Recaps

Zhang Xuezhou trapped Chen Zhang into betting his possessions against a gold ingot in exchange for learning Wei Shao'er’s background. Using the Person-Fixing Technique, he discovered Chen Zhang was inexperienced and that Wei Shao'er had deliberately arranged to meet him by injuring him.

• Chen Zhang asked the innkeeper about Wei Shao'er, and Zhang Xuezhou offered to reveal her background instead.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding persuaded Chen Zhang to wager his valuables against Zhang Xuezhou’s gold ingot.
• Chen Zhang staked his money, clothes, jade pendant, and sword, then agreed to the bet and signed a record of it.
• Zhang Xuezhou used the Person-Fixing Technique to inspect Chen Zhang’s memories and assess his temperament.
• Zhang Xuezhou saw that Wei Shao'er had arranged Chen Zhang’s injury to bring about a meeting with him.

Zhang Xuezhou helped Chen Zhang confirm Wei Shao'er’s name and collect their wager, while Wei Shao'er negotiated for part of the money to buy food. Chen Zhang became infatuated with Wei Shao'er and invited her to eat, and she accepted.

• Zhang Xuezhou told Chen Zhang that the woman’s surname was Wei, then went upstairs to ask Wei Shao'er to confirm it.
• Wei Shao'er said her surname was Jiang and negotiated for Chen Zhang’s two taels of silver and five hundred half-tael coins instead of Zhang Xuezhou’s ten taels of gold.
• Zhang Xuezhou learned that Wei Shao'er needed money for food and could not easily obtain the pills she needed for her condition.
• Zhang Xuezhou brought Wei Shao'er downstairs, where Chen Zhang became captivated by her and forgot about their wager.
• Chen Zhang asked Zhang Xuezhou to help him get to know Wei Shao'er, and she accepted Chen Zhang’s invitation to eat.

Wei Shao'er used Chen Zhang's infatuation to secure a meal and money, while Zhang Xuezhou advised Rong Tianding about women and introduced him to her. Wei Shao'er then revealed she had brought Zhang Xuezhou good news, though the chapter ended before she shared it.

• Wei Shao'er ate through the meal Chen Zhang provided, and Zhang Xuezhou ordered more food on her behalf.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Chen Zhang where to find a doctor for his injured hand, and Chen Zhang left happily after putting the bill on his tab.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding discussed how people could be deceived by women, and Zhang promised to introduce Rong to capable, wealthy women.
• Wei Shao'er took the money Rong Tianding had received from Chen Zhang and slapped him when he complained.
• Wei Shao'er promised to repay Zhang Xuezhou for her actions and said she had brought him good news.

Zhang Xuezhou decided to seek more patients at the West Market, while Wei Shao'er examined Rong Tianding and discovered his Technique Method Annihilation Armor had formed more completely than hers. She learned how he had endured its formation, but worried that she could not afford the Qi and Blood pills needed to sustain herself and her unborn child.

• Wei Shao'er left Zhang Xuezhou to treat Rong Tianding as Zhang set out to find customers at the West Market.
• Wei Shao'er examined Rong Tianding and found that his Technique Method Annihilation Armor was more complete and placed less strain on his body than hers.
• Rong Tianding explained how Origin-Nurturing Paste and Dong Zhongshu's Vast Righteous Qi Instruction had helped him recover his Law Power.
• Wei Shao'er realized she needed costly Qi and Blood pills to support both her body and her unborn child, but had no reliable way to obtain them.
• Wei Shao'er spiraled into fear and regret, while Rong Tianding took comfort in relying on Zhang Xuezhou.

Zhang Xuezhou tried to make money treating Chen Zhang’s hand, but Chen had no money to pay him. That evening, Zhang Xuezhou encountered Chen Zhang again at an inn and learned that his companion was the Marquis of Quni.

• Zhang Xuezhou offered to treat Chen Zhang’s reopened hand wound for ten taels of silver, but Chen admitted he had spent his allowance and could not pay.
• Zhang Xuezhou refused to lend Chen the money, and Chen left to seek another lender while Zhang waited for other customers.
• After closing his stall, Zhang returned to the inn and found Chen there with his elder brother, the Marquis of Quni.
• A servant demanded that Zhang kneel before the marquis, so Zhang turned to leave and claimed he had entered the wrong inn.
• The Marquis of Quni rose and swiftly appeared several paces ahead of Zhang to stop him.

