The Great Ruler Episode 3 Recap
> The Great Ruler Recap
Mu Chen secured a prime spot in the Power-gathering Circle for Luo Li, noting that cultivating there would accelerate her power accumulation threefold. Elsewhere, Tang Qian’er, leveraging her popularity, also found a place with Liu Mubai after two students offered their spots. Mu Chen thanked Luo Li for saving him and promised to retrieve her lost Jiezi Coin, although she insisted it was gone. He then asked her to be his teacher, but she showed no interest.
While Luo Li prepared to cultivate, Liu Yang rudely pulled Mu Chen out of his spot, claiming the Power-gathering Circle was not for someone without spiritual power. Tan Qingshan attempted to intervene, but Liu Yang remained defiant, dismissing Mu Chen as a "loser." During her cultivation, Luo Li experienced a rapid surge in spiritual power, almost succumbing to "Qi deviation." Liu Mubai quickly sent Tang Qian’er to alert Mr. Mo.
As Mu Chen watched, he recognized the distinct mark of the Luo God Clan goddess on Luo Li’s forehead. This instantly brought back memories of the young goddess he had encountered ten years ago at the Lake of Dragon. He remembered protecting her from the Black Dragon Lord and White Dragon's battle and their subsequent escape from the Dragon Palace, where both had fallen unconscious. He had believed he would never see her again, making their reunion a profound surprise.
Soon after, Mr. Mo arrived and took Luo Li away. Meanwhile, Xue Shi of the Xue God Clan detected Luo Li's spiritual power fluctuation again. He concluded that the goddess’s presence had been exposed and that Mr. Mo would certainly attempt to move her. Xue Shi decided to lie in wait, planning to ambush and capture her during the transfer.
Liu Qingtian visited the Black Dragon Lord at the Lake of Dragon, inquiring about rumors of the Lake consuming spiritual plants. Liu Qingtian stated that the Liu Territory had greatly benefited from the Lake and expressed his stance. The Black Dragon Lord presented a vibrantly potent spiritual plant, explaining it was merely a facade, a secret technique of the Dragon Clan.
He stated that naturally grown spiritual plants would eventually wither if their energy remained unused, asserting that the Lake, a creation of the Dragon Clan, was beneficial and harmless. He then asked Liu Qingtian about the origin of the rumors. Liu Qingtian disclosed that Mu Chen, Mu Feng’s son, had discovered the truth. He also revealed Mu Feng’s proposition for an alliance to destroy the Lake.
The Black Dragon Lord then gave Liu Qingtian a special token, instructing him to feign cooperation with Mu Feng while secretly relaying all information back to him, hinting at a potential advantage for the Liu Territory. Mu Chen recruited Tan Qingshan to help him find information about the eagle that had snatched his Jiezi Coin. Qingshan was astonished to learn that people from the Three Ancient Clans—Tailing, Futu, and Luo—existed among them.
Mu Chen explained that these clans were ancient, powerful, long-lived, and each possessed unique abilities: Futu specialized in suppression, Luo in sound communication and knowledge of the world, and Tailing guarded the ancient Myriad Forms Yin-Yang Array. Mu Chen then confided in Qingshan that Luo Li was the young goddess he had met a decade ago. He explained that he couldn't tell her until he recovered her coin.
Their search eventually led them to identify the culprit as the Beiming Golden Eagle, a bird known for its love of gold and silver. Liu Mubai approached Mu Chen, informing him that their fathers planned to jointly investigate the Lake of Dragon but had explicitly forbidden their sons from participating. Later, Mr. Mo delivered the assessment results, noting that both Mu Chen and Liu Mubai received zero points for withdrawing early, despite Mu Chen's otherwise strong performance.
Mu Chen expressed concern for Luo Li, who then appeared behind him, stating she planned to stay at his house during the break. Mu Chen, visibly thrilled, welcomed her, much to Qingshan's disbelief. Meanwhile, Tang Qian’er was engrossed in studying diagrams for the Dragon-elephant Circle. Liu Mubai offered his help, noticing she was holding a book upside down and advising her to start with simpler, second-level arrays.
