Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xuezhou used his Yang Corporeal Soul to draw the Xiong State archer’s fire while the soldiers and Zhang An fought the bandits, killing one Xiong State expert at the cost of one death and two injuries. As Du Zhou rallied the marauders to surround the remaining archer, the elder suddenly charged toward the carriage.

• Zhang Xuezhou sent his Yang Corporeal Soul into the air to distract the Xiong State fighters, while Zhang An and the soldiers killed the curved-saber wielder, suffering one death and two injuries.
• The Xiong State archer begged Zhang Xuezhou for mercy after using six arrows, but Zhang Xuezhou challenged him to shoot ten.
• Du Zhou urged the marauders to turn on the archer and promised them identity tallies, land, homes, and money on behalf of Nanyang.
• The marauders and soldiers closed in on the Xiong State elder, who drew a short knife and then suddenly ran toward the carriage.

The Xiong State elder broke through the encirclement and attacked the carriage, hoping to seize a hostage, but Zhang Xuezhou used an innate spiritual object to suppress him. Rong Li and Zhang An exploited his helplessness to kill him, leaving Zhang Xuezhou safe.

• The Xiong State elder killed two bandits and charged toward the carriage to take a hostage while Du Zhou and the others tried to stop him.
• The elder slashed open the carriage curtain, mistook its frightened occupants for bait, and attacked them after failing to find an official.
• Zhang Xuezhou’s suppression made the elder see a powerful axe-wielding opponent, while Rong Li followed shouted commands to cut him with her butcher’s knife.
• The elder’s body began to rot under Zhang Xuezhou’s power, and Zhang An reached the carriage and beheaded him.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained that his innate spiritual object had let him suppress a Body Transformation Realm cultivator, and confirmed that Zhang An’s final blow had killed the elder.

After a Xiong State expert ambushed the carriage and was killed by a passing cultivator, Zhang Xuezhou healed Zhang An’s severed fingers and ordered the party to continue toward Nanyang. Rong Li and her companions began to grasp how different the world of cultivators was from life in Hibiscus City, leaving Rong Li wary of the dangers ahead in Chang’an.

• Du Zhou arrived too late to protect Zhang Xuezhou, whose carriage had been saved when a passing great cultivator killed the Xiong State expert.
• Zhang Xuezhou questioned Du Zhou about the region’s bandit troubles, then offered to heal Zhang An’s severed fingers.
• Zhang An found his fingers, and Zhang Xuezhou used the Supreme Purity True Technique to reattach them.
• Zhang Xuezhou told the roving bandits they could collect rewards in Nanyang, then ordered them to clear the road so the party could leave.
• Rong Li, Rong Tianding, and Jia Zhiyuan discussed the cultivators they had encountered, and Rong Li accepted that Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding had entered that world.

After the danger in Nanyang City passed, Zhang Xuezhou refined the innate spiritual object and realized it could strengthen his suppression enough to restrain cultivators at his level. The group reached Gong County and prepared to continue toward Luoyang City, while Zhang Xuezhou reassured Zhang An about Du Zhou’s prospects.

• Zhang Xuezhou continued refining the green wooden staff and reflected that its power could make him the strongest Body Transformation Realm cultivator at his level.
• Rong Tianding asked about Zhang Xuezhou’s treasures, and Zhang Xuezhou promised to give him a suitable treasure once his cultivation advanced.
• The carriage reached Gong County, and Rong Tianding went to arrange new men, horses, food, and wheels for the journey toward Luoyang City.
• Zhang An asked Zhang Xuezhou to recommend Du Zhou, and Zhang Xuezhou explained that Du Zhou’s merit from defeating the two Xiong State experts could help him rise without a recommendation.

Zhang Xuezhou reunited with Sang Hongyang near Luoyang and learned that the new emperor had tasked him with transporting goods to replenish the state treasury. Sang Hongyang invited Zhang Xuezhou to travel with his convoy to Chang'an City and meet the emperor.

• Zhang Xuezhou and his companions endured two days and nights of travel before reaching a relay station outside Luoyang City.
• Zhang Xuezhou met Sang Hongyang, who asked where he had been for the past six months; Zhang said he had traveled widely across the Great Han Dynasty and completed his recruitment work.
• Sang Hongyang explained that the new emperor had given him money to buy and transport goods from Luoyang to Chang'an, with the profits intended to replenish the state treasury.
• Zhang Xuezhou warned Sang Hongyang that hoarding wealth could be harmful, and Sang Hongyang admitted he was following the emperor's orders despite not understanding his intentions.
• Sang Hongyang invited Zhang Xuezhou to enter the palace with him, and Zhang joined his convoy for the journey to Chang'an City.
• On the road, Zhang Xuezhou examined Sang Hongyang's business records and considered how the convoy's information advantage might affect merchants and create opportunities for his own shops.

