Chapter Summaries

Dong Yan revealed his Immortal Court identity to Zhang Xuezhou and sought help advancing his cultivation. Zhang Xuezhou dismissed his request but tasked him with investigating Grand Princess Dou’s Demon-Revealing Mirror, and Dong Yan promised to report back by the next day.

• After recovering from vomiting, Dong Yan thanked Yi Shuo and Zhang Xuezhou, then quietly asked Zhang Xuezhou which Immortal Court branch he belonged to.
• Zhang Xuezhou identified Dong Yan as a subordinate of Sima Qing and questioned him about his mission and progress at Grand Princess Dou’s residence.
• Dong Yan said he had learned Huang-Lao talisman secrets and some of the Supreme Heart Sutra, but lacked the teachings and pills needed to reach the Divine Ability realm.
• Dong Yan asked Zhang Xuezhou to contact his Divine General on his behalf, but Zhang Xuezhou rebuked him for overstepping his rank.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked Dong Yan to investigate the Demon-Revealing Mirror, and Dong Yan promised to return to the Princess of Guantao’s Household and send word by the next day.

After the toxins expelled by Wei Shao'er and the others stank across the Imperial City District, Zhang Xuezhou faced accusations at court and was fined for the disturbance. He then watched the new emperor handle state affairs before a discussion of military authority in the southwest exposed a disagreement with the empress dowager.

• Wei Shao'er and the others purged their toxins with several Life-Creating Fortune Pills, spreading a foul stench across the Imperial City District.
• Zhang Xuezhou attended court and heard officials accuse him of releasing fumes that harmed their servants, livestock, and relatives.
• Zhang Xuezhou admitted fault, agreed to apologize to Princess Pingyang, and was fined two hundred shi of his salary by the new emperor.
• The new emperor addressed drought relief, flood aid, and other matters while the empress dowager supported his decisions.
• The new emperor raised reports about troops in the Yelang Kingdom and General Tang Meng, prompting the empress dowager to disagree with him over military affairs.

Zhang Xuezhou listened as the new emperor lamented that the Empress Dowager and Chancellor Tian Fen constrained his rule, then advised him to earn his mother’s trust. Han Yan arrived with evidence that the Empress Dowager’s bloodline originated in the Immortal Court, leaving the new emperor stunned and Zhang Xuezhou wondering what status she held there.

• The new emperor told Zhang Xuezhou that Tian Fen and the Empress Dowager controlled court affairs and asked how he could carry out his wishes.
• Zhang Xuezhou suggested that the new emperor demonstrate his abilities to the Empress Dowager so she would gradually release her power.
• The new emperor said Han Yan was returning with findings from his investigation into the Empress Dowager, and Zhang Xuezhou realized the results might confirm suspicions about her identity.
• Han Yan presented the new emperor with a secret decree containing evidence that the Empress Dowager’s bloodline originated in the Immortal Court.
• Zhang Xuezhou wondered about the Empress Dowager’s status in the Immortal Court and considered asking Yao Yuanguang for answers.

Zhang Xuezhou urged the new emperor to investigate the empress dowager’s possible Immortal Court ties before acting, while Han Yan pressed for her swift arrest. The empress dowager confronted the new emperor in Weiyang Palace and questioned why the late emperor had trusted and spared her, leaving him to suspect that their secret deliberations had leaked.

• Zhang Xuezhou warned the new emperor not to rush against the empress dowager, while Han Yan argued that he should act quickly to prevent a succession crisis.
• The new emperor dismissed Zhang Xuezhou and Han Yan, then weighed the evidence and considered seizing the Palace of Eternal Faith.
• The empress dowager entered Weiyang Palace alone, shut its doors with her sleeve, and confronted the new emperor about his plans.
• The empress dowager described the late emperor as harsh and ungrateful, citing his treatment of Crown Prince Li.
• The new emperor wondered why the late emperor had trusted the empress dowager and suspected that their secret discussion had been leaked.

Zhang Xuezhou visited Princess Pingyang to apologize for the fumes that had affected her household, bringing the Yin-Yang Reversal Wine Pot as a gift. Princess Pingyang challenged him to a guessing game, and he left her humiliated after making her mistake water for wine.

• Han Yan questioned Zhang Xuezhou about his actions, and Zhang said he had to apologize to the Marquis of Pingyang's Household.
• Zhang searched for a suitable apology gift and chose the Yin-Yang Reversal Wine Pot he had taken from Empress Dowager Liang, Li Su.
• At the Marquis of Pingyang's Household, Zhang apologized to Princess Pingyang for disturbing the rear residence and causing people to be affected by fumes.
• Princess Pingyang challenged Zhang to set a hidden-object guessing question, and he asked her to guess what could be poured from his wine pot.
• Princess Pingyang guessed wine by smelling the pot, but Zhang poured out water and revealed that she had lost.
• Princess Pingyang challenged Zhang to guess whether she was a good loser or a sore loser.

