Chapter Summaries

Ning Zhuo escaped suspicion after the battle while Lord Long debated whether Old Monster Stone had reached the Transformation Spirit Level. Ning Zhuo returned to camp safely, where Liu Er and the other generals welcomed him and said Sun Gan wanted him to divine again.

• Lord Long asked Ning Zhuo to sell the captured spoils, but Ning Zhuo declined and vanished underground.
• Lord Long questioned Lu Hongtu about the Western Pure Land and whether Old Monster Stone had reached the Transformation Spirit Level; Lu Hongtu admitted he had suspected it.
• Lord Long considered reporting his suspicions to the Dragon King but concluded that joining forces with Old Monster Stone against Two Injections Country might be best.
• Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong recovered the Earth Element Spleen Temple, returned to the surface, and Ning Zhuo hurried back to the army.
• Sun Gan praised the generals for their battle merits, including capturing Horse Flying Legs, and ordered the troops to rest and reorganize.
• Liu Er and the other generals welcomed Ning Zhuo back and told him that Sun Gan wanted him to divine again.

After the ambush, Ning Zhuo advised Sun Gan to return to Green Forest Immortal City, helped the Three Generals Camp plan for its expenses, and counted the spoils with Sun Lingtong. The army returned with Horse Flying Legs in custody, and Ning Zhuo received the reward he had requested from Two Injections Country.

• Ning Zhuo warned Sun Gan that the battered army risked another ambush, and Shuang Jing agreed before Xu Dali barged in to demand more compensation.
• Shuang Jing invited Ning Zhuo to a banquet, and Ning Zhuo offered to help the Three Generals Camp cover its military expenses and promised to seek more resources from his lineage.
• Sun Gan defeated Xu Dali in a fight, then ordered the rear army to return to Green Forest Immortal City the next morning.
• Sun Lingtong reported that Ning Zhuo’s group had gained valuable spirit materials and military supplies, and Ning Zhuo proposed selling equipment to Thousand Peaks Forest while secretly prolonging the war between it and Two Injections Country.
• The army returned to Green Forest Immortal City with Horse Flying Legs in custody, and Ning Zhuo went to Master Craftsman Jin Li to buy materials for repairing the Ten Thousand Miles Swimming Dragon.
• An envoy arrived the day after the army entered the city, bringing Two Injections Country’s reward that Ning Zhuo had specifically requested.

After the ambush, Ning Zhuo used his National Power Bricks to accelerate his cultivation and resolved to grow strong enough to control his own fate. In Green Forest Immortal City, Shuang Jing offered him a generous retainer position, leaving Ning Zhuo to consider whether to accept.

• Ning Zhuo received four National Power Bricks for his role in the ambush, then discovered that national power rapidly strengthened all three of his dantians.
• Ning Zhuo reflected on how close Horse Flying Legs had come to killing him and resolved to pursue cultivation as quickly as possible.
• Shuang Jing hosted Ning Zhuo at the Little Bird Pavilion and used dishes made from different Perching Branch Birds to lead into a discussion about the importance of one’s environment.
• Shuang Jing revealed that he wanted Ning Zhuo to become his retainer, offering generous terms and nearly tripled efficiency when drawing upon national power.
• Ning Zhuo examined Shuang Jing’s offer and wondered whether to become the retainer of a member of Two Injections Country’s ruling family.

Ning Zhuo returned from Shuang Jing’s banquet having been offered a retainer position, and Liu Er and Guan Hong worried that he might leave the Three Generals Camp. After Ning Zhuo examined Guan Hong’s bizarre-path wound and promised continued support, Liu Er, Guan Hong, and Zhang Hei lamented that they had not sworn brotherhood with him earlier.

• Liu Er welcomed Ning Zhuo back and learned that Shuang Jing had offered to recruit him as a retainer, an offer Ning Zhuo was considering.
• Liu Er told Ning Zhuo that the soldiers were demanding compensation and revisions to their agreement, while Guan Hong was absorbing national fortune to improve his cultivation.
• Ning Zhuo examined Guan Hong’s spreading bizarre-path wound and suggested using national fortune to suppress it; Liu Er offered to give Guan Hong all ten portions granted to the three generals.
• Guan Hong urged Ning Zhuo not to become Shuang Jing’s retainer, but Ning Zhuo explained that the position was nominal, would not restrict him, and could help him broaden his horizons.
• Ning Zhuo promised to support the Three Generals Camp and left, prompting Liu Er and Guan Hong to regret rejecting the chance to swear brotherhood with him.
• Zhang Hei learned that Ning Zhuo might leave and wanted to confront him, but Liu Er and Guan Hong stopped him.

Ning Zhuo discussed Shuang Jing’s offer to make him a retainer with Sun Lingtong and weighed it against pursuing a connection to Mu Lan and the High General Manor. He rejected both options as presented and planned to seek the manor’s status without actually dual cultivating.

