Chapter Summaries

Dong Zhongshu explained the strengths and weaknesses of cultivation techniques, then welcomed Zhang Cigong into Confucian study and showed him how demanding its cultivation was. As the travelers entered Huainan, Dong Zhongshu began considering how to learn the Yin-Yang School’s Realm Technique and pursue Huang-Lao thought.

• Dong Zhongshu explained that every technique had a weakness, using the Mountain Moving Sect, Li Guang, close-combat fighters, and the Beast Taming Sect as examples.
• Zhang Cigong asked to study under Dong Zhongshu, who welcomed him and offered to teach him the Confucian School’s six classics.
• Zhang Cigong followed Dong Zhongshu’s recitation for hours, then realized the Confucian path demanded years of reading and study he could barely manage.
• Zhang Xuezhou told Zhang Cigong that the Yin-Yang School’s cultivation could bind him to its path and offered little practical combat ability.
• As the group reached Huainan, Dong Zhongshu considered seeking the Yin-Yang Nine People Sect’s Realm Technique and studying Huang-Lao thought.

Zhang Xuezhou and Dong Zhongshu reached Shouchun and entered the King of Huainan’s Literary Excellence Pavilion, where they received tokens granting them access to its teachings. Zhang Xuezhou was allowed to browse despite contributing no technique, and he entered the pavilion to find something useful.

• Dong Zhongshu explained that the Literary Excellence Pavilion exchanged cultivation teachings for contributions and that visitors could study teachings matching their contribution.
• Zhang Xuezhou, Zhang Cigong, Dong Zhongshu, Zhao Liang, and Accountant Du traveled to Shouchun, where Zhang Xuezhou marveled at the cultivators mingling in the streets.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Dong Zhongshu joined the queue at the Literary Excellence Pavilion while Zhao Liang stayed behind in the carriage with Zhang Cigong.
• Dong Zhongshu registered under the name Du Gou and demonstrated the Summoning Wind Technique, but the examiner gave him a D token without accepting another copy of the technique.
• Zhang Xuezhou registered as Dongfang Bubai, claimed to know the Yin Entity Tracking Technique, and received a D token without demonstrating it.

Zhang Xuezhou and Dong Zhongshu visited the Literary Excellence Pavilion to study the Luck Adding Technique, though Zhang Xuezhou’s story about a spirit medium made them question whether its promise was genuine. After learning it, both sensed an unusual, refreshing effect, leaving Dong Zhongshu intrigued but cautious.

• Dong Zhongshu explained that he had contributed only the basic Summoning Wind Technique because he preferred to exchange teachings cautiously.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Dong Zhongshu entered the Ding section of the Literary Excellence Pavilion and searched its rooms for a technique.
• Dong Zhongshu found the Luck Adding Technique, and Zhang Xuezhou decided to learn it alongside him.
• Zhang Xuezhou compared the technique’s promise to a spirit medium’s fortune-telling scheme, prompting Dong Zhongshu to consider whether its apparent success was an illusion.
• Dong Zhongshu read and explained the Luck Adding Technique, and Zhang Xuezhou memorized it before both men tried it.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Dong Zhongshu sensed a mysterious freshness after practicing, and Dong Zhongshu studied the scroll for confirmation while remaining wary.

Zhang Xuezhou, Dong Zhongshu, and Jin Chang learned the Luck Adding Technique and debated whether it truly changed fortune or merely encouraged belief. Jin Chang suspected the technique might affect lifespan or point toward a genuine higher-level secret preserved by the imperial household.

• Dong Zhongshu questioned how the Luck Adding Technique could be judged when its successes could be credited to fortune and its failures blamed on insufficient cultivation.
• Jin Chang and Zhang Xuezhou recognized each other, and Jin Chang explained that an old monk had taken Wu Chao to join the Western Sect.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Jin Chang recounted their recent hardships and said they had come to learn the Huang-Lao Technique to improve their luck.
• Jin Chang read the Luck Adding Technique and felt a subtle change, then listened as Dong Zhongshu explained Zhang Xuezhou's spirit medium theory.
• Jin Chang proposed that the technique might affect their allotted lifespan and that higher Huang-Lao teachings could contain a real secret about fortune.

