Chapter Summaries

Master Zhao’s reward for curing Zhao Liang drew widespread attention, but no one dared take the notice. After discussing powerful Wind Techniques with Dong Zhongshu, Zhang Xuezhou met a blind man who claimed to have a remedy for Zhao Liang and offered to guide him to the young master.

• Master Zhao left the governor’s residence with Zhao Liang after a day passed without anyone answering the reward notice.
• Zhang Xuezhou urged Dong Zhongshu to name a Technique that could cure Zhao Liang, then compared Dong’s abilities with those of the deceased Venerable Yufeng.
• Dong Zhongshu identified Venerable Yufeng’s Wind Sha Technique as likely belonging to the Zhuangzi School and spoke of its founder, Zhuangzi.
• Zhang Xuezhou went out to visit Wen Weng and met a blind man seeking the governor’s residence who said he had a remedy for Zhao Liang.
• Zhang Xuezhou told the blind man he knew where Zhao Liang was and offered to take him there.

Zhang Xuezhou brought the blind Grandpa Jiang to treat Zhao Liang, who woke after Grandpa Jiang used a Daoist Technique. After Zhang Xuezhou left the Zhao Household, Kong Ning confronted him about the surging Yao Qi inside.

• Zhang Xuezhou escorted Grandpa Jiang to the Zhao Household and introduced him to Master Zhao as someone who might treat Zhao Liang.
• Master Zhao welcomed Grandpa Jiang and led him to Zhao Liang, while the shamaness Granny Chen stopped her ritual dance.
• Grandpa Jiang sprayed incanted water over Zhao Liang, who woke in a panic and then calmed down.
• Grandpa Jiang said Zhao Liang still needed medicinal treatment and requested numerous rare herbs, which Master Zhao ordered his servants to find.
• Kong Ning sent Zhang Xuezhou a voice transmission, and he left the Zhao Household to meet her outside.
• Kong Ning asked Zhang Xuezhou which Yao king he had provoked and whether he had been killing people, because Yao Qi was surging to the heavens.

Kong Ning sensed strong Yao Qi in the Zhao mansion and identified its source as the blue-robed Zhao Liang, though Zhang Xuezhou could not detect it and doubted her. As Zhang Xuezhou prepared to bring Kong Ning inside to investigate, a great Yao fled the mansion amid Grandpa Jiang’s scolding.

• Kong Ning delivered the Spirit-Forging Pill and relayed the Venerable One’s invitation for Zhang Xuezhou to visit the Xieluosi River Holy Land.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked Kong Ning to help protect Zhao Liang, saying his safety could affect the Venerable One’s mission.
• Kong Ning looked into the Zhao mansion and sensed Yao Qi coming from Zhao Liang, but Zhang Xuezhou insisted Zhao Liang was human and suggested the blind Grandpa Jiang might be responsible.
• Zhang Xuezhou invited Kong Ning to enter the Zhao mansion and examine Zhao Liang.
• Grandpa Jiang scolded someone inside, and a barking great Yao escaped the Zhao mansion as a mass of black wind.

Zhang Xuezhou returned to the Zhao Household with Kong Ning, who recognized that Zhao Liang was being controlled by a fox yao. After Kong Ning reflected Zhao Liang’s arrow and broke the spell, the fox yao died from the backlash.

• Zhang Xuezhou and Kong Ning returned to the Zhao Household after Er Gouzi’s bride disguise caused a commotion.
• Master Zhao thanked Zhang Xuezhou for bringing Grandpa Jiang, but Grandpa Jiang had disappeared, and Zhao Liang said the medicine would cure him.
• Kong Ning accused Zhao Liang of being controlled by a monster, while Zhang Xuezhou urged Master Zhao to test him with a private question.
• Zhao Liang ignored Master Zhao and shot an arrow at Kong Ning, who reflected it into his chest.
• The spell’s backlash struck the fox yao who had been performing a ritual, and she turned black and died.

After Kong Ning identified a hidden great demon’s curse on Zhao Liang, Zhang Xuezhou suspected the Ba Snake was behind it and urged Master Zhao to seek help from Governor Wen and Dong Zhongshu. The danger continued when another Zhao Household servant was found dead from a snakebite.