Zhang Xuezhou and Sang Hongyang traveled toward Chang'an City, discussing court politics and the commercial opportunities tied to the emperor’s plans. As the convoy reached the city, Zhang learned how tightly its major trades were controlled and saw that Rong Tianding would have little chance to resume pig slaughtering there.

• Zhang Xuezhou and Sang Hongyang discussed the new emperor’s growing authority and their limited prospects for official advancement.
• Sang Hongyang described the goods in his convoy, and Zhang considered taking over cloth shops and dyeing workshops for Zhang Household Village.
• Zhang thought about restoring his body, advancing his cultivation, and seeking help from Jin Chang, Zheng Wukong, Chunyu Tiying, and Yao Yuanguang.
• The convoy reached Chang'an City, where Rong Li was astonished by the crowds and proposed selling pigs there.
• Sang Hongyang explained that Chang'an’s slaughtering business was controlled by major slaughterhouses, leaving little room for Rong Tianding to return to pig slaughtering.

Zhang Xuezhou reported to the new emperor that he had found Li Shaojun and persuaded him to travel to Chang'an, though Li Shaojun had not yet arrived. The emperor accepted Zhang Xuezhou’s sealed travel document but remained uncertain whether he had truly completed the task, while Sang Hongyang waited outside with his accounts and goods.

• Zhang Xuezhou and Sang Hongyang entered the palace together, and Li Guang remarked that Zhang Xuezhou had survived despite his earlier injury.
• Li Guang asked Sang Hongyang about rumors that he had made a fortune, and Sang Hongyang denied it while worrying that the rumors could threaten his family.
• Zhang Xuezhou told the new emperor that Li Shaojun had agreed to come to Chang'an after Zhang found him, but that he was still on his way.
• Zhang Xuezhou named Gongsun Hong as a witness and submitted a sealed document recording his travels across numerous regions.
• The new emperor let Zhang Xuezhou leave without a reward until Li Shaojun arrived, then privately judged him unreliable and Sang Hongyang dependable.

Zhang Xuezhou returned to Chang'an and reported to the new emperor before leaving the palace, while the emperor prepared to go out again and asked Sang Hongyang whether Zhang had completed his mission. The emperor decided to wait for Zhang’s results and reflected on the lack of trustworthy young officials to advance.

• Zhang Xuezhou reported to the new emperor, then left the palace without receiving a reward or punishment.
• Li Guang wondered what Zhang had been sent to do and watched the new emperor prepare to leave Weiyang Palace with the Red Empyrean Sword.
• The new emperor told Li Guang he was going out to understand the people’s lives, then asked Sang Hongyang whether Zhang had completed his mission.
• Sang Hongyang relayed Zhang’s claim that he had traveled across Great Han and completed the task, so the new emperor decided to wait longer.
• The new emperor considered the court officials he distrusted and wished he had capable young people to place in important positions, but Wei Qing was not ready to serve as his trump card.

Zhang Xuezhou returned to Chang'an City and learned that his relatives had brought their money but were struggling to settle in, while he could not find Xu Yuan or the villagers who had fled. He rushed out to check on the village and arranged for his family to buy grain and pigs, leaving his relatives to depend on his support.

• Lady Yourong and Zhang Changgong brought the household’s banliang coins to Chang’an City, but they could not easily leave and return without travel permits.
• Di Rang and Rong Tianding told Zhang Xuezhou they had failed to find Xu Yuan, who was reportedly gravely ill and had briefly returned looking for them.
• Zhang Xuezhou decided to go outside the city to check on the villagers and told Zhang Changgong and his cousin to buy as much grain as possible, along with a couple of pigs.
• Rong Li and Lady Yourong worried that feeding more than a hundred refugees and settling in Chang'an City would cost too much, while Jia Zhiyuan doubted he could earn a living teaching or selling paintings.
• Di Rang reassured the newcomers that Lord Dongfang would make proper arrangements, since Zhang Xuezhou had become their pillar in Chang'an City.

Zhang Xuezhou searched the slums for Xu Yuan and found Xu Ji, who had helped the people of Zhang Household Village survive while they waited for his return. He reached their newly built settlement and heard Zhang Zhong call out to him from the darkness.

• Zhang Xuezhou hired children to lead him through the slums to the fields where Xu Yuan and Xu Ji were said to be.
• The children described Xu Yuan and the others gathering bitter wild plants, easing Zhang Xuezhou's worry that the villagers had gone hungry or been poisoned.
• Zhang Xuezhou rewarded the children and flew across the fields to meet Xu Ji, thanking him for saving the villagers.
• Xu Ji explained that he and the villagers had endured months of hard labor and scarcity while Xu Yuan insisted they wait for Zhang Xuezhou.
• Zhang Xuezhou entered the settlement the villagers had built, began checking Xu Ji's health, and stood when Zhang Zhong's voice called from the darkness.