Zhang Xuezhou, Dong Zhongshu, and Jin Chang discussed whether the Literary Excellence Pavilion held a genuine Huang-Lao luck Technique and learned that entering its Jia room required a valuable offering or service. They left without a solution, while Jin Chang and Dong Zhongshu both felt their misfortunes were closing in.

• Dong Zhongshu and Jin Chang suspected the Luck Adding Technique had mostly psychological effects, and Jin Chang said the Yi room held no Huang-Lao Techniques.
• Jin Chang explained that the Jia room required a verified high-grade Technique or a demanding assignment for the King of Huainan's Household.
• Dong Zhongshu proposed checking the Jia room for a Huang-Lao luck Technique, but Jin Chang warned that gaining court honors or entering the imperial secret repository would also be difficult.
• Jin Chang asked Zhang Xuezhou to have his godfather remove the Golden Toad Poison, but Zhang said the Golden Toad Dharma King was trapped in Western Kunlun.
• Dong Zhongshu learned that the King of Huainan's Household did not accept Confucian Realm Techniques, leaving him without a way to obtain a Jia token.

Zhang Xuezhou, Jin Chang, and Dong Zhongshu left the D-character room without finding an A-grade Technique for Jin Chang to contribute. They were swept into a crowd watching Lei Bei challenge the King of Huainan's Household's guest elders, where Mo Shengqi's sword attacks failed to touch Lei Bei.

• Zhang Xuezhou and Jin Chang discussed which Techniques qualified as A-grade, and Jin Chang admitted the Yin-Yang School had no suitable Technique to offer.
• Zhang Xuezhou, Jin Chang, and Dong Zhongshu left the D-character room and were carried along with spectators rushing to watch Lei Bei challenge an A-grade guest elder.
• The crowd explained that Lei Bei had passed a mechanism formation, and Jin Chang identified the three swordsmen testing candidates as Duan Sheli, Ning Yu, and Mo Shengqi.
• Mo Shengqi launched the Pingyang Sword Sect's Flying Flower Sword Technique at Lei Bei, but his sword strikes circled Lei Bei without landing a hit.

Lei Bei defeated Mo Shengqi and Duan Sheli with his seemingly crude but powerful swordsmanship, earning a path toward the King of Huainan's Household's top three guest retainers. The chapter ended with Duan Sheli recognizing Lei Bei's Horizontal Sword Technique as he died from a broken blade.

• Lei Bei blocked Mo Shengqi's Flying Flower Sword Technique and injured his hand, taking his ninth-place swordsmanship rank among the King of Huainan's Household's guest retainers.
• Lei Bei said he wanted to reach the top three to enter the Literary Excellence Pavilion and find a Realm Technique, then challenged Duan Sheli.
• Dong Zhongshu identified Duan Sheli as Nine Palaces True Person Chen Fengcheng, whose Nine Palaces Sword Technique unleashed nine successive blows.
• Lei Bei used his defensive swordsmanship to withstand Duan Sheli's attacks, while Jin Chang and Dong Zhongshu suspected he wielded the Horizontal Sword Technique.
• Lei Bei's sword snapped, and a broken piece pierced Duan Sheli's throat; Duan Sheli recognized the Horizontal Sword Technique before he died.

Lei Bei killed Duan Sheli in a platform duel and earned promotion to a grade-A guest elder, gaining access to the Literary Excellence Pavilion. As Lei Bei headed there to study, Zhang Xuezhou considered whether to recruit him as an escort or have him search for the Huang-Lao Technique.

• Lei Bei defeated Duan Sheli when a broken blade struck and killed the King of Huainan's Household's third-ranked swordsman.
• A servant gave Lei Bei purple robes and a token, told him the King would summon him in three days, and confirmed he could enter the grade-A room of the Literary Excellence Pavilion.
• Lei Bei cleared a path through the crowd and pulled Zhang Xuezhou, Dong Zhongshu, and Jin Chang out of the crush.
• Lei Bei said he wanted to study for at least two days and asked about Grain Avoidance Powder, admitting he had no money because he had lost it gambling at shefu.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked Dong Zhongshu and Jin Chang whether Lei Bei should escort them or check the grade-A room for the Huang-Lao Technique.