Zhang Xuezhou defeated Princess Pingyang in their riddle contest, then discussed pill refining and a medicinal trade exchange with her. Their meeting ended when a guard reported that the new emperor and the empress dowager were quarreling in Weiyang Palace.

• Princess Pingyang reluctantly admitted Zhang Xuezhou had guessed the shefu answers correctly and asked whether he could refine pills.
• Zhang Xuezhou claimed he could refine any pill if he had its Pill Formula and ingredients, while Princess Pingyang warned him about inferior pills and medicinal toxins.
• Princess Pingyang told Zhang Xuezhou she would oversee the exchange with Xiong State and could obtain ingredients and pills from the Great Han treasury.
• Zhang Xuezhou praised Princess Pingyang and considered asking her to obtain medicinal ingredients from the empress dowager.
• A guard rushed in and told Princess Pingyang that the new emperor and the empress dowager were quarreling in Weiyang Palace.

The new emperor confronted the empress dowager over her ties to Emperor Jing and threatened the Jin and Zang families, then fought her when she tried to restrain him. She discovered he had reached the great completion of the Divine Ability Realm, and prepared to test his swordsmanship.

• The new emperor accused the empress dowager of concealing her connection to Emperor Jing and threatened to kill the Jin and Zang families while hunting bandits.
• The empress dowager urged him to calm down, but he broke through her restraining sleeve and attacked her with fists and feet instead of drawing his sword.
• The new emperor revealed his hidden cultivation, while the empress dowager recognized that he was close to the Sole Self Realm.
• The empress dowager praised his progress but warned that his temperament and rashness could keep him from advancing safely.
• The empress dowager drew two short swords and intensified the fight to test the new emperor's strength and swordsmanship.

Princess Pingyang hurried to the imperial palace to intervene in a dispute between the new emperor and the empress dowager, while Zhang Xuezhou returned home. There, Wei Shao'er showed off her recovered swordsmanship, and Zhang Xuezhou let her seize him to prove Huo Qubing's boast about his strength.

• Princess Pingyang rushed from the marquis's residence to the imperial palace to address the dispute between the new emperor and the empress dowager.
• Zhang Xuezhou went home, reflecting on the empress dowager, Yao Yuanguang, and the Immortal Court's uncertain state.
• Wei Shao'er demonstrated her swordsmanship to Huo Qubing after recovering from her physical ailment.
• Huo Qubing called Zhang Xuezhou an expert and insisted he was far stronger than Wei Shao'er.
• Wei Shao'er moved to subdue Zhang Xuezhou, who stopped resisting and let her seize him.

Wei Shao'er tried to encourage Huo Qubing to study and improve, while he assessed the strength of people around him and struggled with the spirit cultivation method Zhang Xuezhou had taught him. The chapter ended when Huo Qubing heard that the new emperor and the Empress Dowager were fighting and that someone needed to break them up.

• Wei Shao'er urged Huo Qubing to study hard and asked him to compare her strength with his uncle's, his adoptive father's, and Dongfang Shuo's.
• Huo Qubing explained his rough strength comparisons and reflected on how Zhang Xuezhou, the new emperor, Wei Qing, and others measured up against one another.
• Huo Qubing asked Wei Shao'er about a cultivation method unrelated to martial arts, and she told him to practice the method Expert Dongfang had given him.
• Huo Qubing worried that Zhang Xuezhou's spirit cultivation method had made his thoughts race and left him unable to resolve repeated comparisons of possible fights.
• A servant shouted that His Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress Dowager were fighting and called for Lord Dongfang to break them up.

Sima Tan summoned Zhang Xuezhou to the imperial palace, where the new emperor and the empress dowager were locked in a fierce fight. The gathered officials and relatives feared intervening, and Han Anguo finally spotted someone aligned with the new emperor as he searched for someone else to take responsibility.

• Sima Tan woke Zhang Xuezhou and ordered him to go to the palace to report the fight between the new emperor and the empress dowager.
• Zhang Xuezhou entered the palace by carriage and found the road blocked by guards confronting one another while the two rulers continued fighting.
• Grand Princess Dou urged Li Guang to intervene, but Li Guang, Cheng Bushi, Tian Fen, and Han Anguo each refused or hesitated to break up the fight.
• Han Anguo weighed his political loyalties and looked for a way to avoid taking responsibility.
• Han Anguo spotted someone from the new emperor's side while searching for someone to pass the responsibility to.

Zhang Xuezhou watched the new emperor and the empress dowager fight across the palace roof while the court officials avoided intervening. He realized the empress dowager might be feeding moves to the new emperor to help him reach the Sole Self Realm.