Zhang Xuezhou reunited with the people of Zhang Household Village outside Chang'an and discussed their urgent needs with Xu Yuan and Xu Ji. With farming alone too uncertain to support them, Xu Ji suggested that only the emperor might be able to change their fate.

• The people of Zhang Household Village welcomed Zhang Xuezhou, who praised Xu Yuan for helping them reclaim land and keep themselves fed.
• Xu Yuan asked Zhang Xuezhou to arrange cloth, cooking pots, eating containers, and safer drinking water for the villagers.
• Zhang Xuezhou reflected that the villagers had lost nearly an entire generation of children after families were separated in Huainan.
• Xu Yuan warned that the older hunters could not work indefinitely and recommended cultivating as much as a thousand mu; Xu Ji pointed out the dangers of relying on farming.
• Zhang Xuezhou and Xu Ji discussed seeking labor-intensive business, but recognized the villagers' age and lack of experience made it difficult.
• Xu Ji suggested that the emperor might be the only person able to improve the villagers' prospects, since Zhang Xuezhou was close to him.

Zhang Xuezhou discussed ways to support Zhang Household Village with Xu Ji and Xu Yuan, then returned to Chang'an City to organize food and supplies for the villagers. As he began explaining their plans to his household, Wei Shao'er arrived at the gate.

• Xu Ji warned that farming and medicinal herbs would not be enough to support the villagers, and Zhang Xuezhou proposed combining farming, business, and opportunities through the court.
• Zhang Xuezhou promised the villagers food and meat for six months, told them to collect provisions outside Chang'an City the next morning, and left Zhang Zhong in charge.
• Zhang Xuezhou suspected Zhang Cigong was having trouble leaving the King of Huainan's Household in Chang'an City.
• Zhang Xuezhou flew back to Chang'an City, where Rong Tianding and the others were processing pork for the household.
• Zhang Xuezhou told the household how difficult life was for the villagers and began discussing their plans, but a knock at the gate announced Wei Shao'er.

Wei Shao'er asked Zhang Xuezhou to explain the persistent lump in her belly, which she feared was a second child left after giving birth. She revealed that the Marquis of Pingyang had offered her and Qubing a place to stay, leading Zhang Xuezhou to suspect the marquis was the new emperor in disguise.

• Wei Shao'er told Zhang Xuezhou that she had not been with Chen Zhang since giving birth and wondered whether she had carried twins, with one child still in her belly.
• Zhang Xuezhou examined the soft lump and called out to the Painting Demon, but it did not respond, and he could not diagnose her condition.
• Wei Shao'er said she had taken three jin of safflower to induce an abortion, despite physicians advising her to care for the pregnancy.
• Zhang Xuezhou suggested she wait for Zheng Wukong and Chunyu Tiying, whom he was also expecting.
• Wei Shao'er explained that the Marquis of Pingyang had invited her and Qubing to stay at his household and was playing with the child and teaching him to talk.
• Zhang Xuezhou connected the marquis to the new emperor and wondered why he had left the palace to spend time with Qubing.

Wei Shao'er and Chen Zhang returned to the Marquis of Pingyang's Household after learning that Zhang Xuezhou would not explain the strange connection between her child and the Immortal Court. Their infant kept crying despite everyone's efforts to soothe him, so Chen Zhang suggested asking Dongfang Shuo to examine the child.

• Wei Shao'er returned from Zhang Xuezhou's residence without learning what connected her childbirth to the Immortal Court, and she hid her suspicions out of fear for her family.
• Wei Shao'er and Chen Zhang rode to the Marquis of Pingyang's Household, where they found Wei Qing and the Marquis of Pingyang trying to calm their crying infant.
• Wei Shao'er nursed the child, but he soon began crying again, and the household could not work out why he would not settle.
• The new emperor took the infant and praised his loud cries until the child briefly stopped, but the crying soon resumed.
• Chen Zhang suggested they ask Dongfang Shuo to examine the infant, and Wei Shao'er hesitated because Zhang Xuezhou had described his medical knowledge as postpartum care for livestock.

Zhang Xuezhou prepared pork for displaced poor people after seeing them starving outside Chang'an City, while Li Guang bought meat for the new emperor. Troubled by reports of people gnawing on grass despite the city's relief policies, the new emperor decided to inspect the area at daybreak.

• The new emperor and Li Guang smelled pork cooking at the Zhang residence, and Li Guang went to buy some for them.
• Wei Shao'er and Chen Zhang left the residence happily after Dongfang Shuo helped Qubing crawl.
• Zhang Xuezhou gave Li Guang two strips of bone-in pork and explained that he planned to feed displaced poor people after daybreak.
• The new emperor ate the pork and questioned how people could be starving outside Chang'an City despite its preferential policies.
• The new emperor decided to inspect the area outside the city once it was light.

