Chapter Summaries

Shen Jingchuan defended himself against Chen Mo’s attacks after Xiao Mingyuan ordered his capture, but Xiao Mingshu intervened and stopped their fight. Xiao Mingyuan insulted his sister and ordered her away, leaving her unable to retaliate, while Shen Jingchuan told her he could handle the cultivators himself.

• Chen Mo assessed Shen Jingchuan’s cultivation and, at Xiao Mingyuan’s command, demanded that he surrender.
• Shen Jingchuan refused, and Chen Mo attacked him with fireballs while Wu Feng and Zheng Hai watched.
• Shen Jingchuan struggled to defend himself with a golden shield, but Chen Mo’s attacks failed to break through it.
• Xiao Mingshu arrived and cut apart Chen Mo’s powerful fireball with her flying sword.
• Xiao Mingyuan insulted Xiao Mingshu and ordered her to leave, while she restrained herself from striking him.
• Shen Jingchuan told Xiao Mingshu not to get involved because he could handle the fight himself.

Shen Jingchuan took Xiao Mingshu’s advice and turned his defense into an attack, killing Chen Mo and wounding Zheng Hai while driving Wu Feng to flee. He blocked Wu Feng’s fireball and prepared a golden arrow as the fight continued.

• Xiao Mingshu urged Shen Jingchuan to stop holding back, and he killed Chen Mo with three golden arrows.
• Shen Jingchuan attacked Wu Feng, who broke a Vajra Talisman before barely blocking the arrows with his own Spiritual Qi.
• Shen Jingchuan redirected his golden arrows toward Zheng Hai, who suffered two wounds to his left shoulder while dodging.
• Wu Feng hurled a fireball at Shen Jingchuan and ran for the courtyard, but Shen Jingchuan blocked the attack with a golden shield.
• Shen Jingchuan advanced and gathered Spiritual Qi into a golden arrow as Wu Feng tried to escape.

Shen Jingchuan killed Wu Feng, forced Xiao Mingyuan to release Lin Weiyuan and Lin Shan, and crippled Zheng Hai before killing him for the ambush on the Zhenyuan Escort Agency. He left the royal brothers facing him after defying Xiao Mingyuan’s threat, while the Lin family watched from a safe distance.

• Shen Jingchuan pursued and killed Wu Feng, then ordered Xiao Mingyuan and Xiao Mingxuan to release Lin Weiyuan and Lin Shan.
• Xiao Mingyuan gave in to Shen Jingchuan’s threat, and the guards freed Lin Weiyuan and Lin Shan.
• Lin Shan and Lin Weiyuan recognized the fallen cultivators as likely attackers from the ambush on their escort agency and warned Shen Jingchuan.
• Shen Jingchuan crippled Zheng Hai’s Dantian after Xiao Mingshu warned him to be cautious.
• Zheng Hai admitted he had taken part in the ambush, and Shen Jingchuan killed him despite Xiao Mingyuan’s protest.

Shen Jingchuan confronted Xiao Mingxuan over the attempted ambush and prepared to kill him and Xiao Mingyuan. Xiao Mingshu persuaded him to spare the princes for the sake of his family, and he let them go with a warning.

• Shen Jingchuan identified Xiao Mingxuan as the man who had arranged an earlier attempt on his life, and Xiao Mingxuan denied it.
• Shen Jingchuan began gathering Geng Metal Spiritual Qi to attack Xiao Mingxuan, but Xiao Mingyuan called on Xiao Mingshu to stop him.
• Xiao Mingshu challenged Xiao Mingyuan and privately warned Shen Jingchuan that killing the princes in public would bring the Great Qian court after him and endanger his family.
• Shen Jingchuan considered the consequences, dispersed the golden light at his fingertips, and spared the princes.
• Shen Jingchuan told Xiao Mingyuan and Xiao Mingxuan to leave and warned them not to provoke him again.

After Shen Jingchuan killed three cultivators serving a prince’s residence, he advised the Lin Household to flee Yuxi Prefecture for Azure Cloud Stronghold. Lin Weiyuan worried that the authorities or powerful cultivators could still attack them, and asked how strong Shen Jingchuan was.