• Sun Lingtong emerged from the stone sphere and tested how much stronger her body had become after cultivating the Heaven-Born Earth-Nurtured Fetal Breath Great Method.
• Ning Zhuo told Sun Lingtong that Shuang Jing had offered to make him a retainer, and she urged him to accept the benefits of the position.
• Ning Zhuo explained that he worried accepting would damage his relationship with Liu Guan Zhang, whom he believed would rise in influence.
• Ning Zhuo considered whether dual cultivating with Mu Lan could grant him a more valuable status and greater national power than becoming Shuang Jing’s retainer.
• Ning Zhuo decided he wanted the title of High General Manor Son-in-Law without actually dual cultivating, and he told Sun Lingtong his plan.

Mu Lan struggled to keep the Red Flower Camp’s wounded alive as its military expenses dwindled, then learned that the military supervisor had blocked the camp’s desperately needed rations. She led her subordinates to confront the obstruction, leaving the camp’s survival in doubt.

• Mu Lan found the wounded soldiers shivering in cold tents and learned she had ordered the camp to save spirit stones by leaving the warming formation inactive.
• Zhang Chongyi warned Mu Lan that too few healers and inadequate supplies could cost the wounded their lives, and offered to pawn his defective natal magic treasure; Mu Lan refused because exposing the army’s weakness could destroy morale and attract enemies.
• Mu Lan reassured Zhang Chongyi that the next day’s rations would help the camp, then stayed awake managing the accounts until exhaustion overcame her.
• In a dream, young Mu Lan received a Blood Spirit Flower from Old General Mu, who taught her to respect the cost of war and protect her soldiers from needless sacrifice.
• A subordinate woke Mu Lan with news that Green Forest Immortal City had withheld the rations on the military supervisor Zhao Xi’s orders, and Mu Lan set out to collect them herself.

Ning Zhuo watched Mu Lan confront Zhao Xi over missing provisions, then rejected Shuang Jing’s offer to join a plot against her and the Red Flower Camp. Meanwhile, Liu Er’s teacher gave him the Yin Yang One Qi Pot and secretly revealed that Mu Lan was destined to become his queen.

• Mu Lan stormed the Military Granary to demand provisions and pay, but Zhao Xi revealed that Old Monster Stone had intercepted the convoy and accused her of assaulting him.
• Shuang Jing urged Ning Zhuo to help remove Mu Lan from High General Manor, but Ning Zhuo refused and left.
• Shuang Jing resolved to take High General Manor and Mu Lan for himself after Ning Zhuo rejected his recruitment.
• An elderly Demon Cultivator entered Green Forest Immortal City, observed Mu Lan’s declining fortune, and summoned Liu Er to meet him.
• The elderly Demon Cultivator gave Liu Er the Yin Yang One Qi Pot, then privately concluded that Mu Lan was destined to marry him.

Liu Er discovered that the Yin Yang One Qi Pot drained his Yang Energy and could convert it into Yin Energy, which he used to raise his cultivation. After learning of trouble in camp, he heard that Zhang Hei had gone to confront Mu Lan at the Red Flower Camp.

• Liu Er activated the Yin Yang One Qi Pot with his Yang Energy, and it drained him until he recovered with medicinal pills.
• Liu Er used his divine sense to control the pot, discovered it could transform Yang Energy into Yin Energy, and merged the energies to increase his cultivation.
• A subordinate told Liu Er that Ning Zhuo and Shuang Jing seemed to have parted on bad terms, Mu Lan had forced her way into the grain depot and injured Zhao Xi, and Old Monster Stone had destroyed the grain convoy.
• Another subordinate reported that Zhang Hei had gone to storm the Red Flower Camp, alarming Liu Er.
• Zhang Hei confronted Mu Lan at the camp gates and challenged her to a fight over her soldiers' attack on his troops and her conduct during the ambush.

Mu Lan confronted Zhang Hei after his soldiers fought with Red Flower Camp and fought him in a spear duel. Zhang Hei’s rage-driven techniques turned the battle against her, so Mu Lan broke away and aimed her Red Phoenix Bow at him with Divine Power Red Heart Swan Arrow.

• Mu Lan questioned the soldiers and concluded that men from Three Generals Camp had provoked the brawl, but Zhang Hei refused a face-to-face confrontation and challenged her to fight.
• Mu Lan and Zhang Hei clashed in the air with their spears, and Mu Lan wounded him with a thrust to the abdomen.
• Zhang Hei’s Black Wave Surging Sky Art and Mad Serpent Tendons grew stronger as his anger rose, letting him overwhelm Mu Lan’s spear defense.
• Mu Lan flew out of Zhang Hei’s reach, nocked a Fierce Heart Arrow in her Red Phoenix Bow, and activated Divine Power Red Heart Swan Arrow.
• Zhang Hei felt the arrow lock onto him and braced himself as it struck.

