Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xuezhou completed the purchase of Zhuang Qingdi’s former residence and moved there with A Qiao, while Rong Tianding stayed behind. Their arrival was spoiled when Zhang Xuezhou discovered that someone had already been using the residence for sword practice.

• Zhang Xuezhou and Zhuang Qingdi completed the property transfer, and Zhuang Qingdi returned the purchase money while asking Zhang Xuezhou for support at court.
• Zhang Xuezhou avoided making a firm political alliance with Zhuang Qingdi, then explained wealth and market opportunities to Rong Tianding.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding collected A Qiao and brought her to the Imperial City District, while Rong Tianding chose to remain near Silan Quarter.
• Zhang Xuezhou admired the residence’s location near Grand Princess Dou’s mansion and the palace, hoping it would help him advance the Fortune Technique.
• Zhang Xuezhou found muddy footprints, damaged flowers, and hacked pillars in the garden, then heard familiar voices praising the residence as a sword-practice ground.

Zhang Xuezhou discovered Huo Qubing and a gang of children using his new residence as a gathering place, then watched Huo turn their escape into a visit to ask for lucky money. Huo offered to clean up the mess he had made, leaving Zhang Xuezhou amused by how clever yet inexperienced the boy still was.

• Zhang Xuezhou found Huo Qubing teaching swordsmanship to children in his residence and used a distant shout to scare them into fleeing over the wall.
• Rong Tianding offered to arrange gate guards, while A Qiao volunteered to hire temporary workers to clean the property.
• Huo Qubing returned with the children, knocked on the gate, and delivered a polished housewarming greeting to Zhang Xuezhou.
• Huo Qubing demanded lucky money and offered to clean the residence, inadvertently revealing that he knew about the mess because his group had caused it.

Huo Qubing led the children in cleaning Zhang Xuezhou’s residence and asked for reward money to buy meat and a sword. Rong Tianding offered them money for beans and promised a feast, while Zhang Xuezhou planned to use the children to test his gypsum-made vegetarian “white meat.”

• Huo Qubing directed the children as they cleaned the residence, and Rong Tianding admired his leadership while Zhang Xuezhou warned that he courted disaster.
• Rong Tianding learned that Huo Qubing was Wei Shao'er’s son and noticed similarities between the boy and Zhang Xuezhou.
• Huo Qubing asked Zhang Xuezhou for extra reward money, saying the children wanted meat and he wanted a sword.
• Rong Tianding tossed Huo Qubing a packet of half-liang coins and promised to provide meat in exchange for beans.
• Huo Qubing ran off with the money, while Zhang Xuezhou revealed that the feast would let him test gypsum-made vegetarian white meat on the children.

Zhang Xuezhou used gypsum water to turn ground soybeans into white meat at the Marquis of Pingyang's Household. Huo Qubing and the other boys eagerly ate it, leaving Zhang Xuezhou with a plentiful new food source to test.

• Zhang Xuezhou brought a carriage of cheap beans and a group of hungry boys to the Marquis of Pingyang's Household.
• Zhang Xuezhou had Huo Qubing and the boys grind the beans, then boiled and strained them into soy milk.
• Zhang Xuezhou poured gypsum water into the boiling soy milk, causing it to curdle into tender white meat.
• Rong Tianding and Huo Qubing watched in amazement as Zhang Xuezhou tasted the white meat and praised its flavor.
• Huo Qubing ate several bowls of the white meat, while Zhang Xuezhou let him and the other boys test how much they could safely eat.

Zhang Xuezhou demonstrated how to turn soy milk into inexpensive white meat, and the new emperor recognized that the method originated at the King of Huainan’s Household. The new emperor considered how to obtain the formula and spread it through the Great Han Dynasty without provoking an open conflict, but realized the contest with the King of Huainan might have to begin.