Zhang Xuezhou faced the Marquis of Quni’s suspicion and treated Chen Zhang’s sword wound to prove his healing skill. The treatment convinced the marquis that Zhang had real ability, but the marquis began suspecting that Li Guang was connected to the attacks on several noble households.

• The Marquis of Quni confronted Zhang Xuezhou and demanded that he treat his arm wound, while servants watched him closely.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked for the dressing to be removed and the wound cleaned, so the Marquis of Quni agreed to let Chen Zhang be treated first.
• The Marquis of Quni ordered a servant to bring ten taels of silver, which Zhang Xuezhou accepted as payment before treating Chen Zhang.
• Zhang Xuezhou washed the medicinal paste from Chen Zhang’s wound and used his Technique to ease the injury.
• The Marquis of Quni recognized Zhang Xuezhou’s genuine skill and recalled that Tian Tian, Zhou Jiande, and the households of the Marquis of Wu'an and the Marquis of Pingqu had also been attacked.
• The Marquis of Quni suspected Li Guang, commander of the Weiyang Palace guards, might be connected to the attacks.

After healing the Marquis of Quni, Zhang Xuezhou learned that the marquis would not recommend him because his backer, Dong Zhongshu, had been driven from Chang'an City. The chapter leaves Zhang Xuezhou considering how to help Wei Shao'er, whose condition requires more high-level Qi and Blood Pills than she can afford.

• Zhang Xuezhou healed the Marquis of Quni, who paid him twenty taels of silver and asked about his prospects for an official post.
• Zhang Xuezhou named Dong Zhongshu as his backer, and the Marquis of Quni abandoned the idea of recommending him to avoid angering the Confucian School.
• After the marquis and Chen Zhang left, inn guests complained about being beaten by the marquis's men, but Zhang Xuezhou declined to treat them.
• Zhang Xuezhou found Wei Shao'er still in the private room and heard that she feared her condition was hopeless because she could not afford the pills she needed.
• Zhang Xuezhou said he could only stop Wei Shao'er's bleeding, while Rong Tianding suggested she seduce wealthy cultivators for pills.

Wei Shao'er abandoned her plan to rob people and decided to exploit Chen Zhang’s infatuation for money, while Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding discussed their own prospects. The chapter ended with Zhang explaining how Rong Tianding might gradually strengthen his Technique Method Annihilation Armor.

• Wei Shao'er asked Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding about bewitchment techniques and proposed wounding people so they could demand medicine, but Zhang refused to risk a feud with the Marquis of Quni.
• Rong Tianding suggested that Wei Shao'er squeeze Chen Zhang for money, and Zhang agreed that she could test how much the Marquis of Quni’s household would provide.
• Wei Shao'er said she would reward Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding if she survived, then slipped into the adjoining room.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding considered using their earnings to buy a house near Chang'an City’s wealthy district.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained that Rong Tianding’s Technique Method Annihilation Armor had extinguished his Southern Brightness Fire and suggested that eating fish with traces of flood dragon bloodline might help strengthen it.

Zhang Xuezhou agreed to treat the injured sons of two marquises after they failed to persuade Li Guang to help. While Tian Tian waited for his turn, Chen Zhang admitted he had come to the guesthouse hoping to see a woman he had encountered.

• Tian Tian and Zhou Jiande arrived at the guesthouse with injuries and complained that Li Guang had refused their families’ offers to treat them.
• Tian Tian and Zhou Jiande each offered Zhang Xuezhou ten taels of silver to heal them, and Zhang agreed once he recovered some Law Power.
• When Zhang asked one of them to wait, Tian Tian volunteered to yield to Zhou Jiande.
• Tian Tian asked Chen Zhang why he had come, and Chen Zhang confessed he wanted to see a woman he had noticed the day before.
• Tian Tian teased Chen Zhang for being captivated by a beautiful woman, then reflected that Chen Zhang had accurately judged his father, Tian Fen.