• Kong Ning killed the venomous snake that had bitten the fox demon, while Zhang Xuezhou treated Zhao Liang’s arrow wound.
• Kong Ning determined that a great demon had cursed Zhao Liang through a seven-day divine-soul incantation and that the fox demon had only assisted the caster.
• Zhang Xuezhou suspected the Ba Snake had cast the curse and told Master Zhao that Dong Zhongshu might be able to help find it.
• Kong Ning left, and Master Zhao sent people to fetch Governor Wen and beg Dong Zhongshu for help.
• A guest retainer returned with Zhang Sanyang’s corpse and reported that a snake had poisoned him; Zhao Liang then cried out about snakes in his sleep.

Snakes and venomous creatures swarmed Shu Commandery City, and Zhang Xuezhou used a magic recorder to help Wen Weng drive them back. Wen Weng and Zhang Shu exposed the snake demon Grandpa Jiang, who begged for his life and claimed he had been forced to come.

• Snakes and venomous creatures appeared throughout Shu Commandery City, prompting Master Zhao to order residents to make noise and light bonfires.
• Zhang Xuezhou flew beyond the city to investigate but found no snakes drawn to Wen Weng's trap, then returned to help defend the walls.
• Zhang Xuezhou used a recorder that repelled venomous creatures and handed it to Wen Weng, whose Law Power spread its effect across a wide area.
• Wen Weng detected a stubborn presence, and Zhang Shu shot Grandpa Jiang, revealing him as a white python snake demon.
• Grandpa Jiang begged Wen Weng to spare him and said someone had forced him to come.

Wen Weng and the others hunted the snakes in Shu Commandery City after Zhang Shu killed Grandpa Jiang, while Zhang Xuezhou watched for the Ba Snake. The Ba Snake appeared, accused a dog demon of taking his medicine, and fled when Kong Ning called him Ten Yin.

• Zhang Shu killed the wounded white python after it sprayed poisonous rain, and Wen Weng contained the poison with Law Power.
• Zhang Xuezhou reported that Zhao Liang had been struck by a rare divine-soul Incantation, prompting Wen Weng to send Zhang Shu to warn Dong Zhongshu; Zhang Xuezhou then revealed that members of the Zhao Household were already visiting Dong.
• Wen Weng led a snake-killing campaign through Shu Commandery City while Zhang Xuezhou watched the trap and spotted a white-haired dog demon insulting the python's corpse.
• Dong Zhongshu arrived with Wen Weng and warned that a snake-headed, human-bodied demon was nearby; the Ba Snake leaped over the city wall as arrows flew at him.
• The Ba Snake accused the barking dog demon of taking his medicine, then fled the city after Kong Ning called him Ten Yin.

After the Ba Snake escaped Shu Commandery City, Zhang Xuezhou, Dong Zhongshu, and Wen Weng discussed their failed attempt to catch him and the danger he posed. Dong Zhongshu said he could no longer use Zhao Liang to track the Ba Snake, leaving Zhang Xuezhou hopeful that Zhao Liang would recover and the wedding banquet could proceed.

• Zhang Xuezhou questioned whether the venomous python he had encountered was the Ten Yin Holy Son, then decided to let Kong Ning investigate the Ba Snake.
• Zhang Xuezhou resolved to earn money, buy medicine, and leave Shu Commandery City after the Ba Snake ignored the Eye of the Ba Snake and attacked the city instead.
• Dong Zhongshu came to Zhang Xuezhou for treatment after the Ba Snake shot an arrow into his arm, and the two complained about their hardships.
• Wen Weng joined Zhang Xuezhou and Dong Zhongshu and admitted that the Ba Snake’s retaliation had made guarding Shu Commandery City difficult.
• Dong Zhongshu explained that the Ba Snake would likely dispel his technique on Zhao Liang, preventing him from tracking the yao again.
• Zhang Xuezhou was pleased that Zhao Liang might regain his senses, allowing the Zhao Household and Zhang Household to hold the wedding banquet.