He offered to tutor her, assuring her it wouldn’t be a distraction but rather a review for him. Qian’er, wanting Liu Mubai to teach her, was delighted when he happily agreed. At the Dragon Palace, the Black Dragon Lord reported to the Evil Deity that Mu Chen had discovered the Eye of Source was absorbing the land’s spiritual energy.
The Evil Deity, whose old wounds prevented him from directly confronting the Five Sects, decided to send his adopted daughter, Wen Qingxuan, to eliminate the "troublesome humans." The Black Dragon Lord then requested the Sumeru Pillar, but the Evil Deity scornfully reminded him that his injury by the White Dragon and the loss of the pillar were consequences of his own inadequacy.
He ordered the Black Dragon Lord to patiently guard the Eye of Source, promising him the Sumeru Pillar, control of the Dragon Clan, and immense power upon his own successful revival. As Mu Chen walked Luo Li home, they were ambushed by the Xue God Clan. Xue Shi tried to persuade Luo Li to return and marry his clan leader, Xue Lingzi, promising prosperity for her clan. Luo Li staunchly refused, declaring the Xue God Clan unworthy.
During the ensuing skirmish, Mu Chen shielded Luo Li and was struck by the Dark Blood Spell. Just in time, Mu Feng arrived, driving off the attackers. Luo Li then treated Mu Chen's injury, explaining that the Xue God Clan were ancient criminals, exiled by the Three Ancient Clans, who had established themselves next to the Luo God Clan and constantly threatened them into a marriage alliance with Xue Lingzi.
She stressed that to unite her people and become the Saintess, she had to find the irreplaceable Jiuyou's spirit blood and summon the Spirit of Luo. Luo Li then confessed that Mu Chen reminded her of the weak boy who had protected her ten years ago, her first friend. She admitted her years of solitary cultivation had left her inarticulate, prompting Mu Chen to offer to teach her to speak properly, noting her progress.
The next day, Mu Feng conversed with Luo Li, realizing her grandfather was Mr. Mo’s old friend. Luo Li shared her plan to enter the assessment and search for Jiuyou, believing the Five Sects' stringent defenses would deter the Xue God Clan. Mu Chen, along with Tan Qingshan, then took Luo Li to begin her language lessons.
He explained the importance of complete sentences and the correct use of pronouns, humorously using the example, "I stole your Jiezi Coin," to illustrate word order. Although Luo Li initially struggled, she showed considerable improvement, earning Mu Chen's encouragement. Later, Mu Chen showed Luo Li a spiritual array he had designed to attract the Beiming Golden Eagle.
He explained that the eagle possessed gold and fire attributes and was drawn to those colors, which he had incorporated into the dazzling array. He asked her to use her spiritual power to activate it, and she named it the "Rosemary Circle." Mu Feng, observing their close interaction, grew worried. That evening, Mu Feng confronted Mu Chen about his feelings for Luo Li. Mu Chen enthusiastically praised her strength, courage, kindness, and beauty.
Mu Feng then warned him that a romance between a human and a god was doomed, citing the divine clans’ strict adherence to bloodlines and their prohibition of inter-clan marriages. When Mu Chen expressed his desire to try, Mu Feng revealed a long-held secret: Mu Chen's mother, Qing Yanjing, was a goddess, a former successor to the Futu Clan leader.
She had been punished for marrying a human and bearing a child, then imprisoned by her clan to protect Mu Chen and Mu Feng from discovery. Mu Chen was heartbroken, realizing his father had lied about his mother’s death and burial in the maple forest. He questioned why Mu Feng had never tried to save her, to which his father confessed his powerlessness.
Mu Feng explained that his and Qing Yanjing’s story served as a harsh lesson, hoping to spare his son similar pain. Deeply affected by the revelations, Mu Chen declared his resolve to participate in the Five Sects’ assessment. He proclaimed his desire to become stronger, not just to rescue his mother or to be with Luo Li, but to protect all his loved ones from any future threats, regardless of the danger.