• Zhang Xuezhou deflected Han Anguo’s demand that he break up the fight, and the other officials joined in urging Han Anguo instead.
• Grand Princess Dou explained that her Golden-armored Guardians had been destroyed by the empress dowager and the new emperor, while Dou Ying refused to intervene.
• Han Anguo climbed to the roof and slowly cast five layers of Iron Armor rather than separating the fighters.
• Dou Ying told Zhang Xuezhou that he understood how to preserve himself in court, since either side could resent him for not intervening.
• Zhang Xuezhou recognized that the empress dowager seemed to be feeding moves to the new emperor to push him into the Sole Self Realm.

Zhang Xuezhou realized the new emperor was fighting the empress dowager to break through, but the officials refused to intervene or heed his advice. As the fight moved toward the rear halls, singing continued nearby while the exhausted Lady Wei struggled to manage the harem.

• Zhang Xuezhou concluded that the empress dowager had analyzed the new emperor's swordsmanship and was guiding him through the fight.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked Dou Ying to help the new emperor break through, but Dou Ying dismissed the idea and refused to intervene.
• Zhang Xuezhou turned to Cheng Bushi and the Palace of Eternal Faith group, but Cheng Bushi also gave him the cold shoulder.
• Dou Ying reflected that the officials were merely following events and that only young people might rush in without considering the consequences.
• The fight reached the rear halls, where a woman continued singing as Dou Ying watched the exhausted Lady Wei oversee the harem.

Wei Zifu’s singing helped steady the fight between the new emperor and the empress dowager, while the palace witnesses debated whether to intervene. The emperor’s breakthrough culminated in a powerful sword strike that shattered the empress dowager’s jade swords and forced Han Anguo to step in.

• Wei Zifu used her singing to influence the battle, and Dou Ying realized she was trying to break up the fight with a musical Technique Method.
• Han Anguo tried to intervene, but the new emperor and the empress dowager both ordered him to stand down, allowing only Lady Wei to assist.
• Dou Ying recognized Dongfang Shuo as the zither player and considered joining in, but he and the empress both hesitated to risk disrupting the breakthrough.
• Grand Princess Dou explained to the empress how the empress dowager’s guidance could help cultivators mature their Technique Methods into Divine Abilities.
• The empress dowager guided the new emperor’s path of Only Me, urging him to temper his anger with reason as their fight became more controlled.
• The emperor unleashed a blood-dragon sword strike that shattered the empress dowager’s jade swords; Han Anguo rushed in, and the empress dowager helped him withstand the attack.

Zhang Xuezhou enlisted Wei Zifu to use music to influence the new emperor, and she developed his melody into a composition she named the Chang'an Battle Formation-Breaking Song. After two days on the hall roof, the new emperor returned and dangled a future betrothal between his daughter and Zhang Xuezhou’s son, but Zhang Xuezhou refused to commit.

• Zhang Xuezhou told Wei Zifu that the new emperor had spent two days on the great hall's roof and asked her to use her Vocal Music Technique to intervene.
• Zhang Xuezhou played a stirring melody while Wei Zifu adapted Sima Xiangru's verses into a song that could aid cultivation.
• Wei Zifu proposed naming the piece the Chang'an Battle Formation-Breaking Song and having Wei Shao'er perform it.
• The new emperor stepped down from the roof and suggested betrothing his little princess to Zhang Xuezhou's eldest son.
• Zhang Xuezhou called his son unworthy and declined to accept a promise that would leave him waiting for years.

After his breakthrough into the Sole Self Realm, the new emperor recognized Zhang Xuezhou’s role and discussed rewarding him, while Zhang explained that his illness required him to marry women with specific traits. Zhang asked for future access to the Demon-Revealing Mirror’s protection, and the emperor vowed to reclaim it from Grand Princess Dou.

• The new emperor credited Zhang Xuezhou’s cultivation advice, Wei Zifu’s music, and several pills for his breakthrough and growing authority at court.
• The new emperor considered marrying his daughter to Zhang Xuezhou, but Zhang pointed out that his family situation was complicated and he still intended to marry more women.
• Zhang explained that women with sufficient cultivation and an innate yin constitution could neutralize the yang poison in his body and restore the flow of his Law Power.
• Zhang asked the new emperor for a reward after encountering trouble with great Ninth Realm demons, requesting protective power from the Demon-Revealing Mirror.
• The new emperor admitted that Grand Princess Dou controlled the Demon-Revealing Mirror and vowed to take it back so he could eventually reward Zhang.

After Zhang Xuezhou learned the Empress Dowager’s rise echoed the brutal history of Empress Gao, he urged the new emperor to ask his mother directly what she wanted for Great Han. The new emperor decided to confront her and persuaded Zhang Xuezhou to come along with the Red Empyrean Sword, leaving Zhang wary of the weapon and the political danger ahead.