Zhang Xuezhou led a wagon train of food out of Chang’an, while Lady Yourong and Zhang Changgong left the city to rejoin their village companions. After Zhang Xuezhou suppressed would-be robbers on the road, the new emperor learned that a scholar awaiting orders had used such power and suspected Zhang Xuezhou had reached the Divine Ability Realm.

• Lady Yourong and Zhang Changgong chose to leave Chang’an and reunite with Zhang Zhong and the others outside the city.
• Zhang Xuezhou and his companions carried their food supplies through the slum, where he frightened off two ruffians and suppressed the young men who gathered to rob them.
• The new emperor encountered the suppressed men, and Li Guang identified their condition as the effect of a Sole Self Realm cultivator.
• Passersby told the new emperor that an official called a scholar awaiting orders had led the caravan and dealt with the would-be robbers.
• The new emperor suspected Zhang Xuezhou had entered the Divine Ability Realm.

Zhang Household Village began rebuilding near Chang'an City after Zhang Xuezhou returned with food and supplies. As the villagers looked toward a self-sufficient future, the new emperor disguised himself and arrived to learn how they had become so poor.

• Zhang Baojia reflected on the villagers’ hardships and felt renewed hope when Zhang Xuezhou’s grain, meat, and supplies arrived.
• Zhang Zhong urged Zhang Baojia and the others to rebuild the village, support themselves, and help Zhang Xuezhou rise in the imperial court.
• Zhang Baojia invited a wealthy young stranger and his companions to share the village’s food after they asked for a meal.
• The disguised new emperor questioned Zhang Baojia about the villagers’ poverty, and Zhang Baojia said they had been deceived.
• Zhang Xuezhou approached with a bowl of food, drawing the new emperor’s attention as a Divine Ability Realm cultivator.

Zhang Xuezhou explained his incomplete Divine Ability Realm cultivation to the new emperor and gauged that he remained valuable to the court. Their discussion of how Zhang Household Village’s disaster victims could support themselves revealed that Northern Border veterans had received far less discharge pay than regulations required, implicating corruption in Li Guang’s military region.

• Zhang Xuezhou told the new emperor that he could suppress others but lacked transformed Law Power and great Divine Ability Techniques because his Heaven and Earth Bridges were damaged.
• The new emperor urged Zhang Xuezhou to work with Li Shaojun on medicine, then asked how the disaster victims would find food after their supplies ran out.
• Zhang Xuezhou explained that farming and hunting could not reliably feed the villagers, who lacked tools, seed, reserves, and nearby game.
• Li Guang questioned Zhang Baojia about his military service and learned that he and other veterans had received far less discharge pay than expected.
• The new emperor heard the veterans’ accounts and suspected that funds intended for the Northern Border Military Region had not been used properly.

Zhang Xuezhou’s account of soldiers’ stolen severance pay forced the new emperor and Li Guang to confront corruption in the Northern Border Military Region. The emperor gave Zhang a token to help Zhang Household Village obtain legal identities, while Zhang warned that investigating the entrenched corruption would be difficult.

• Li Guang realized that Zhang Baojia’s report of receiving only half a string of cash instead of ten strings could expose widespread theft of retired soldiers’ severance pay.
• The new emperor questioned how they could investigate the Northern Border Military Region’s finances without being able to repay the missing money or restore public trust.
• Zhang Xuezhou asked the emperor to help the people of Zhang Household Village obtain passes and recognized identities, and the emperor handed him an iron token for the Jingzhao governor’s office.
• Zhang Xuezhou described how a caravan’s confiscated money had never been returned despite Li Jiao’s intervention and the punishment of the officials responsible.
• Zhang Xuezhou warned that the missing money pointed to a tangled system of corruption that could not be fixed by punishing a few scapegoats.

The new emperor realized that corruption in the Northern Border Military Region reflected a wider danger, potentially leaving soldiers vulnerable to rebellion. He gave Zhang Xuezhou an iron token that could secure identities and Chang'an residency for the people of Zhang Household Village, leaving them with a chance to rebuild their lives.

• The new emperor considered how unfair treatment of soldiers and entrenched corruption could fuel rebellion, and worried that the Southwestern Military Region might face the same danger.
• The new emperor left Zhang Household Village in a somber mood, and Zhang Baojia finished the food he had left behind.
• Zhang Xuezhou examined the iron token and recognized that it would let the villagers register their identities and possibly obtain Chang'an residency.
• Rong Tianding realized the token could transform the lives of more than a hundred people, while Zhang Xuezhou advised him not to dwell on the new emperor's identity.
• Zhang Zhong watched the villagers eat in an orderly fashion and believed that, given a suitable opportunity, Zhang Household Village could begin anew.