After the Ba Snake attack, Zhang Xuezhou tried to leave Shu Commandery City, claiming he needed treatment and money for medicine. Dong Zhongshu and Wen Weng persuaded him to stay, and Zhang Shu revealed that Master Zhao had broken bones and wanted Zhang Xuezhou to treat him.

• Dong Zhongshu said Zhao Liang had been left slightly mad after Dong borrowed his body to fight the Ba Snake, while Wen Weng praised Zhang Xuezhou for using the Cassia Seed Dharma Flute to help protect Shu Commandery City.
• Zhang Xuezhou said he planned to leave Shu Commandery City and seek treatment, but Dong Zhongshu and Wen Weng argued that traveling alone was dangerous and he could earn money treating people there.
• Zhang Xuezhou complained that he had saved people without being paid and hinted that Zhang Shu could give him money for medicine.
• Zhang Shu said Master Zhao had broken bones during the attack and had been hoping Zhang Xuezhou would visit to treat him.
• Zhang Xuezhou felt secretly pleased at the prospect of treating Master Zhao for a fee.

After realizing that his techniques made him unusually valuable in Shu Commandery City, Zhang Xuezhou stopped anxiously seeking payment and set up a stall offering paid treatment for external injuries. He quickly healed his first customer and left him enthusiastically calling for more patients.

• Zhang Xuezhou recognized that his techniques and Cassia Seed Dharma Flute made him difficult to replace in Shu Commandery City, easing his worries about money.
• Zhang Xuezhou decided to set up a stall and charge for treating external injuries instead of proactively offering free help.
• After patrolling the city overnight, Zhang Xuezhou returned to the commandery governor's residence and prepared a sign that read "Treating external injuries only."
• A young man with a swollen face came to Zhang Xuezhou's stall after being struck by an iron fork while people fought snakes in the dark.
• Zhang Xuezhou charged the young man ten half-liang coins, cut his face to release congested blood, and healed him with the Supreme Purity True Technique.
• The young man praised Zhang Xuezhou as an immortal and began shouting to attract customers.

After the Ba Snake attack left the Zhao Household with severe injuries and deaths, its women blamed Dong Zhongshu and demanded that he take responsibility. They finally found Zhang Xuezhou at his healing stall, where Lüluo explained the household’s troubles and agreed to pay for treatment.

• The Zhao Household suffered heavy losses after Zhao Liang was struck by the Ba Snake's Curse Technique, Master Zhao was injured, Zhang Sanyang was killed, and two guest retainers died.
• Dong Zhongshu was pursued by three women from the Zhao Household, who accused him of causing Zhao Liang's condition and Master Zhao's injury.
• Dong Zhongshu spotted Zhang Xuezhou treating people at a stall and directed the Zhao Household women to him for help.
• Lüluo reached Zhang Xuezhou and explained that she was the third wife of the head of the Zhao Household.
• Zhang Xuezhou showed Lüluo his treatment board, and she said the Zhao Household had money to pay.

Zhang Xuezhou examined Master Zhao and demanded five strings of coins to treat his internal injuries, while Master Zhao realized the Zhao Household’s prospects depended on saving Zhao Liang and retaining influence at court. Dong Zhongshu remained trapped in the household’s affairs and worried about the consequences of his entanglements.

• Zhang Xuezhou refused to go to the Zhao Household and said he would treat qualifying patients who were brought to him.
• Hongyi and Lüluo asked Dong Zhongshu to persuade Zhang Xuezhou to examine Master Zhao, while Dong Zhongshu briefly felt close to a cultivation breakthrough in the sunlight.
• The Zhao Household brought Master Zhao by carriage, and Dong Zhongshu moved aside as Master Zhao was carried out.
• Zhang Xuezhou diagnosed Master Zhao with internal bleeding and bruising and charged five strings of coins for treatment.
• Master Zhao realized Zhang Xuezhou’s lower fee suggested Zhao Liang’s condition was worse, and told Hongyi to keep pressing Dong Zhongshu because he believed only Dong could save Liang'er.

Zhang Xuezhou healed Master Zhao’s injuries and used the payment to buy medicinal ingredients for making Grain Avoidance Powder. When Master Zhao offered more money to obtain herbs for his sick youngest son, the gathered crowd eagerly volunteered to become herb gatherers.