• The new emperor rewarded Zhang Xuezhou and brought him into the Heavenly Emolument Qilin Pavilion’s secret archive, where they read records of Empress Gao’s rule and the dangers of empress dowagers controlling the throne.
• The new emperor explained his suspicions that the Empress Dowager and the Palace of Eternal Faith were repeating past abuses, while admitting that his mother had also helped him.
• Zhang Xuezhou advised the new emperor to ask the Empress Dowager directly what she wanted rather than continue guessing at her intentions.
• The new emperor agreed to confront the Empress Dowager but insisted Zhang Xuezhou accompany him, since he wanted to resolve their struggle without violence.
• The new emperor gave Zhang Xuezhou the Red Empyrean Sword to protect his standing, and Zhang carefully accepted it despite fearing its power.

Cheng Bushi escorted the new emperor and Zhang Xuezhou into the Palace of Eternal Faith to negotiate with the empress dowager. She demanded control of Great Han’s armies so she could invade Xiong State and avenge herself on Zhu Jiuyin, leaving the new emperor to confront her urgent, dangerous plan.

• Cheng Bushi learned that the new emperor had arrived at the Palace of Eternal Faith with Zhang Xuezhou carrying the Red Empyrean Sword, then escorted them to the Phoenix Splendor Hall.
• The new emperor entered the hall and asked after the empress dowager’s health, but she challenged him over their recent fight and his two-day wait.
• The new emperor offered to fulfill her wish if it served the greater good, and the empress dowager demanded command of Great Han’s legions.
• The empress dowager said she wanted to slaughter everyone in Xiong State and kill Zhu Jiuyin to avenge the dead, and warned that her declining health left her no time to wait.

The empress dowager and the new emperor resolved their political conflict after Zhang Xuezhou urged them to unite against outside forces. The empress dowager revealed her past ties to the Immortal Court and her efforts to resist its control, and she invited Zhang Xuezhou to visit again.

• The new emperor agreed to support the empress dowager in avenging the late emperor, and Zhang Xuezhou explained that internal fighting would weaken Great Han against its enemies.
• The empress dowager admitted she had contacted people from the Immortal Court through her ancestor Zang Tu, but said she had no reason to remain loyal to them.
• The empress dowager revealed that an Immortal Court cultivator had forced her to approach the late emperor, whom she later tried several times to kill.
• The new emperor urged the empress dowager to bring her daughter to Chang'an City so her family could not be used to control her.
• The empress dowager praised the new emperor's answer and invited Zhang Xuezhou to visit the Palace of Eternal Faith again for advice on Technique Methods.

The new emperor assigned Zhang Xuezhou to oversee his mausoleum, and the two devised a plan to disguise the Red Empyrean Sword among convincing fakes. When they examined the genuine sword, it collapsed into a limp, flexible blade, and Zhang Xuezhou recognized that it seemed made from the same unusual material as his Innate Spirit Wood Staff.

• The new emperor persuaded Zhang Xuezhou to oversee construction of his mausoleum, promising the lifelong post would protect him from military conscription and political attacks.
• Zhang Xuezhou proposed circulating fake Red Empyrean Swords to mislead thieves and expose whoever was targeting the real one.
• The new emperor suggested issuing swords made in the Red Empyrean Sword's design to Imperial Guard Battalion and Feathered Forest Guard commanders, and Zhang Xuezhou agreed the wider distribution would confuse pursuers.
• The new emperor drew the genuine Red Empyrean Sword, but its blade went limp and swung like a dead snake.
• Zhang Xuezhou touched the blade and recognized a sensation like fine scales, similar to the material of his Innate Spirit Wood Staff.

Zhang Xuezhou took the Red Empyrean Sword from the new emperor but remained wary of its power. He then rejected the old Spirit Silk Jade Lotus Root Li Shaojun brought him and asked for a tender, white one instead.

• The new emperor urged Zhang Xuezhou to obtain more of Ao Li's Essence Blood to awaken the Red Empyrean Sword, but Zhang Xuezhou avoided promising and left with the sword.
• Zhang Xuezhou returned home and teased Li Shaojun for complaining that he had not been invited to the wedding.
• Li Shaojun reported that Venerable Lei had obtained Spirit Silk Jade Lotus Root from the Eastern Heavenly Gate Secret Land and showed Zhang Xuezhou the yellow, aged root.
• Zhang Xuezhou tried to bite the root, learned its old fibers were too tough to chew, and explained that he needed it for medicine rather than insoles.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked Li Shaojun to get tender, white lotus root, and Li Shaojun agreed to speak with Lei Ming again despite the difficulty of stealing more.