• Xiao Mingyuan threatened Shen Jingchuan and left with Xiao Mingxuan and the guards, while Shen Jingchuan took the three dead cultivators’ Storage Rings.
• Xiao Mingshu returned to the Shen Residence, and Lin Yue and Lin Shan joined Shen Jingchuan and Lin Weiyuan inside the escort agency.
• Lin Weiyuan dismissed Lin Yue’s suggestion to fight and said they needed to plan for the consequences of killing the prince’s cultivators.
• Shen Jingchuan explained that Xiao Mingxuan had already tried to kill him and proposed moving the Lin Household and willing escort agency members out of Yuxi Prefecture.
• Shen Jingchuan suggested Azure Cloud Stronghold, arguing that its defenses and his ability to fly and transport supplies would protect them from government troops.
• Lin Weiyuan worried that cultivators might attack the stronghold, and Shen Jingchuan promised to deal with anyone who interfered before Lin Weiyuan asked how his cultivation compared with theirs.

After the princely manor attendants were killed, Lin Weiyuan prepared to flee the city with his family and the Zhenyuan Escort Agency’s remaining loyal staff. Shen Jingchuan returned home to arrange for his household to join them, leaving the chapter with him freeing Liu Zhong’s family from their service.

• Shen Jingchuan told Lin Weiyuan and his sons that ordinary attendants and low-level cultivators were no threat to him, and said Xiao Mingshu would try to mediate with Xiao Mingyuan.
• Lin Weiyuan ordered everyone at the escort agency to leave, returned their deeds of servitude, and gave them travel money; Zhou Fu, Shopkeeper Zhang, Zhao Hu, and Wang Fei chose to stay with him.
• Shen Jingchuan decided that Lin Qingyao and his family would travel with Lin Weiyuan to Azure Cloud Stronghold while he stayed behind with greater freedom to act.
• Lin Weiyuan told Lin Yue to prepare the household and carriages to leave within an hour, while Shen Jingchuan flew home on his sword.
• Shen Jingchuan gathered his household, explained the danger, and asked Lin Qingyao to bring him the deeds of servitude for Liu Zhong’s family.

Shen Jingchuan freed his loyal servants and led the Shen and Lin households out of Yuxi Prefecture toward the Azure Cloud Stronghold. After Lin Qingyao and the others broke through the government blockade, the party reached the stronghold gates.

• Shen Jingchuan offered Liu Zhong's family their freedom and silver, but they chose to stay and help him evacuate the household.
• Shen Jingchuan told Lin Qingyao and Bai Ruoli that he was a Qi Refining Fourth Layer cultivator and planned to take everyone to the Azure Cloud Stronghold while he later returned to deal with matters in Yuxi Prefecture.
• Xiao Mingshu agreed that the Azure Cloud Stronghold was the right place to take the household and said she would explain matters after Shen Jingchuan returned.
• Shen Jingchuan led the Shen and Lin households through Yuxi Prefecture's closed city gate after the guards fled rather than confront him.
• At the mountain checkpoint, Lin Qingyao shot the government soldiers with her submachine gun, and the party fought its way up the mountain as the troops fled.
• Shen Jingchuan guarded the party's flank while Lin Qingyao, Lin Shan, and Lin Yue led the charge, and they reached the Azure Cloud Stronghold gates.

Shen Jingchuan brought Lin Weiyuan’s family to Azure Cloud Stronghold to take refuge after the trouble in Yuxi Prefecture. He arranged for them to stay in a secluded courtyard and equipped the stronghold with a Maxim Heavy Machine Gun to strengthen its defenses.

• Shen Jingchuan arrived at Azure Cloud Stronghold with Lin Weiyuan and his family, and Hu Tieniu and Zhao Kui welcomed them.
• Shen Jingchuan explained what had happened in Yuxi Prefecture, and Hu Tieniu offered to make Lin Weiyuan the stronghold leader.
• Shen Jingchuan told Hu Tieniu to keep running the stronghold as before and ordered him to arrange safe accommodations for Lin Weiyuan’s family and Shen Jingchuan’s two wives.
• Hu Tieniu showed Shen Jingchuan the secluded courtyard he had kept ready, and Shen Jingchuan approved it for the families to use.
• Shen Jingchuan placed a Maxim Heavy Machine Gun on the stronghold wall and told Hu Tieniu to choose trusted men to guard it and learn to use it.