• Zhang Xuezhou insisted on charging Master Zhao fairly, then treated his injuries with the Deer-Slaying Blade and a healing technique.
• Master Zhao recovered enough to stand and walk, and Zhang Xuezhou advised him to eat nourishing food while he regained his strength.
• Zhang Xuezhou spent his payment on older medicinal ingredients to refine stronger Grain Avoidance Powder.
• Master Zhao asked whether herbs sought by Grandpa Jiang could help his youngest son, and Zhang Xuezhou said they might replenish the boy’s Qi and Blood.
• Master Zhao offered another ten strings of coins for herbs, and the crowd began volunteering to gather them.

Dong Zhongshu used Zhao Liang as the material for another tracking spell and found Kong Ning fighting the Ba Snake. The Ba Snake claimed his name was Jiang Qi and fled Shu Commandery, while Kong Ning remained uncertain about his identity.

• Zhang Xuezhou watched Wen Weng persuade the Zhao Household to let Dong Zhongshu use Zhao Liang again for a tracking spell.
• Dong Zhongshu cast the spell and revealed Kong Ning confronting the wounded Ba Snake, whom she suspected of being Zhu Shiyin, the Ten Yin Holy Son.
• The Ba Snake denied being Ten Yin and claimed his name was Jiang Qi, persuading Kong Ning that he might only share the Holy Son's techniques by coincidence.
• Kong Ning sensed someone watching, and the Ba Snake also felt watched as he fled from her and left Shu Commandery.

Dong Zhongshu and Wen Weng tracked the Ba Snake yao west, where Kong Ning had driven it away from Shu Commandery. Wen Weng expected Zhao Liang’s mind to recover once the Ba Snake lost control of him, but Dong Zhongshu revealed that Zhao Liang’s body remained damaged and planned to seek General Li Guang’s help.

• Dong Zhongshu told Wen Weng that Kong Ning, a great yao from the Xieluosi River, was pursuing the Ba Snake west toward the Savage Wilderness.
• Wen Weng welcomed the Ba Snake’s departure and advised Dong Zhongshu to study Huang-Lao teachings because his fortune seemed to have turned against him.
• After ending his tracking technique, Dong Zhongshu heard Wen Weng explain that the Ba Snake’s separation from Zhao Liang would likely end the Incantation Technique and restore Zhao Liang’s mind.
• Dong Zhongshu revealed that Zhao Liang’s body had been damaged by the clash of Law Power and said he would take him to seek General Li Guang’s help.
• Dong Zhongshu explained that the Jade Purity True Technique could treat clashes of Law Power within the body, and Wen Weng reacted uneasily to its name.

After the Ba Snake fled Shu Commandery, Zhang Xuezhou arranged to travel north with Dong Zhongshu and negotiated for the Eye of the Ba Snake. Wen Weng offered his rare Immobilize Character Scroll in exchange, leaving Zhang Xuezhou satisfied with the proposed trade.

• Zhang Xuezhou concluded that the Ba Snake had fled because it feared the Venerable One, then decided to retrieve its eye and travel north with Dong Zhongshu.
• Zhang Xuezhou persuaded Dong Zhongshu to let him join the journey to the Northern Border Military Region, where Zhao Liang would receive treatment.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Shu rode outside Shu Commandery City and retrieved the Eye of the Ba Snake.
• Wen Weng asked to exchange the Cassia Seed Dharma Flute for the Eye of the Ba Snake, and Dong Zhongshu argued that Wen Weng should offer additional compensation.
• Wen Weng offered his Immobilize Character Scroll, and he and Dong Zhongshu explained its uses, limits, and diminishing power to Zhang Xuezhou.
• Zhang Xuezhou welcomed the trade, which would give him the scroll and sever Wen Weng's connection to the Eye of the Ba Snake.

Zhang Xuezhou learned how merchants navigated Han Dynasty checkpoints and considered traveling alone to retrieve his herbs if Dong Zhongshu departed. Before he left, Zhang Shu thanked him with a heavy pouch of coins, and Zhang Xuezhou realized his cultivation techniques gave him wealth that money could not buy.