Ning Zhuo stopped Liu Er from rushing blindly to the Red Flower Camp and helped settle the clash between Zhang Hei and Mu Lan. After Mu Lan’s cultivation backlash forced her to feign a deliberate miss, Sun Gan arrived and proposed marrying her so he could take command of the High General Manor.

• Liu Er prepared to go to the Red Flower Camp, but Ning Zhuo persuaded him to bring severely wounded soldiers and approach carefully.
• Mu Lan’s backlash erupted after she fired the Red Heart Swan Arrow, and Ning Zhuo claimed she had deliberately missed to spare Zhang Hei.
• Ning Zhuo uncovered that Liu Er’s soldiers had provoked the Red Flower Camp, and Liu Er and Mu Lan apologized to each other to settle the dispute.
• Shuang Jing learned that Mu Lan had lost and decided to seize the opportunity, while Sun Gan reached the Red Flower Camp first.
• Sun Gan told Mu Lan that her camp and manor needed his support and proposed that they marry so he could take command of the High General Manor.

After Mu Lan refused Sun Gan’s coercion, Zhang Chongyi sought Ning Zhuo’s help, but Ning Zhuo declined dual cultivation because of his marriage alliance and offered to treat her instead. Liu Er overheard the discussion and began plotting to use the Yin Yang One Qi Pot to help Mu Lan while pursuing the High General Seal, deciding to ask Ning Zhuo for assistance.

• Mu Lan rejected Sun Gan’s demand for dual cultivation, and Zhang Chongyi persuaded her not to die before seeking Ning Zhuo’s help.
• Ning Zhuo told Zhang Chongyi that his arranged marriage to a daughter of the South Bean Royal Family prevented him from dual cultivating with Mu Lan.
• Ning Zhuo offered to help treat Mu Lan, but said she would need to share the Profound Gold Armor Piercing Art, accept uncertainty about the treatment, and personally apologize for her past ambush against Three Generals Camp.
• Zhang Chongyi agreed to report Ning Zhuo’s conditions to Mu Lan and left with him.
• Liu Er used Spirit Sound Pulse Detection to overhear Zhang Chongyi and Ning Zhuo discussing Mu Lan’s predicament.
• Liu Er considered using the Yin Yang One Qi Pot to help Mu Lan and claim the High General Seal, then decided to seek Ning Zhuo’s help.

An elderly Demon Cultivator watched Liu Er’s fortune approach Mu Lan’s Red Flower, while Shuang Jing and Sun Gan competed to force Mu Lan into marriage and seize the High General Seal. After learning how dire Mu Lan’s situation was, Liu Er resolved to help her, and Ning Zhuo agreed to help him defeat Sun Gan and win her over.

• The elderly Demon Cultivator used a Spirit Pearl to see Mu Lan’s Red Flower threatened by Sun Gan’s golden halberd and Shuang Jing’s white jade plaque, then celebrated when Liu Er’s three-eared ape moved to pluck the flower.
• Shuang Jing brought treasure chests to Mu Lan and proposed marriage in exchange for access to the High General Seal, but Mu Lan rejected him and ordered the gifts returned.
• Shuang Jing left the chests behind and warned Mu Lan that she could not hold out forever.
• Liu Er told Ning Zhuo that he loved Mu Lan at first sight and wanted to support her, and Ning Zhuo explained her perilous situation and the political obstacles to their marriage.
• Liu Er vowed to save Mu Lan, and Ning Zhuo pledged to help him defeat Sun Gan and win her heart.

Ning Zhuo carried Liu Er’s proposal to Mu Lan, who was weighing her few remaining options after her defeat and dwindling support. Though Ning Zhuo refused to become her Dao companion, Mu Lan ended the meeting by insisting that she wanted to cultivate with him even more and offering to meet his conditions.

• Liu Er said he would fight Sun Gan and Shuang Jing for Mu Lan, and Ning Zhuo suspected Liu Er had a powerful backer and a way to obtain military intelligence.
• Ning Zhuo went to the Red Flower Camp and told Zhang Chongyi that cultivating with Mu Lan would not guarantee the High General Seal.
• Mu Lan offered to relocate the Ning Family to Two Injections Country if she and Ning Zhuo became Dao companions, but Ning Zhuo refused to uproot his family from Fire Persimmon Immortal City.
• Ning Zhuo relayed Liu Er’s feelings to Mu Lan and Zhang Chongyi, and Mu Lan objected that even a human-demon hybrid was now scheming for the High General Seal.
• With her injuries, army, and finances leaving her few choices, Mu Lan told Ning Zhuo she wanted to cultivate with him even more and invited him to name his conditions.