Shen Jingchuan armed and reassured the Azure Cloud Stronghold before returning to Yuxi Prefecture, where Xiao Mingshu began explaining the cultivation world’s hidden power structure. The chapter ended with her revealing that the surrounding kingdoms were ultimately ruled by the Azure Origin Sect.

• Shen Jingchuan taught Hu Tieniu to operate the heavy machine gun, and Hu Tieniu tested it against a distant cliff.
• Hu Tieniu voiced concern that a prolonged government siege could exhaust the stronghold’s food, but Shen Jingchuan told him to focus on training and defenses.
• Shen Jingchuan checked on Lin Qingyao, Bai Ruoli, and Lin Weiyuan, then flew back to his residence in Yuxi Prefecture.
• Xiao Mingshu asked Shen Jingchuan what he knew about the neighboring kingdoms and the cultivation world, then explained that their ruling families were cultivation clans.
• Xiao Mingshu revealed that the kingdoms ultimately fell under the Azure Origin Sect, surprising Shen Jingchuan.

Xiao Mingshu explained Great Qian’s royal and cultivation politics to Shen Jingchuan, including why her standing and resources were limited. Shen Jingchuan decided not to ask her to return to the Capital, and the two agreed to stay at the residence and cultivate while watching how events developed.

• Xiao Mingshu told Shen Jingchuan that Great Qian’s emperor was a mortal and that cultivators in the Xiao Household normally stayed out of mortal affairs.
• Xiao Mingshu explained that her poor Spirit Root, concubine birth, and stalled cultivation had left her with little influence and led the clan to cut off her resources.
• Xiao Mingshu described how the clan concentrated its resources on her second brother, while her third brother was protected by his powerful mother and the emperor’s favor.
• Shen Jingchuan asked whether the imperial court would send cultivators against Azure Cloud Stronghold, and Xiao Mingshu said the clan would not intervene unless Great Qian’s rule was threatened.
• Shen Jingchuan said the stronghold’s Maxim machine gun and his Storage Ring would help it withstand a siege, and Xiao Mingshu agreed to remain at the residence while they cultivated.

Xiao Mingyuan and Xiao Mingxuan planned to use an imperial campaign against the Azure Cloud Stronghold to force Shen Jingchuan into violating cultivation rules. Xiao Mingyuan then had the Zhou Household raided in Chang'an, and the chapter ended with Zhou Tong learning of the raid.

• Xiao Mingxuan blamed Pan Wenbai for failing to deal with Shen Jingchuan, but Xiao Mingyuan stopped him and proposed attacking the Azure Cloud Stronghold with imperial troops.
• Xiao Mingyuan ordered Prefect Zhang to send the Ministry of War an urgent memorial portraying the stronghold as a grave threat, then departed for Chang'an with Xiao Mingxuan.
• Xiao Mingyuan ordered Chang'an officials to seize the Zhou Household for allegedly colluding with bandits and aiding the enemy.
• Xiao Mingyuan left for the Capital to gather troops, while Xiao Mingxuan stayed in Chang'an to arrange Prince Jing's support.
• Zhou Qian arrived at Zhou Tong's shop and told him that the authorities had raided the Zhou Household in Chang'an.

After the Zhou Household was accused of colluding with bandits and its master was imprisoned, Zhou Tong hurried to evacuate the Capital branch and went into hiding with Zhou Qian. They found refuge at Xu Mo’s residence, where Xu Mo agreed to shelter them.

• Zhou Qian told Zhou Tong that soldiers had raided the Zhou Household’s residence in Chang'an and imprisoned its master.
• Zhou Tong paid the shop assistants and Shopkeeper Wang to leave the Capital and told them to disperse the Zhou shops’ property and warn their workers.
• Zhou Tong and Zhou Qian disguised themselves as ordinary travelers and slipped through secluded alleys to Xu Mo’s residence.
• Zhou Tong explained the raid to Xu Mo and offered to leave if sheltering them would endanger Xu’s family.
• Xu Mo welcomed Zhou Tong and Zhou Qian, reassured them that the courtyard was discreet, and agreed to shelter them while they considered what to do next.