• Wei Qing returned to the Marquis of Pingyang’s Household and saw boys and the new emperor marveling at the white meat made from beans.
• The new emperor praised the food’s tenderness and low cost, and recognized that it could help feed the poor.
• Zhang Xuezhou claimed that Lei Bei had brought him the formula after seeing it used at the King of Huainan’s Household.
• Zhang Xuezhou warned that the rare discovery could not have arisen independently, so the court’s promotion of it might alert the King of Huainan.
• The new emperor asked how to handle the matter safely, and Zhang Xuezhou urged him to claim responsibility for spreading the food.
• The new emperor considered the benefits of winning popular support against the risks of confronting the King of Huainan, and concluded that their contest might have to come into the open.

The new emperor realized he could no longer simply follow Emperor Jing’s example and decided to face the King of Huainan in his own way. Zhang Xuezhou’s hidden-object game inspired the emperor to use the Red Empyrean Sword as a test, and he prepared to act against the King of Huainan.

• The new emperor sent Wei Qing to take the youths to Jianzhang Palace for training and ordered him to notify their families.
• The new emperor reflected that circumstances had diverged from Emperor Jing’s plans and resolved to be himself rather than imitate his father.
• The new emperor asked Zhang Xuezhou to guess whether Lady Wei’s unborn child was a boy or a girl, offering a top-grade storage pouch if he guessed correctly.
• Zhang Xuezhou hid a half-liang coin beneath an inverted bowl and told the new emperor to uncover it after Lady Wei gave birth.
• The new emperor locked the tray and bowl away, then decided to use the Red Empyrean Sword at the Grand Ancestral Temple to issue orders to the King of Huainan.

Zhang Xuezhou reflected on the new emperor’s uncertain contest with the King of Huainan, then returned home to find Grand Princess Dou visiting. She assigned two guards to his residence and began probing into his family, while Zhang Xuezhou remained prepared to protect his identity.

• Zhang Xuezhou explained to Rong Tianding how he had guessed Lady Wei’s baby’s sex using a half-tael coin.
• Zhang Xuezhou considered the new emperor’s plan against the King of Huainan and hoped it would benefit Great Han and strengthen the emperor’s standing.
• Zhang Xuezhou found Grand Princess Dou and A Qiao waiting at his residence, and he joined Grand Princess Dou in criticizing Zhuang Qingdi.
• Grand Princess Dou assigned Dou Shisan and Dou Shisi to guard Zhang Xuezhou’s home.
• Grand Princess Dou asked Zhang Xuezhou where his parents and siblings were, and Zhang Xuezhou prepared to answer without exposing his true family.

Zhang Xuezhou learned that A Qiao had been reporting on him to Liu Ling, but accepted her loyalty after she revealed Liu Ling’s warning about a mysterious star that fell in Huainan. He suspected it might be a Fire Meteor and became eager to learn more.

• Zhang Xuezhou spoke with Grand Princess Dou about his childhood, and she invited him to a banquet after the mourning period.
• After Grand Princess Dou left, Zhang Xuezhou offered Dou Shisan and Dou Shisi a place to stay, then returned to his quarters.
• Zhang Xuezhou arranged food and care for pregnant A Qiao and reassured her after she admitted that Liu Ling had asked her to report on him.
• A Qiao told Zhang Xuezhou that Liu Ling had described a long star falling in Huainan and an extraordinary opportunity hidden within it.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding considered whether the fallen star might be a Fire Meteor, and Zhang Xuezhou showed strong interest in investigating it.

Zhang Xuezhou took Rong Tianding on a fast flight from Chang'an City to Huainan to investigate the long star that had fallen there. As they entered Huainan, Zhang Xuezhou began considering whether the search might create an opportunity to rescue people from Zhang Household Village.