Lei Bei negotiated with Zhang Xuezhou, Jin Chang, and Dong Zhongshu over searching the Literary Excellence Pavilion and escorting them north, eventually agreeing to search for the Huang-Lao Technique in exchange for Grain Avoidance Powder. Zhang Xuezhou also secured their promise to let him study the technique, and Lei Bei entered the pavilion to begin searching.

• Lei Bei resisted Dong Zhongshu and Jin Chang's request to search the Literary Excellence Pavilion and escort them to the Northern Border unless he received a fair exchange.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Lei Bei pointed out that Zhang Xuezhou was providing the goods while Jin Chang and Dong Zhongshu were negotiating the terms, prompting Jin Chang to compromise.
• Jin Chang and Dong Zhongshu agreed to have Lei Bei record bamboo-slip titles containing the characters for fortune, Qi, or Dao in the pavilion's first-ranked room.
• Lei Bei accepted a portion of Grain Avoidance Powder as payment and carried it into the Literary Excellence Pavilion to search.
• Jin Chang agreed to escort Dong Zhongshu and the others to the Northern Border, while Zhang Xuezhou asked to study the Huang-Lao Technique if they obtained it.
• Jin Chang and Dong Zhongshu agreed to let Zhang Xuezhou study the technique, leaving him delighted.

During the group’s stay in Shouchun City, Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Cigong tried to study in the Literary Excellence Pavilion while Jin Chang and Dong Zhongshu grew suspicious of each other’s hidden identities. Zhang Xuezhou devised a jar-drawing game to keep them from pressing him for answers, but the chapter ended as both men saw what they had drawn.

• Zhang Xuezhou and Zhang Cigong visited the Literary Excellence Pavilion, where Zhang Cigong realized how much his illiteracy hindered his cultivation and asked Dong Zhongshu to teach them to read.
• Jin Chang asked Zhang Xuezhou about Dong Zhongshu, and Zhang Xuezhou revealed that Dong Zhongshu was Su Fang, the Beast Taming School’s sect master, injured when the court destroyed his sect.
• Dong Zhongshu questioned Zhang Xuezhou about Jin Chang, but Zhang Xuezhou only said Jin Chang was wanted by the imperial court, and neither man agreed to disclose his identity.
• As Lei Bei’s seven-day stay in the Literary Excellence Pavilion neared its end, Jin Chang and Dong Zhongshu continued probing each other while Zhang Xuezhou worried about what would happen next.
• Zhang Xuezhou placed identity clues and blank slips in four covered jars, shuffled them, and let Jin Chang and Dong Zhongshu each draw one; both men’s expressions changed when they read their slips.

Zhang Xuezhou used a guessing game to shift blame away from himself while Lei Bei returned with the names of the scriptures Jin Chang and Dong Zhongshu needed. Jin Chang and Dong Zhongshu remained unable to agree on how to reach the Grade A room, while Zhang Xuezhou’s illness worsened and Zhang Cigong wondered whether the Fortune Technique could change his fate.

• Zhang Xuezhou scraped the bamboo slips clean after the guessing game left Jin Chang and Dong Zhongshu exchanging awkward, meaningful looks.
• Lei Bei returned after five days and listed the five scriptures involving fortune, Qi, and Dao that Jin Chang and Dong Zhongshu had requested.
• Jin Chang warned that escorting them out could implicate Lei Bei, who rushed off after realizing he had kept the King of Huainan waiting.
• Jin Chang and Dong Zhongshu discussed their inability to obtain the Fortune Technique, since neither could fight their way into the Grade A room or offer a Grade A Technique.
• Zhang Xuezhou studied characters with Zhang Cigong, then collapsed into another sleeping spell; Zhang Cigong wondered whether fortune could change his fate.

After recovering, Zhang Xuezhou found Dong Zhongshu and Jin Chang still deadlocked over how to obtain a Grade A Technique. Their negotiation was interrupted when the wounded Lei Bei fled into the inn, pursued by Qinglingzi, a powerful guest elder who claimed he had the right to kill him.

• Zhang Xuezhou joined Zhao Liang and the others as Dong Zhongshu and Jin Chang continued bargaining over their Techniques and the price of access to the Grade A chamber.
• Dong Zhongshu and Jin Chang admitted they could not provide a Grade A Technique and asked Zhang Xuezhou to confirm their circumstances.
• Dong Zhongshu suggested the Mohists' drifting mechanism city as a source of a Grade A Technique, but Jin Chang rejected the distant and dangerous journey.
• Lei Bei stumbled into the inn covered in blood, and Qinglingzi followed with his sword drawn.
• Qinglingzi declared that Lei Bei had fled a fighting platform and that the King of Huainan had tacitly allowed him to kill him.