The empress dowager consulted Physiognomist Yao about the new emperor’s unstable imperial star and received a bell meant to reveal someone whose fate countered his. As she began inspecting the palace, the bell rang outside the grand empress dowager’s hall.

• Physiognomist Yao warned that the new emperor’s imperial star was wavering and foretold that Tian Fen would not meet a good end.
• Physiognomist Yao gave the empress dowager a cinnabar-marked bagua bell that would ring near someone whose fate countered the new emperor’s.
• Physiognomist Yao left with Spirit Jade and gold after learning that the imperial palace’s stolen dragon blood was missing, while Tian Fen accused him of being a swindler.
• The empress dowager fastened the bell to her waist and began inspecting the palace, first watching the new emperor practice swordsmanship.
• When the empress dowager reached the entrance to the grand empress dowager’s main hall, the bell began to ring.

Zhang Xuezhou healed Zhou Jiande's back wound with three castings while Tian Tian and Chen Zhang waited for treatment and discussed the limits of their standing with General Li Guang. Tian Fen arrived, saw Zhou Jiande's healed wound, and began to trust the young physician's ability.

• Zhang Xuezhou finished healing Zhou Jiande's back wound and rested while Tian Tian waited for his turn.
• Tian Tian asked Zhou Jiande and Chen Zhang about Zhang Xuezhou's healing Technique, and they discussed medical practitioners and General Li Guang's disregard for them.
• Tian Tian's father, Tian Fen, arrived and told his son to lie down after he reopened his wound while bowing.
• Tian Fen doubted Zhang Xuezhou's ability until Zhou Jiande showed him that his wound had healed.

Zhang Xuezhou treated Tian Tian and deflected Tian Fen’s interest in recruiting him by claiming his healing technique came from Li Guang and required lengthy recovery. After Tian Fen and his companions left, Zhang Xuezhou recognized the risks of practicing medicine for powerful people in Chang'an and decided to move elsewhere and close his practice for a while.

• Tian Fen questioned Zhang Xuezhou about his connection to Li Guang after recognizing similarities between their healing techniques.
• Zhang Xuezhou claimed he had once shown Li Guang the way and explained that using the technique required twelve days of rest after twelve days of work.
• Tian Fen accepted Zhang Xuezhou’s explanation and abandoned his thoughts of obtaining the technique or recruiting him.
• Tian Tian and Zhou Jiande departed with their companions, while Chen Zhang stayed behind hoping to see Wei Shao'er.
• Zhang Xuezhou collected his silver and reflected that his lack of backing in Chang'an made treating wealthy patients dangerous.
• Zhang Xuezhou decided to relocate and close his practice for a time now that he had enough money for his basic needs.

A wounded physiognomist, Hongku’s junior brother, forced Zhang Xuezhou to treat him and warned him not to align with Li Guang, Tian Fen, or Dong Zhongshu. After the old man vanished, Li Guang tracked him to the inn and burst into Zhang Xuezhou’s room.

• The wounded old man appeared in Zhang Xuezhou’s room and begged him for help, but Zhang hesitated because Li Guang might be pursuing him.
• The old man revealed that he was Hongku’s junior brother and pressured Zhang to treat him, saying Li Guang would arrive soon.
• Zhang Xuezhou used the Supreme Purity True Technique to ease the old man’s injury, and the old man warned him not to join any faction or rely on Li Guang, Tian Fen, or Dong Zhongshu.
• The old man vanished in a cloud of smoke, leaving Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding worried about Li Guang’s approach.
• Li Guang arrived at the inn, and Cheng Bushi recognized that the remnant of the Immortal Court had come there as Li Guang leaped through the window into Zhang Xuezhou’s room.

Zhang Xuezhou was questioned after witnessing an old Immortal Court fugitive escape, then discussed the Xieluosi River Holy Land with Li Guang and Cheng Bushi. Li Guang left for Weiyang Palace disappointed by the Han court’s reluctance to wage war and uncertain whether he could keep waiting for action.