• Zhang Xuezhou persuaded Rong Tianding to fly with him to Huainan, arguing that their trip would be quick and the court was unlikely to notice their absence.
• Zhang Xuezhou used the Technique Within the Clouds and his Jade Wings to carry Rong Tianding through the night, while Rong Tianding struggled with the speed before adjusting.
• Zhang Xuezhou advised Rong Tianding about strengthening his techniques by incorporating Divine Abilities into them.
• Rong Tianding asked whether they could use Zhang Xuezhou's flying ability to rescue people from Zhang Household Village, but Zhang Xuezhou explained that he could not carry them safely.
• After they crossed into warm Huainan, Zhang Xuezhou considered that local elites searching for the long star might leave Xiashi Mountain and give them a chance to rescue the villagers.

Zhang Xuezhou entered the King of Huainan’s palace in spirit form to assess its defenses and investigate the white-meat tests. He recognized Zhang Household Village captives among the test subjects and then overheard the King of Huainan’s court celebrating accidental creations that could pass for gold.

• Zhang Xuezhou went to Shouchun to learn how the search for the long star was affecting security and considered whether he could rescue the remaining villagers.
• Zhang Xuezhou sent his Yang Corporeal Soul into the King of Huainan’s palace while Rong Tianding guarded his body.
• Zhang Xuezhou saw the court producing and testing white meat in many forms, with chained people forced to taste it.
• Zhang Xuezhou recognized Madam Zhang Zhou among the elderly test subjects and heard her ask whether enduring the tests would let her see her family.
• Zhang Xuezhou decided that the palace was too heavily guarded for an easy rescue and continued scouting its halls.
• Zhang Xuezhou overheard the King of Huainan, Liao Tu, Liu Qian, and others praising their accidental Technique gold and Liqi after failing to make the Eight-Step Immortal Ascension Pill.

The King of Huainan and Crown Prince Liu Qian discussed their growing resources, the Red Empyrean Sword, and their search for a fallen long star as they planned to challenge the court. An incantation master overheard them and escaped after the King of Huainan and Tian You tried to kill them.

• The King of Huainan warned Liu Qian that the Red Empyrean Sword could kill even a powerful cultivator with a single strike, and urged him to wait while they tested Li Qi and traded Technique Gold.
• The King of Huainan dismissed Yao Yuanguang as an insignificant Immortal Court peripheral cultivator and said Huainan would have to search for the fallen long star itself.
• Liu Qian asked to lead five hundred men in the search, and the King of Huainan agreed as they discussed the divine object that might counter the Red Empyrean Sword.
• Tian You struck at an intruder who had overheard the great hall's conversation, but the intruder survived and fled into the night.
• The King of Huainan pursued the fleeing figure with his blue and red swords, shattered its nearly transparent form, and tried to calculate the incantation master's hiding place from the lingering Qi.

Zhang Xuezhou overheard the King of Huainan’s household discussing Li Qi, Technique Gold, and the search for the fallen long star, while the king’s attempt to pursue the Xiong State cultivator failed. After Empress Liao Tu reassured the king that the stolen secrets were unlikely to cause trouble, he decided to keep searching for the long star himself.

• Zhang Xuezhou listened from a distance as the King of Huainan ordered Tian You to pursue the fleeing Xiong State cultivator northwest.
• The King of Huainan lamented that the cultivator’s ability to travel without a physical body was difficult to counter and seemed to defy heaven.
• Crown Prince Liu Qian panicked that the intruder had learned their secrets, but Empress Liao Tu and the king argued that outsiders would struggle to believe or use the information.
• Empress Liao Tu urged the King of Huainan to exchange Technique Gold quickly, and he agreed to trade a hundred thousand taels with the King of Jiangdu.
• The King of Huainan and Liu Qian discussed the search for the fallen long star, and the king resolved to go out and search for it himself.

Zhang Xuezhou learned that the King of Huainan was testing Li Qi on prisoners and joined Rong Tianding in using a deathlike state to rescue Madam Zhang Zhou. After they revived her outside the royal city, she revealed that only forty-two people from Zhang Household Village remained alive in Huainan.