After returning to the capital, Xiao Mingyuan arranged for the Zhou Household to be arrested and pushed for a major military campaign against the Azure Cloud Stronghold. He won support from Su Lingwei and persuaded Xiao Chengyu to approve the troop request, then urged his father to destroy the stronghold before it could grow into a greater threat.

• Xiao Mingyuan ordered Shuntian Prefecture to seal the Zhou Household’s shops and arrest the clan on charges of treason.
• Xiao Mingyuan persuaded Han Wenyuan to request elite troops to suppress the Azure Cloud Stronghold.
• Xiao Mingyuan told Su Lingwei that Shen Jingchuan had killed his three Attendants and accused Xiao Mingshu of conspiring against him.
• Su Lingwei promised to support Xiao Mingyuan’s campaign and said she would deal with Xiao Mingshu herself.
• Xiao Chengyu questioned Han Wenyuan about the troop request, then summoned Xiao Mingyuan and approved the request.
• Xiao Mingyuan urged Xiao Chengyu to send a large force against the stronghold, warning that it could attract disaster victims and become a serious threat.

Wei Zheng led the imperial forces toward Azure Cloud Stronghold, but the mountain’s narrow approach and the bandits’ powerful long-range weapon made a direct assault perilous. After five guards advanced behind heavy shields, gunfire erupted and Wei Zheng was stopped from going farther.

• Wei Zheng took command of the eight-thousand-strong Black Armor Guard, and Zhou Lie arrived with ten thousand frontier troops.
• At the planning meeting, scouts’ reports showed that Azure Cloud Stronghold occupied a cliffside bottleneck with no other route up the mountain.
• Wei Zheng led the officers to inspect the road and learned from the post commander that the bandits’ weapon could strike from more than two li away.
• Wei Zheng ordered five guards to advance behind heavy shields, and rapid gunfire and screams soon came from ahead.
• Wei Zheng tried to rush forward, but the post commander blocked him and warned that he would enter the weapon’s range.

Wei Zheng ordered assault carts built to counter the stronghold’s Maxim gun, then began the mountain assault with thirty-two carts and shielded troops. As the force advanced, Hu Tieniu and Lin Weiyuan set out to watch the defense from the wall.

• Wei Zheng learned that the Maxim gun had killed one guard and badly wounded two, and inspected a greatshield pierced by its bullets.
• Hu Tieniu reprimanded Zhou Meng for firing the Maxim gun too early and exposing its position.
• Scouts reported that twenty thousand government troops, including Black Armor Guards and northern border troops, had gathered below the mountain.
• Wei Zheng asked the craftsmen’s camp to build iron-plated assault carts layered with water-soaked quilts to withstand the gunfire.
• At first light on the third day, Wei Zheng sent thirty-two assault carts and shielded Black Armor Army soldiers up the mountain path.
• After the stronghold’s gong sounded, Hu Tieniu and Lin Weiyuan agreed to go to the wall to watch the government troops advance.

Hu Tieniu’s defenders used boulders, machine guns, and crossbows to halt Wei Zheng’s Black Armor Army as it advanced on the stronghold. The attackers brought their scaling ladders close, but jammed shield carts blocked their path while both sides continued fighting.

• Hu Tieniu ordered the defenders to drop boulders, smashing the leading shield carts and throwing the government troops into disarray.
• Wei Zheng ordered shield bearers to protect the scaling ladders as the Black Armor Army advanced uphill in formation.
• Hu Tieniu waited until the crossbowmen came within range, then ordered the machine guns to fire and kill or wound many of them.
• The defenders fired crossbow volleys through gaps in the attackers’ shields while soldiers struggled to bring more boulders up the wall.
• The shield carts halted fifty or sixty paces from the wall and blocked the road, and machine-gun fire killed the captain who ordered them moved aside.
• The attackers struggled to shift the heavy carts on the narrow slope and barely managed to open a gap for the scaling ladders.

The Black Armor Army’s first assault on the stockade failed under the defenders’ machine-gun fire, crossbow volleys, and falling stones, forcing Wei Zheng to retreat. After Xiao Mingyuan arrived with Xiao Mingxuan, Wei Zheng proposed starving the stockade out by sealing its only road.