• Zhang Xuezhou told Li Guang and Cheng Bushi how a white-bearded old man used a pill to vanish after escaping with the Qimen Evasion Technique.
• Li Guang identified the fugitive as an Immortal Court expert and urged Zhang Xuezhou to report any sightings, while Cheng Bushi warned Li Guang about the man's curse.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained that Lingyu was his only friend among the bird demons and that her father was Demon King Feiyu.
• Li Guang and Cheng Bushi debated whether the Han Dynasty should attack its enemies or focus on defense and peace, then parted on bad terms.
• Li Guang asked Zhang Xuezhou whether the Han Dynasty could destroy the three Sacred Lands and Xiong State, and Zhang admitted he knew nothing about military affairs.
• Li Guang returned toward Weiyang Palace disappointed with the court and questioned whether he could keep waiting for a campaign against external enemies.

Zhang Xuezhou visited Gongsun Hong to test his junior martial uncle’s warning about alliances at court, only to overhear Gongsun Hong complaining about Shen Peigong. Shen Peigong forced Gongsun Hong to accept a diplomatic mission to Xiong State, leaving Zhang Xuezhou wary of court entanglements.

• After Li Guang and Cheng Bushi left, Zhang Xuezhou considered his junior martial uncle’s warning about aligning himself with Li Guang, Tian Fen, or Dong Zhongshu.
• Zhang Xuezhou decided to visit Gongsun Hong and arrived at the quarters for talented recruits after searching through the city.
• From an alley, Zhang Xuezhou overheard Gongsun Hong arguing with Shen Peigong about being sent to Xiong State.
• Shen Peigong explained that several delegations were going to Xiong State, including one led by Zhang Qian, making Gongsun Hong’s mission difficult to refuse.
• Gongsun Hong cursed Shen Peigong as he left in his carriage, while Zhang Xuezhou reconsidered the risks of attaching himself to the court.

Zhang Xuezhou refused to guide Zhang Qian into Xiong State but recommended Wu Chao, a monk familiar with the country, as a guide. Zhang Qian set out to seek Wu Chao in Shouchun City, while Zhang Xuezhou hoped the monk would keep him from dying on a reckless expedition.

• Zhang Qian invited Zhang Xuezhou to join an envoy mission to Xiong State, hoping to find treasures and secret manuals and earn a noble title.
• Zhang Xuezhou warned Zhang Qian that Xiong State was dangerous and refused to serve as his guide because he had many potential enemies there.
• Zhang Qian asked Zhang Xuezhou to recommend someone with experience traveling in Xiong State.
• Zhang Xuezhou recommended Wu Chao, explaining that the young monk knew Xiong State and wanted to escape his senior brother.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Zhang Qian that Wu Chao was likely in Shouchun City, and Zhang Qian went to look for him.

Zhang Xuezhou helped Zhang Qian prepare for his mission to Xiong State, then encountered his nominal martial uncle, who discovered that Rong Tianding had swallowed Ancestral Dragon blood and proposed a deal to obtain it. The chapter ended with Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding facing the threat that other groups might capture Rong Tianding to extract the blood.

• The new emperor assigned Gongsun Hong and Zhang Qian to investigate Xiong State and seek a potential alliance, while Zhang Qian eagerly volunteered.
• Zhang Xuezhou arranged for Wu Chao to guide Zhang Qian and watched him set off, while Gongsun Hong recited a fu nearby.
• A silver-haired old man disguised as Yuan Gu stopped Zhang Xuezhou and revealed that he had sought dragon blood from the imperial palace.
• The old man recognized that Rong Tianding had swallowed the Ancestral Dragon blood and tested him with a Technique Method.
• The old man offered compensation in exchange for the blood and warned Zhang Xuezhou that other groups might discover Rong Tianding and capture him to refine Essence Blood.

Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding learned that three Immortal Court parties were searching for Rong Tianding to obtain his Ancestral Dragon's Essence Blood, leaving them to consider Yao Yuanguang's offer of help. The chapter ended with Yao Yuanguang urging Zhang Xuezhou to accept that their predicament came from lacking the strength and standing to resist.