• Zhang Xuezhou told Rong Tianding that prisoners were being forced to taste Li Qi, and Rong Tianding proposed using his technique to make them appear dead and revive them later.
• Zhang Xuezhou carried Rong Tianding's pill to Madam Zhang Zhou and persuaded her to swallow it so she would seem to die.
• The King of Huainan's Household examined Madam Zhang Zhou's body, then sent it to a mass grave outside the royal city.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding retrieved Madam Zhang Zhou and revived her with the Supreme Purity True Technique.
• Madam Zhang Zhou told Zhang Xuezhou that only forty-two people from Zhang Household Village remained alive, and that Li Qi testing put them in immediate danger.

The King of Huainan learned that most of the Li Qi test subjects had died and concluded that the ration was unsafe in large quantities, while also discovering that the Great Han court might send troops near Huainan. He decided to travel to Minyue to kill its king and avert the threat, but a Xiong State incantation master escaped after spying on him again.

• The King of Huainan found that more than half of the Li Qi samplers had died after eating it continuously, and he ordered their corpses removed.
• The King of Huainan judged Li Qi useful as an emergency ration but dangerous as a long-term staple, and took the flaws in it and Technique Gold as signs that his Fortune Technique's backlash was diminishing.
• Liao Tu told the King of Huainan that Minyue had attacked Nanyue and that Zhuang Zhu would lead a hundred thousand Great Han troops south under secret orders that might target Huainan.
• The King of Huainan feared that the court's army or the search for the Long Star could threaten Huainan, so he decided to go to Minyue and kill Zou Ying.
• A Xiong State incantation master fled from the palace before the King of Huainan could catch him, and the King cursed that his swords could not reach the escaping intruder.

Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding rescued the people from Zhang Household Village whom the King of Huainan’s household had left for dead, but Jin Chang appeared at the graveyard to confront them. Jin Chang had been sent by the king and seemed prepared to follow his orders.

• Zhang Xuezhou confirmed that the palace believed the rescued villagers had died after taking Li Qi, and praised Rong Tianding’s corpse art.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding waited for the palace carriage to dump the villagers’ bodies at the graveyard, then carried Madam Zhang Zhou to the burial pits.
• Rong Tianding withdrew his corpse art and restored the villagers’ warmth and circulation while Zhang Xuezhou healed their injuries.
• Jin Chang emerged from the shadows with a Puppet Thread and told Zhang Xuezhou that their actions had put him in a difficult position.

Zhang Xuezhou persuaded Jin Chang to help him and his companions leave Huainan by warning him about Emperor Qin’s return and offering him part of the Great Compassion Nine Heavens Incantation. Jin Chang agreed to turn a blind eye and was tempted by Zhang Xuezhou’s promise of further rewards.

• Zhang Xuezhou invited Jin Chang to help the injured people, then told him that Zou Bugui and the venerable one had uncovered the Qingzhou Cauldron at Mount Tai.
• Zhang Xuezhou warned Jin Chang that Emperor Qin and his army of human figurines could threaten the King of Huainan, making Jin Chang question his loyalty and chances of survival.
• Zhang Xuezhou offered Jin Chang part of the Great Compassion Nine Heavens Incantation if he helped them leave Huainan, and Jin Chang agreed to turn a blind eye despite expecting possible punishment.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Jin Chang that Hongku was behind the incantation that had invaded the King of Huainan’s palace and suggested Jin Chang could earn merit by dealing with him.
• Zhang Xuezhou implied that Jin Chang could benefit if the emperor defeated the King of Huainan, and Jin Chang clapped a hand over his mouth.

Zhang Xuezhou bargained with Jin Chang for help escaping Huainan, offering palace secrets and the Yin Yang Great Compassion Nine Heavens Incantation in exchange for a safe route. After they crossed the border, Hongku appeared while fleeing Tian You, and Jin Chang hurried off to confront the pursuer after asking whether Hongku’s concealment and flight technique could be taught to him.