Qinglingzi pursued Lei Bei and demanded the School of Diplomacy's Horizontal Sword Technique, while Dong Zhongshu, Jin Chang, and Zhang Xuezhou watched. Lei Bei bargained for his life and revealed the technique carved on an animal hide, leaving the others tempted by its value.

• Qinglingzi pressured Lei Bei to surrender the Horizontal Sword Technique and threatened to kill him or cut off his right hand.
• Dong Zhongshu recognized Qinglingzi as the wanted swordsman Qing Luoheng, who had killed 139 people in Hanzhong.
• Lei Bei agreed to hand over the technique if Qinglingzi spared his life and right hand, claiming that he had found only a damaged copy.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked Dong Zhongshu and Jin Chang whether the Horizontal Sword was a grade-A technique, and Jin Chang confirmed it.
• Lei Bei took an animal-hide garment from beneath his robe, revealing the grade-A Horizontal Sword Technique carved into it.

Lei Bei used the Horizontal Sword Technique to fend off Qinglingzi, while Jin Chang and Dong Zhongshu joined the fight to help him. Their combined attack killed Qinglingzi, and Dong Zhongshu declared Lei Bei the King of Huainan's Household's second guest elder.

• Lei Bei refused to hand over the Horizontal Sword Technique unless Qinglingzi swore not to kill him or cut off his right hand.
• Jin Chang blocked Qinglingzi and demanded the Horizontal Sword Technique, while Dong Zhongshu proposed they take it to the Literary Excellence Pavilion together.
• Dong Zhongshu passed Lei Bei a longsword, and Jin Chang secretly restrained Qinglingzi's legs with Puppet Control Threads.
• Lei Bei blocked Qinglingzi's attack and used a Wind Blade Technique, while Jin Chang's threads and Dong Zhongshu's attack left Qinglingzi vulnerable.
• Lei Bei killed Qinglingzi with the broken sword, and Dong Zhongshu named him the King of Huainan's Household's second guest elder.

After Lei Bei killed Qinglingzi and took his token, Dong Zhongshu, Jin Chang, and Zhang Xuezhou debated how to deal with the Horizontal Sword Technique and the danger of Tian Jiu. Distrusting each other, Dong Zhongshu and Jin Chang agreed that Zhang Xuezhou should memorize the secret texts, while Lei Bei hurried them to act before Tian Jiu arrived.

• Lei Bei took Qinglingzi's token, and Dong Zhongshu and Jin Chang warned that Tian Jiu would come after him for the Horizontal Sword Technique.
• Lei Bei explained that he needed the King of Huainan's Household to access material that could complete his inherited technique, while Dong Zhongshu and Jin Chang sought entry to the grade-A room.
• Dong Zhongshu and Jin Chang distrusted each other and agreed to split what they learned rather than let either obtain the complete text.
• Lei Bei offered to memorize the secret texts for them, but Dong Zhongshu pointed out that he had previously failed to remember a Realm Technique in full.
• Zhang Xuezhou quietly answered Lei Bei's questions, prompting Jin Chang and Dong Zhongshu to propose that Zhang memorize the texts because of his strong memory.

Dong Zhongshu and Jin Chang persuaded Zhang Xuezhou to present Lei Bei’s Horizontal Sword Technique to the King of Huainan’s Household in exchange for entry to the A-Rank Room. Zhang Xuezhou reached the royal audience hall, where the King of Huainan summoned him, and the monarch’s appearance reminded him of Emperor Jing.

• Dong Zhongshu and Jin Chang argued over who should present the Horizontal Sword Technique, then convinced Zhang Xuezhou to act as their go-between.
• Lei Bei, Dong Zhongshu, and Jin Chang read the beast-hide scroll together, and Zhang Xuezhou memorized its contents.
• Officials questioned the guesthouse witnesses about Qinglingzi’s death, while Zhang Xuezhou and Lei Bei entered the King of Huainan’s Household.
• A red-armored guard admitted Lei Bei to the audience hall, where the King of Huainan summoned Zhang Xuezhou as Dongfang Bubai, the man offering an A-rank Technique.
• Zhang Xuezhou saw the King of Huainan and felt the monarch’s appearance recall Emperor Jing.

