her from the Bureau of Music, promising to pay what she was owed.
• At the Gu residence, Mother Gu and Gu Shu welcomed Meixiang, while Gu Ming objected to her joining the family.
• Gu Ming warned Gu Yuan to act carefully and protect the family, and Gu Yuan assured him that everything would be fine.
• Qi Yueli heard reports of Gu Yuan’s remarks and his redemption of Meixiang, then decided to teach him a lesson that night.
• During their evening training, Gu Yuan activated his Vajra Indestructibility Body, and Qi Yueli unleashed a powerful wave of true qi to test him.

Qi Yueli worried that Gu Yuan might discover her identity as Lin Yao, then learned that the heir of Mozhou had disappeared after bandits seized his festival gifts. As the heirs of several provinces faced attacks on the roads to the capital, Xiao Chen and the Lu sisters fought off their assailants and continued toward the capital.

• Gu Shu treated Gu Yuan’s bruises with medicine sent by the empress, prompting him to wonder how she knew he was injured.
• Qi Yueli read Gu Yuan’s suspicion in his diary and decided to keep her identity secret, then ordered the Mystic Shadow Guard to investigate the missing heir of Mozhou.
• Xiao Chen’s carriage was attacked by masked robbers, and Hong Ni killed them all; Xiao Chen suspected the attack had been deliberately arranged and continued toward the capital.
• Lu Zhaoming and Lu Ling defeated the robbers who attacked their carriage, and the gentle eldest sister concluded that the attacks on the provincial heirs were a defiant message to the empress.

Gu Yuan was ordered to investigate the attack on the heir of the Prince of Mozhou and the theft of his tribute, while secretly intending to wreck the case so he would be dismissed. Qi Yueli used his thoughts to uncover the Heavenly Calamity Sect’s connection to the ambush and sent Shangguan Weiming to investigate the Orthodox Yang Taoist Order in secret; Gu Yuan then confronted the Mozhou heir.

• Dong Wuj iu reported that the attackers had left a ghost-marked token, and that the heir of the Prince of Mozhou had been found alive.
• Qi Yueli assigned Gu Yuan seven days to solve the case and threatened to dismiss him if he failed.
• Gu Yuan’s thoughts revealed that the Heavenly Calamity Sect had ambushed the procession to tamper with the tribute and that the Mozhou heir had been its target.
• Qi Yueli ordered Shangguan Weiming to investigate the Orthodox Yang Taoist Order secretly, without informing Gu Yuan.
• Gu Yuan kicked open the Mozhou heir’s doors and ordered his men to beat him for insulting the Mystic Shadow Guard.

Gu Yuan beat Mo Jiang, the King of Mozhou’s heir, until he confessed that he had come to the capital to retrieve the Mo Clan Mechanism Book. Qi Yueli covered for Gu Yuan while learning that Xiao Chen, the King of Qingzhou’s heir, was nearing the capital.

• Gu Yuan had Mo Jiang beaten until Mo Jiang confessed to seeking the Mo Clan Mechanism Book and assisting a hidden agent in the capital.
• Gu Yuan left Mo Jiang in the Mystic Shadow Guards’ hands and thought that keeping the mechanism book would disrupt the original plot.
• Gu Yuan met Ning Yan and persuaded him to go to the Bureau of Music instead of seeing Mo Jiang.
• Qi Yueli ordered medicine and gifts for Mo Jiang, then punished Gu Yuan by docking one year of his salary for injuring him.
• Qi Yueli learned that Xiao Chen was within a hundred li of Qi Capital and expected him to arrive the next day.

Gu Yuan used a system reward to craft powerful black stockings for Qi Yueli, who was shocked by their effects and thanked him. Qi Yueli began teaching him True Essence Weapon Manifestation, which Gu Yuan planned to use against the princes arriving in the capital.

• Qi Yueli learned that the princes were due to arrive in the capital and accepted Gu Yuan's plan to teach them a lesson as a way to buy time before war with Qingzhou.
• Gu Yuan collected black silk from Gu Shu and claimed a system reward, gaining The Exploitation of the Works of Nature, a method for crafting implements.
• Gu Yuan presented Qi Yueli with a pair of black stockings he had made and asked her to try them on.
• Qi Yueli discovered the stockings merged with her true essence, increased her strength by more than ten percent, and could be concealed or used to disrupt martial artists within ten zhang.
• Qi Yueli thanked Gu Yuan and began teaching him True Essence Weapon Manifestation, which he intended to use against the princes.