• Yao Yuanguang warned Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding that the Immortal Court's four Heavenly Gates had sent parties seeking Rong Tianding's Ancestral Dragon's Essence Blood, and that Rong Tianding might die within twenty years without protection.
• Zhang Xuezhou decided they needed to reach an agreement with Yao Yuanguang, while Rong Tianding challenged him to reveal his identity.
• Yao Yuanguang identified himself as an auxiliary member of the Immortal Court's Eastern Heavenly Gate who served Primordial Lady Jinxia, explaining that he sought life-extending rewards.
• Yao Yuanguang proposed taking Rong Tianding to the Eastern Heavenly Gate and offered vague promises of treasures and instruction in Physiognomy School techniques.
• Zhang Xuezhou questioned Yao Yuanguang's motives and asked how to escape such schemes, and Yao Yuanguang said their lack of strength and standing had forced them to compromise.

Yao Yuanguang arranged to take Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding with him when he returned to the Qi Region, hoping to obtain a life-extending golden pill through the Immortal Court. He revealed how the Immortal Court used the powerful desire for longer life to bind aging officials, while Yuan Gu prepared to leave Chang'an.

• Zhang Xuezhou agreed to Yao Yuanguang's plan and returned to the inn with Rong Tianding, while they kept Wei Shao'er hidden as a possible safeguard.
• Yao Yuanguang reflected on his dwindling lifespan and the Immortal Court's influence over elderly officials who sought life-extending golden pills.
• Yao Yuanguang told his two servants to prepare to return to the Qi Region and arranged for them to collect Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding from Feitong Inn.
• Yao Yuanguang revealed that the real Yuan Gu was hidden in the residence and urged him to leave Chang'an before the Confucian scholars' harassment killed him.
• Yao Yuanguang told Yuan Gu that he had one year and two months left to live, but admitted he could not guide him to the Immortal Court.

Yuan Gu told Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding that the Immortal Court’s promise of long life had made immortality a deep desire among mortals. After Zhang Xuezhou’s spirit was pulled away, Yuan Gu warned that a powerful cultivator might be controlling him and offered a protective scroll in exchange for a chance at immortality.

• Yuan Gu said the Immortal Court, rather than Shen Pei, was the real danger and admitted that his desire for immortality had become an obsession as he neared the end of his life.
• Yuan Gu explained that many people in the Great Han Dynasty, including those at court, yearned for the Immortal Court’s ability to extend human life.
• Rong Tianding recited the Tomb Scripture, and Zhang Xuezhou’s spirit wandered away until Rong Tianding caught him as he slumped in the carriage.
• Yuan Gu said Zhang Xuezhou’s spirit was likely being seized by a great cultivator and warned that he faced a calamity that could keep him from living long.
• Yuan Gu fastened an ancient poetry scroll to Zhang Xuezhou’s waist for protection and promised another treasure if Zhang Xuezhou obtained immortality and shared the opportunity with him.

Zhang Xuezhou woke in Western Capital City after returning from the other world and hurried to the research institute to eat Black-Tipped Chicken. There, he rewarded Xu Shengzhi’s successful breeding team and began replenishing his body to advance his genetic development.

• Zhang Xuezhou realized Tuer Kalanduo had brought him back to Western Capital City sooner than expected and learned Zhang Manqian had invited him to the institute for Black-Tipped Chicken.
• Xu Shengzhi reported that the team had bred 536 Black-Tipped Chickens, with another 1,344 still incubating, and established a self-sustaining growth cycle.
• Zhang Xuezhou promised the team bonuses, ate liquid food, and traveled to the research institute, eager to eat chicken and increase the avian genes in his body.
• Zhang Xuezhou joined Zhang Manqian and the institute staff for a meal featuring Black-Tipped Chicken prepared in seven flavors.
• The staff struggled with the chewy chicken and turned to the side dishes, while Zhang Xuezhou happily kept eating and handed out bonuses before everyone dispersed.

Zhang Xuezhou discovered that eating Black-Tipped Chicken steadily nourished his body and helped advance his genes, while he and Zhang Manqian discussed his condition and her intermittent visions of the future. The chapter ended after Zhang Manqian glimpsed Tuer Kalanduo raising a scepter and Tuer Kalanduo felt Zhang Manqian’s overwhelming mental presence.