• Hu Tieniu ordered defenders to drop stones on the scaling ladders, breaking them and sending the Black Armor Army soldiers tumbling down.
• Zhou Meng reloaded the Maxim and swept the mountain road with gunfire while crossbowmen shot at exposed soldiers, inflicting heavy casualties.
• Wei Zheng ordered the Black Armor Army to retreat, and Hu Tieniu stopped his men from wasting the remaining defensive stones.
• Wei Zheng’s officers discussed ways to overcome the rapid-fire weapon but could not find a workable plan.
• Xiao Mingyuan and Xiao Mingxuan arrived with a thousand guards, and Wei Zheng reported the assault’s failure and losses.
• Xiao Mingyuan rebuked the generals, and Wei Zheng proposed sealing the mountain’s only road and waiting for the stockade to run out of food.

Xiao Mingyuan overruled Wei Zheng and ordered Zhou Lie to lead an attack on Azure Cloud Stronghold, despite the army’s dwindling provisions and the danger of its defenses. Zhou Lie accepted the order and planned a cautious assault with Wei Zheng’s advice, leaving the attack set for two days later.

• Wei Zheng warned Xiao Mingyuan that the stronghold had enough provisions to withstand a long siege and that the imperial army was running short of supplies, but Xiao Mingyuan demanded another assault.
• Xiao Mingyuan struck Wei Zheng and displayed an imperial army supervisor’s token, then insisted on ordering the troops despite Wei Zheng’s objection that the token gave him no command authority.
• Xiao Mingyuan ordered Zhou Lie to lead the border troops against the stronghold within two days, and Zhou Lie accepted after requesting time to prepare equipment and formations.
• Zhou Lie visited Wei Zheng after the meeting, and Wei Zheng explained the danger posed by the stronghold’s rolling stones and rapid-firing weapon.
• Zhou Lie proposed using iron-plated shield carts and high-arcing archers to suppress the defenders, and Wei Zheng agreed they should try while cautioning him not to sacrifice his men recklessly.

Shen Jingchuan brought meat, vegetables, seasonings, a Maxim machine gun, and ammunition to Azure Cloud Stronghold to strengthen its defenders. Two days later, Zhou Lie launched another assault, and Hu Tieniu and Zhou Meng opened fire on the government archers.

• Shen Jingchuan visited Azure Cloud Stronghold and heard Hu Tieniu describe how the defenders had repelled the government troops’ first assault.
• Shen Jingchuan unloaded fresh food and seasonings, ordering Hu Tieniu to distribute them among the soldiers and stronghold households.
• Shen Jingchuan added a second Maxim to the wall and supplied the armory with more than four hundred thousand rounds of ammunition.
• Shen Jingchuan told Hu Tieniu he would arrange two machine-gun carts, then went to the rear courtyard with Lin Weiyuan, Lin Shan, and Lin Yue.
• Two mornings later, Zhou Lie led forty iron-clad shield carts and archers up the mountain toward the stronghold.
• Hu Tieniu and Zhou Meng fired their Maxims at the archers as they prepared to shoot at the wall.

Hu Tieniu’s two machine guns devastated the government troops’ assault, forcing Zhou Lie to retreat with more than a thousand men lost. Xiao Mingyuan demanded another attack despite Wei Zheng’s warning, while Shen Jingchuan prepared Azure Cloud Stronghold for a possible siege and planned to mount machine guns on carriages.

• Hu Tieniu used the two machine guns to destroy the shield carts and cut down the attacking soldiers on the mountain path.
• Zhou Lie ordered a retreat, but the machine guns trapped the troops on the narrow path and more than a thousand failed to return.
• Zhou Lie reported the defeat to Xiao Mingyuan, who demanded another attack, while Wei Zheng urged him to surround the stronghold instead.
• Hu Tieniu and Lin Yue celebrated the victory, and Shen Jingchuan sent food for the defenders.
• Shen Jingchuan told Lin Weiyuan, Lin Qingyao, and Bai Ruoli that he had ordered two carriages made to carry machine guns so the stronghold could attack rather than only defend.