Huai'an went to the city gates hoping to see Gu Yuan as the heirs of the Nine Provinces entered the capital. Gu Yuan welcomed the Qingzhou delegation alongside Ning Yan, while the mysterious female heir of Ruzhou and Qingzhou’s Xiao Chen entered the story’s orbit.

• Xiaoyun persuaded Huai'an to visit the city gates, where she hoped Gu Yuan would notice her.
• Ning Yan discussed the provincial kings’ heirs and recognized that Gu Yuan’s planned challenge would send the Nine Provinces a message from the Empress.
• Gu Yuan told Ning Yan that the heir of Ruzhou was a woman, then saw Huai'an’s carriage and the approaching Qingzhou delegation.
• Huai'an went to have tea atop the city gate after Qingzhou’s arrival interrupted her chance to see Gu Yuan.
• Lü Luo identified Gu Yuan as the silver-armored martial arts genius, while Xiao Chen said he disliked Gu Yuan’s name.

Gu Yuan met Xiao Chen and learned that Hong Ni and Lü Luo were deceived into serving the King of Qingzhou, while a rivalry emerged between Gu Yuan and Xiao Chen. Lu Zhaoming challenged Xiao Chen, but his sister Lu Yunshu stopped him; after Lu Yunshu arrived and met Gu Yuan, Princess Huai'an hurried over, while Xiao Chen saw a chance to pursue her.

• Gu Yuan recognized Hong Ni and Lü Luo as survivors of the King of Qingzhou’s brutal deathsworn training and pitied them, puzzling Hong Ni.
• Gu Yuan and Xiao Chen exchanged distant greetings, and the system explained that Xiao Chen’s heavenly mandate made them natural rivals.
• Lu Zhaoming arrived by hurling his spear into the ground and challenged Xiao Chen, but a message from his eldest sister, Lu Yunshu, stopped him.
• Lu Yunshu arrived with Lu Ling and greeted Gu Yuan, while Lu Ling teased Ning Yan about courting her sister.
• Huai'an heard about Lu Yunshu and rushed down from the city wall to join the group; Xiao Chen recognized a chance to win the princess’s heart.

Huai'an arranged a martial arts contest among the provincial heirs, but Xiao Chen challenged them all at once and then tried to draw Gu Yuan into the fight. Gu Yuan revealed his True Essence Weapon Manifestation and declared that he would fight all eight alone.

• Huai'an asked Gu Yuan to arrange a sparring contest, and six provincial heirs arrived together to join Lu Zhaoming and Xiao Chen.
• Gu Yuan used his true qi to shield Huai'an from the heirs' powerful presence, and Hong Ni explained that his true essence martial physique let him manifest weapons despite his Sixth Grade cultivation.
• Huai'an offered her jade pendant as a prize for the contest, and Xiao Chen challenged the seven other heirs to fight him at once.
• Xiao Chen invited Gu Yuan to join the fight, and Gu Yuan pointed out that refusing would risk damaging the empress's reputation before agreeing to participate.
• After Gu Yuan manifested a long sword from true essence, Xiao Chen said he would fight Gu Yuan first and then the other seven, but Gu Yuan declared that he would fight all eight alone.

Gu Yuan defeated Lu Zhaoming and six other princes' heirs with ease outside the Qi Capital, then faced Xiao Chen, who remained confident in his fifth-rank advantage. As their final battle began, Gu Yuan hinted that he had not yet shown his full strength.

• Lu Zhaoming attacked Gu Yuan with his Cold Moon Dragon Spear, but Gu Yuan caught the spear tip between two fingers and sent him flying.
• Gu Yuan challenged the princes' heirs to attack together, and six of them joined forces while Xiao Chen chose to wait.
• Qi Yueli watched Gu Yuan's fight, wondered whether he would choose to remain by her side, and then vanished after threatening the Orthodox Yang Taoist Order.
• Gu Yuan defeated all six heirs in fewer than ten exchanges without moving from his spot, leaving Xiao Chen as his final opponent.
• Xiao Chen declared that Gu Yuan's sixth-rank strength could not overcome his fifth-rank cultivation, but Gu Yuan replied that he had not yet reached his limit.