Zhang Xuezhou offered the King of Huainan a grade A Technique in exchange for permission to visit the A chamber of the Literary Excellence Pavilion. As the King granted his request, Tian Jiu arrived and accused Lei Bei of violence, leaving the dispute over Lei Bei’s actions unresolved.

• Zhang Xuezhou explained that Lei Bei had learned the Horizontal Sword Technique from the beast hide and identified it as a grade A Technique.
• The King of Huainan questioned Zhang Xuezhou about his skills, and Zhang Xuezhou said he preferred pill refinement and wanted access to the A chamber to study pill formulas.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked to trade the Technique for permission to visit the A chamber, and the King of Huainan agreed.
• A red-robed official objected that the Technique had not been verified and that Lei Bei should receive the reward, but Lei Bei said the beast hide belonged to Dongfang Bubai.
• Tian Jiu arrived and accused Lei Bei of nearly killing Duan Sheli and killing Qinglingzi, while the King of Huainan let the conflicting accounts continue.

Zhang Xuezhou helped Lei Bei settle the accusations surrounding Qinglingzi by revealing that Lei Bei had given the Horizontal Sword Technique to the King of Huainan. The king ordered Lei Bei and Tian Jiu to transcribe the technique and granted Zhang Xuezhou access to the A-Rank Chamber, while privately preparing to refine a life-extending pill using human medicine.

• Tian Jiu accused Lei Bei of wrongdoing and sought his sword technique, but Zhang Xuezhou said Lei Bei had already handed it to the King of Huainan.
• The King of Huainan summoned Tian Jiu to examine the Horizontal Sword Technique, and Tian Jiu pretended to recognize it despite being unable to read its ancient characters.
• The King of Huainan ordered Tian Jiu and Lei Bei to transcribe the technique into Han characters within three days and granted them three visits to the A-Rank Chamber.
• Zhang Xuezhou requested access to the A-Rank Chamber, and the King of Huainan granted permission before dismissing the officials and guest elders.
• The King of Huainan asked about Jin Chang and the preparations for a life-extending pill, then defended using human medicine and went to the A-Rank Chamber to consider refining it himself.

Zhang Xuezhou searched the grade-A room for a way to improve his luck, memorizing the Emperor's Scripture and Tomb Scripture after the King of Huainan guided him to them. The King later took two rolls of a dangerous School of Diplomacy technique from the room and left with them.

• Zhang Xuezhou rapidly memorized several cultivation texts while searching for pill formulas in the grade-A room.
• The King of Huainan told Zhang Xuezhou that the Emperor's Scripture taught Huang-Lao principles of fortune, and Zhang began studying it.
• The King recommended the simpler Tomb Scripture as a way to gain protection from one's ancestors, and Zhang memorized its six rolls.
• After Zhang continued reading, the King studied the Emperor's Scripture and dismissed Tian You so he could be alone.
• The King took two rolls containing the School of Diplomacy's Heaven-Stealing and Sun-Swapping Technique and left the grade-A room.

Zhang Xuezhou revealed that the Grade A manuals he had memorized were mostly incomplete and of limited use, though the Nine Revolutions Qi Uniting Technique could help preserve life. After Dong Zhongshu explained the medical technique, several listeners felt its effects and learned that it required continued practice.

• Zhang Xuezhou described the contents and limitations of five Grade A manuals, leaving Jin Chang and Dong Zhongshu disappointed by their bets.
• Jin Chang took a copy of the Nine Revolutions Qi Uniting Technique and left the carriage, while Dong Zhongshu chose to study and explain it.
• Dong Zhongshu translated the obscure manual into modern Han language, and Zhang Xuezhou, Zhao Liang, Zhang Cigong, and Zhang Bayang listened.
• Zhao Liang and the others felt varying bodily effects from the technique, and Dong Zhongshu explained that cultivation and injuries shaped those sensations.
• Zhang Xuezhou thought of Jin Chang and the Tomb Scripture but kept quiet about his additional gains.