Arc 12The Secluded Mountain Ascendant
Qin Yan expanded his control across Yunzhou, using firearms, reforms, and strict public order to defeat rival powers while strengthening his own forces. As the Heaven-Soaring Army rose and the Flesh and Blood Dao infiltrated his territory, Qin Yan began a sweeping arrest operation and kept Qiu Wei undercover as a source of intelligence.
- Xia Tiancheng crushed the rebellion in the capital, but Prince Xiang’s formation and the black-robed expert killed him as the rebel forces took the palace and divided Great Li.
- Qin Yan stayed apart from the dynastic collapse, welcomed Qi Zhen and Qi Hao into his service, and confronted Daoist Mi, who led him to the Ghost Market and its evil-path contacts.
- Qin Yan seized control of the Ghost Market, bound its leaders and informants to him, and ordered his troops to destroy the Gongshu Family before freeing its servants and distributing land.
- Qin Yan sent the Divine Machine Battalion into Jiu'an Prefecture, where riflemen, explosives, grenades, and heavy weapons defeated the defenders and helped him seize the prefecture and break the power of noble families.
- Heavenly Star Lord visited Youshan Prefecture to recruit Qin Yan, but Qin Yan rejected him and fought him to a standstill, leaving both men unsure they could safely defeat the other.
- Qin Yan accepted Lin Xuansong’s submission, took Tongzhou Prefecture, retrained its soldiers, and sent Bai Yi to suppress bandits and corrupt officials as public support for his rule grew.
- Qin Yan forged Spirit Crystals from primordial Qi, gave one to Qin Xiaoyi to aid his cultivation, and brought all of Yunzhou under his control.
- Huang Chao’s Heaven-Soaring Army seized three Cangzhou prefectures as Qin Yan learned that the Flesh and Blood Dao was stealing his technology and ordered the arrest of its spies across Youshan Prefecture.