Gu Yuan defeated Xiao Chen despite his Heavenly Martial Physique, revealing a power that could control others’ true essence and even repel a third-rank fighter. After ending the reception, he left the heirs in Ning Yan’s care and went to rest in Huai'an’s carriage.

• Gu Yuan took Xiao Chen’s White Tiger attack head-on and mocked him before knocking him senseless with a punch.
• Xiao Chen summoned his Heavenly Martial Clone, but Gu Yuan activated the Martial God Physique and shattered the clone with one blow.
• Gu Yuan overwhelmed Xiao Chen, then struck Lü Luo away when she tried to intervene.
• Gu Yuan declared the reception over and asked Ning Yan to escort the provincial heirs into the city.
• Huai'an offered Gu Yuan a jade pendant and permission to use her carriage, where he lay down to rest.

Xiao Chen punished Hong Ni after his defeat, while Lu Yunshu arranged for her to be healed. Gu Yuan woke in Huai'an’s lap and promised to visit her, as a thunderstorm erupted over the Orthodox Yang Taoist Order, where Qi Yueli demanded the truth about its stolen Heaven-Deceiving Cover.

• Xiao Chen ordered Lü Luo to strike Hong Ni, leaving her badly injured, then entered the city with Lü Luo.
• Lu Yunshu sent Lu Ling to heal Hong Ni, and the visiting provincial heirs accepted Gu Yuan’s strength.
• Gu Yuan woke with his head in Huai'an’s lap, promised to visit her, and saw lightning flash over the Qi Capital after he began swearing an oath.
• Qi Yueli confronted seven Orthodox Yang Taoist Order elders over the Heaven-Deceiving Cover, but they claimed it had been stolen years earlier.
• Qi Yueli used Gu Yuan’s black-stockings artifact to disrupt the Heavenly Dipper Grand Formation, destroyed its core, and threatened to destroy the Orthodox Yang Taoist Order if the elders lied again.

Qi Yueli took the Orthodox Yang Sword from the Orthodox Yang Taoist Order after learning that Ren Rumo had borrowed the Heaven-Deceiving Cover, then promoted Gu Yuan to Mystic Shadow Guard commander. Reading Gu Yuan’s diary, she discovered he planned to rebel and gather provincial allies, so she summoned him to the palace and resolved to send him to suppress the rebels.

• Daoist Zhenyi told Qi Yueli that Ren Rumo had taken the Heaven-Deceiving Cover three years earlier with an edict from the late emperor, and Qi Yueli took the Orthodox Yang Sword from the temple.
• Zhenyi told the Taoists to cultivate behind closed doors, explaining that the Heavenly Calamity Sect had been a disposable pawn.
• Shangguan Weiming reported that Gu Yuan had defeated the provincial heirs and driven back a third-rank expert, and Qi Yueli appointed him a Mystic Shadow Guard commander.
• Qi Yueli read Gu Yuan’s diary and learned he intended to rebel, win over the kings of Mozhou, Shuzhou, and Ruzhou, and exploit a conflict between Qingzhou and the empress.
• Qi Yueli summoned Gu Yuan to the palace and decided to send him to suppress the rebels.

Gu Yuan was promoted to commander of the Mystic Shadow Guard and ordered by Qi Yueli to hunt down the bandits who attacked the Heir of Mozhou and recover the festival gifts. He gathered allies and supplies before setting out, with Qi Yueli giving him a tracking mirror and promising to help him advance when he returned.

• Qi Yueli promoted Gu Yuan and gave him the Orthodox Yang Sword, ordering him to hunt the bandits with Shangguan Weiming and Dong Wuj iu.
• Lu Zhaoming and Lu Ling arrived at the Gu residence to join the expedition after Lu Yunshu guessed the empress wanted Gu Yuan out of Qi Capital.
• Gu Yuan told Gu Shu to accept any gifts visitors brought and warned Meixiang to avoid people from Qingzhou while he was away.
• Qi Yueli visited Gu Yuan, gave him the Cloud-Peering Mirror, and said she would help him refine his sinews and bones when he returned.