• Zhang Xuezhou told Zhang Manqian and Tuer Kalanduo that Black-Tipped Chicken was easy for him to eat and that it satisfied his body’s needs.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained that eating the chicken could strengthen his foundation and help advance his genes, and he said he could eat a thousand of them over time.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked whether Zhang Manqian could still see strange visions around him, and she said she could not summon them at will.
• Zhang Manqian experienced a vision of Tuer Kalanduo raising a scepter, then took Origin-Nurturing Pill paste after the vision left her dizzy.
• Tuer Kalanduo told Zhang Xuezhou that Zhang Manqian’s presence had briefly overwhelmed her, and Zhang Manqian said the ability only appeared occasionally.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked what Zhang Manqian had seen around Tuer Kalanduo and noted that he had appeared in all of her visions so far.

After Zhang Manqian foresaw a possible future in which Tuer Kalanduo became chief and pontiff, Tuer Kalanduo worried that her mother might be in danger and warned Ren Anran not to act recklessly. Zhang Xuezhou focused on surviving and preparing to develop the Spirit-Forging Pill, and the chapter ended with Wang Haoran offering medical laboratory equipment to support his research.

• Zhang Manqian described her vision of Tuer Kalanduo wielding a scepter, and Tuer Kalanduo panicked at the possibility of inheriting power and losing her mother.
• Tuer Kalanduo refused Zhang Xuezhou's suggestion that she return to her clan, but she sent Ren Anran an international message warning her not to do anything reckless.
• Zhang Xuezhou considered his own dangers and decided to keep pursuing mystical Fortune while eating Black-Tipped Chickens in North Rehe.
• Professor Wang Haoran called Zhang Xuezhou to ask about treatment for his injured tendons, and Zhang Xuezhou explained that he first needed to develop the Spirit-Forging Pill and reach the Fifth Cultivation Realm.
• Wang Haoran offered to send Zhang Xuezhou a batch of medical research equipment, and Zhang Xuezhou promised to treat him once his abilities advanced.

Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Manqian began building the Zhang Household’s laboratory at the B13 Research Institute, weighing the cost of developing blood serum research as new equipment arrived. The chapter ended with Zhang Xuezhou receiving a truckload of ingredients for refining Spirit-Forging Pills.

• Wang Haoran’s instruments arrived at the B13 Research Institute, giving Zhang Manqian, Xu Shengzhi, Huang Xiaoya, Zhu Feng, and Cai Li a fully equipped laboratory to work with.
• Zhang Manqian proposed using the new instruments to prepare elementary blood serums, and Zhang Xuezhou supported the plan despite the materials costing ten million and the experiments producing no useful serum for them.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Manqian discussed their limited family income and the need to build research experience, while Zhang Xuezhou suggested they could reduce material costs by exploring Qinmeng in the future.
• A small red truck arrived at the North Rehe Research Center carrying medicinal materials for Zhang Xuezhou’s Spirit-Forging Pills, which had cost two hundred thousand yuan.

Zhang Xuezhou developed a substitute Spirit-Forging Pill that reached about seventy percent of the original’s effect, but a test dose caused severe hallucinations and nearly twenty portions of the liquid entered his body. As the poisoning eased, the pill’s Law Power surged through him, leaving Zhang Manqian and the others to wait and see whether he could withstand it and improve the formula.

• Zhang Xuezhou tested substitute ingredients and produced Spirit-Forging Pill liquid with roughly seventy percent of an ordinary pill’s effect, though it was extremely bitter.
• Zhang Manqian questioned whether he could still sense the medicine’s effects, and Zhang Xuezhou discovered that the liquid caused hallucinations.
• Zhang Xuezhou drank nearly twenty portions while hallucinating, seeing household objects as spirits and hearing the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons argue with a talking duck.
• Zhang Xuezhou tried to dispel the hallucinations with the Kunpeng Combat Technique, but the growing medicinal poison weakened its effect.
• Zhang Xuezhou’s Poison Avoidance Art began operating, the hallucinations faded, and Zhang Manqian induced him to vomit blackish water as Law Power erupted through his body.
• Zhang Manqian sent Xu Shengzhi and the others outside and worried that Zhang Xuezhou might not withstand the Law Power surging from the large dose.