• Zhang Xuezhou asked Pockmarked Wang Er about trade and learned that traveling merchants could pass checkpoints by paying guards, while ordered herbs took days or weeks to arrive.
• Zhang Shu told Zhang Xuezhou that Dong Zhongshu and the commandery governor wanted to see him, prompting Zhang Xuezhou to worry about leaving before his herbs arrived.
• Zhang Shu gave Zhang Xuezhou a pouch of banliang coins in gratitude for healing his sword wound.
• Zhang Shu offered to trade money for pills, Realm Techniques, or martial arts, and Zhang Xuezhou recognized that his cultivation knowledge was valuable to wealthy households.

Zhang Xuezhou joined Dong Zhongshu’s planned journey to the Northern Border Military Region under the alias Dongfang Shuo, while he and Dong Zhongshu discussed whether educating the people could threaten the court’s rule. Zhang Xuezhou admitted he had no answer yet and began considering the consequences of publicizing cultivation techniques.

• Zhang Shu gave Zhang Xuezhou four strings and 999 banliang coins as a thank-you gift, and Zhang Xuezhou later met Dong Zhongshu at the commandery governor’s residence.
• Dong Zhongshu explained that the group would travel with Zhao Baojia’s merchant caravan and asked Zhang Xuezhou to use an alias for his travel pass.
• Zhang Xuezhou chose the name Dongfang Shuo, and Wen Weng created a false background placing his ancestral home in Fuping County in the Northern Border.
• After Wen Weng and the others left, Dong Zhongshu told Zhang Xuezhou that Wen Weng hoped he would promote the academy, and Zhang Xuezhou argued that the people needed education to help govern the state.
• Dong Zhongshu warned that an enlightened populace might become difficult to govern and asked what should be done; Zhang Xuezhou said he needed time to consider the question and the risks of making cultivation techniques public.

Dong Zhongshu left Shu Commandery City wrestling with the dangers of empowering the schools and the possibility of restoring a balance between the imperial court and cultivators. At the Academy District Medical Center, Ren Yisheng answered Zhang Xuezhou’s question by explaining that the Gene Fighting Technique and Realm Technique could eventually benefit everyone, but only after society solved their flaws and developed enough to support them.

• After taking Grain Avoidance Powder, Zhang Xuezhou lost control of his body and joined Dong Zhongshu’s departing convoy as a bedridden passenger.
• As the convoy left Shu Commandery City, Dong Zhongshu reflected on Wen Weng’s ideas and weighed the risks of promoting Wen Weng Academy against the need to balance the imperial court and the schools.
• Dong Zhongshu considered whether a supreme Confucian School could restrain cultivators and restore the former unity of heaven and earth, but doubted that the imperial court and another power could coexist peacefully.
• At the Academy District Medical Center, Zhang Xuezhou asked Ren Yisheng about sharing advanced knowledge and techniques with the public.
• Ren Yisheng explained that Gene Fighting Technique and Realm Technique could become broadly available once their flaws were solved and society had the knowledge and resources to use them safely.

Zhang Xuezhou received tailored X446 Body Repair Technology containing crane blood serum, which healed his chest injury and strengthened his avian genes. As he began practicing the Grain Avoidance Technique in the True Spirit Realm, Ren Yisheng considered how Zhang’s unusual marksmanship and combat abilities could shape the Kunpeng Combat Technique.

• Ren Yisheng discussed how society’s progress could not be stopped by any single lineage and said Luo Zhong had once been stronger than Committee Member Zhou.
• Zhang Xuezhou underwent a customized X446 treatment and sensed that it contained avian blood serum.
• Ren Yisheng explained that crane genes from Zhou Yueyan’s laboratory would strengthen Zhang Xuezhou’s avian genes, benefiting his Crane Form Fist and Kunpeng Combat Technique.
• Ren Yisheng reflected that Zhang Xuezhou’s exceptional marksmanship and ranged abilities made his combat style unusually effective, though difficult for others to imitate.
• Zhang Xuezhou began advancing his Grain Avoidance Technique in the True Spirit Realm inside the apparatus.