Xiao Ye dismissed concerns about Gu Yuan and learned that the Northern Desert would send an envoy delegation to Qi Capital, while Gu Yuan and his companions followed a trace to Nine Geese Village. After entering the suspicious village in disguise, they realized someone had released a knockout drug into their room.

• Xiao Ye’s adviser assured him that Gu Yuan’s rise and the Qingzhou heir apparent’s defeat would not disrupt their plans, then urged him to use the Northern Desert delegation to present the empress with a grand gift.
• As Gu Yuan and his companions departed, someone told Hong Ni to meet at Mount Mangdang that night to learn the truth about her family’s murder.
• The Cloud-Peering Mirror led Gu Yuan, Shangguan Weiming, Lu Zhaoming, and Lu Ling toward Nine Geese Mountain, where Gu Yuan recognized the location of the Heavenly Calamity Sect’s headquarters.
• Disguised as traveling merchants, the four persuaded an old man to let them stay in Nine Geese Village, despite the village’s rule against hosting outsiders.
• After the old man left them in his home, sandalwood smoke spread through the room, and Lu Ling identified it as a knockout drug.

Gu Yuan and his companions escaped the villagers’ attempt to use them as sacrifices and learned that Nine Geese Village had been offering people to its mountain god for two years. After Lu Ling discovered that Zhu Laosi was dying from evil corruption, Gu Yuan killed him for revealing the villagers’ plans to sacrifice children.

• The villagers drugged Gu Yuan and his companions, tied them up, and prepared to offer them to the mountain god, but Gu Yuan pretended to be unconscious and escaped his cellar.
• Gu Yuan reunited with Lu Zhaoming and Shangguan Weiming, then found Lu Ling beating Zhu Laosi in a hut after he had tried to assault her.
• Gu Yuan threatened Zhu Laosi and asked him about the mountain god and the sacrifices; Lu Ling examined him and found that evil corruption had left him with at most ten days to live.
• Zhu Laosi revealed that villagers had sacrificed passersby for two years and planned to offer a baby girl and a three-year-old child if no outsiders had arrived.
• Gu Yuan condemned Zhu Laosi for the children’s deaths and stomped him to death.

Gu Yuan and his companions chose to confront the mountain god of Nine Geese Mountain rather than risk it sacrificing more children, and they prepared an ambush with the Mystic Shadow Guard. As the mountain god arrived at Nine Geese Village’s altar, Gu Yuan struck with the Orthodox Yang Sword, and the guards surrounded the creature and villagers.

• Lu Ling suspected the mountain god was an evil entity being raised with human sacrifices, and Gu Yuan vowed to kill it despite the risk to their mission.
• Lu Ling, Lu Zhaoming, and Shangguan Weiming agreed to help Gu Yuan, who ordered Shangguan to position the Mystic Shadow Guard around the village.
• Gu Yuan revealed that the Orthodox Yang Sword was highly effective against evil entities, while Lu Zhaoming asked him to forge a dharma sword.
• Qi Yueli worried that Gu Yuan was in danger, entered seclusion by decree, and used the Cloud-Peering Mirror to seek him out.
• The villagers gathered at the altar with child sacrifices, and the mountain god arrived in a cloud of black mist.
• Gu Yuan attacked with the Orthodox Yang Sword, injuring the mountain god, as the Mystic Shadow Guard surrounded the altar and villagers.

Gu Yuan fought the black mist in Nine Geese Village until it overwhelmed his mind and trapped him in a tempting vision of imperial power and pleasure. He recognized a mysterious black book marked with the word “Immortality,” leaving him with a clue to the illusion.

• The black mist incited the villagers to attack, and Gu Yuan ordered the Mystic Shadow Guard to kill those corrupted by the evil presence.
• Gu Yuan refused the black mist’s offer to retreat, but it spread rapidly and caused everything to go black.
• Gu Yuan awoke in a vision as the empress’s imperial consort and learned that the King of Shuzhou planned to send the Lu siblings into the palace.
• Qi Yueli offered to pass the throne to Gu Yuan and let him take the Lu siblings into his harem, but a black book fell from her clothes.
• Gu Yuan opened the book despite Qi Yueli’s objections and discovered that its pages contained the word “Immortality.”