• Zhang Xuezhou struggled to perform the Following Like a Shadow Technique while Jin Chang demonstrated how his own shadow concealment worked.
• Zhang Xuezhou promised Jin Chang the incantation’s final section after they left Huainan and revealed that Immortal Court cultivators had entered the Yin-Yang Secret Land.
• Jin Chang guided Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding past Huainan’s search parties, and they reached the kingdom’s border by the end of the day.
• After crossing the border, Zhang Xuezhou recited the incantation to Jin Chang while the group rested and tended the mounts.
• Hongku emerged beneath a horse and asked Jin Chang for help escaping his pursuer, Tian You; Jin Chang asked to learn Hongku’s flying and concealment method, then rushed off to meet Tian You.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Hongku recognized that each had been offering a technique to survive.

Zhang Xuezhou and Hongku rode together as they discussed their troubles in Huainan and the Black and White Twin Horses. Jin Chang collected his payment by demanding Hongku's technique, determined to learn it to protect the Nine People Sect and the Yin-Yang School's legacy.

• Hongku complained that the King of Huainan had shattered his Yang Corporeal Soul Incarnation, and Zhang Xuezhou explained that he had come to help the captured elders from his hometown.
• Hongku asked about the Black and White Twin Horses, and Zhang Xuezhou claimed they had dispersed during the journey and could be refined again in Chang'an City.
• Jin Chang reported that he had led Tian You onto another road, ensuring the group could avoid him.
• Jin Chang demanded Hongku's technique for concealment and flight, rejecting Hongku's warning that it overlapped with his own technique.
• Jin Chang resolved to cultivate Hongku's technique because he feared the Nine People Sect and the Yin-Yang School's legacy would otherwise fall behind.

Jin Chang accepted Hongku’s explanation of the Yang Corporeal Soul Transformation Technique and considered cultivating it, while Zhang Xuezhou revealed he had already formed a small Yang Corporeal Soul Incarnation in the Yin-Yang Secret Land. The party continued toward Chang'an, and Zhang Xuezhou proposed trading his black and white horses for Fortune Pills to improve his cultivation.

• Jin Chang verified Hongku’s account of the Yang Corporeal Soul Transformation Technique and decided he might cultivate it himself.
• Jin Chang left the party, and Zhang Xuezhou complained that the journey to Chang'an was still long without his help.
• Hongku pressed Zhang Xuezhou about the former cultivation site, and Zhang Xuezhou explained that someone had seized it by force.
• Zhang Xuezhou showed Hongku his arm-length Yang Corporeal Soul Incarnation and said he had formed it secretly in the Yin-Yang Secret Land.
• Zhang Xuezhou promised to trade his black and white horses for Fortune Pills and cultivate the technique to great accomplishment, prompting Hongku to ask how many pills he expected to get.

Zhang Xuezhou bargained with Hongku over trading the Black and White Twin Horses for Demon Cores and other cultivation supplies, while discussing future Fortune Pill cooperation. After reaching a deal, Zhang Xuezhou rode ahead to Chang'an City to refine the horses, leaving Hongku to escort Rong Tianding's caravan.

• Zhang Xuezhou explained that he lacked access to the rare ingredients needed to turn Hongku's Demon Cores into Fortune Pills, and the two negotiated over the trade.
• Hongku offered Demon Cores, Blood Essence, ginseng, and other supplies; Zhang Xuezhou rejected his pills but accepted useful raw materials and poisons.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Hongku agreed to trade the Black and White Twin Horses for the supplies, with Hongku able to test the horses before finalizing the exchange.
• Zhang Xuezhou reassured Hongku that the horses could travel long distances with Law Power and said he would first erase his imprint on them.
• Zhang Xuezhou rode toward Chang'an City to ritually refine the horses, while Hongku stayed with Rong Tianding and the caravan.