Ning Zhuo sold his war spoils to Lu Hongtu and refused to sell Gao Sheng's Last Testament, which he wanted to study himself. Lu Hongtu proposed lending him Soldiers United Helm in exchange for access to both items during crucial battles.

• Ning Zhuo rejected Liu Er's request to host a Ning Lineage envoy at Three Generals Camp and left to meet Sun Lingtong.
• Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong disguised themselves as Old Monster Stone and met Lu Hongtu in Thousand Peaks Forest.
• Ning Zhuo sold Lu Hongtu a Mana Pool, damaged pagodas, mounts, and military armaments for spirit stones worth thirty-one million Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Ning Zhuo refused to sell Gao Sheng's Last Testament because he wanted to study military strategy and battle formations.
• Lu Hongtu offered to lend Ning Zhuo Soldiers United Helm in exchange for access to it and Gao Sheng's Last Testament during crucial combat operations.

The chapter recounted how the Iron Guard Army forged the spirit-filled Soldiers United Helm through its defense under Tian Han, then described Ning Zhuo negotiating with Lu Hongtu over military equipment and Gao Sheng's Last Testament. Lu Hongtu accepted Ning Zhuo's condition, mistaking him for a cautious strategist, while Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong left warily and returned to Green Forest Immortal City.

• Tian Han died defending a breach, and his soldiers successively wore his armor to make the enemy believe he still fought.
• The Iron Guard Army held its line through starvation and thirst until the enemy recognized the soldiers' united will and detoured around them.
• The armor became the Soldiers United Helm, a treasured artifact that eventually broke apart, leaving only its helmet in Lu Hongtu's possession.
• Ning Zhuo insisted that lending Gao Sheng's Last Testament must remain his choice, and Lu Hongtu agreed to the condition.
• Lu Hongtu interpreted Old Monster Stone's caution as a plan to cooperate with him and later contend with the Ginseng Beard Dragon King.
• Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong made several detours to ensure they were not followed, then used the Ten Thousand Miles Swimming Dragon to return to Green Forest Immortal City.

Sun Lingtong and Ning Zhuo used the Soldiers United Helm with Gao Sheng's Last Testament to comprehend military techniques suited to their temperaments. Ning Zhuo returned to Three Generals Camp with news that the Lineage had granted him greater authority, while Mu Lan's situation remained a concern.

• Sun Lingtong comprehended the Little Thief Light Wind Array, a concealed, swift formation suited to surprise attacks.
• Ning Zhuo comprehended the Brave Warrior Return Technique, which transferred fallen comrades' remaining strength to surviving soldiers.
• Ning Zhuo urged Sun Lingtong to return to Three Generals Camp and suggested mastering their first techniques before seeking further enlightenment.
• Ning Zhuo returned to Three Generals Camp, where Liu Er welcomed him and invited him into his tent.
• Ning Zhuo told Liu Er that the Lineage had granted him greater authority to support Three Generals Camp.

Ning Zhuo gave Liu Er’s Three Generals Camp twenty million Low-Grade Spirit Stones and advised him to reclaim the soldiers’ rights to spoils of war. The elderly Demon Cultivator traced the camp’s stronger fortune to Ning Zhuo’s support, but believed Ning Zhuo would not remain important to Liu Er’s Royal Mandate.

• Ning Zhuo gave Liu Er twenty million Low-Grade Spirit Stones as an investment and proposed that the camp reclaim the rights to spoils of war by raising soldiers’ pay.
• Liu Er agreed the proposal deserved consideration and returned to discuss it with Guan Hong and Zhang Hei.
• Zhang Hei supported reclaiming the rights, while Guan Hong warned that breaking the promise could damage the brothers’ reputations and alienate their soldiers.
• The elderly Demon Cultivator observed the Three Generals Camp’s fortune strengthen and sent Liu Er a secret message.
• Liu Er met the injured Demon Cultivator, who learned that Ning Zhuo’s funding had strengthened the camp’s fortune and concluded that Ning Zhuo would not play a lasting role in Liu Er’s Royal Mandate.

The elderly Demon Cultivator advised Liu Er to seize opportunities, handle the spoils of war carefully, and pursue Mu Lan openly, despite the risks. Liu Er returned to Three Generals Camp and announced his plans, leaving Ning Zhuo worried that the camp’s position would worsen sharply.

• The elderly Demon Cultivator warned Liu Er that the Royal Mandate could change and urged him to turn his connection with Ning Zhuo into a bond through his own efforts.
• Liu Er explained that reclaiming all ownership rights to spoils of war could damage his reputation and make Three Generals Camp dependent on the Ning family.
• The elderly Demon Cultivator urged Liu Er to pursue Mu Lan openly, and Liu Er agreed before returning to Three Generals Camp.
• After Liu Er left, the elderly Demon Cultivator suffered severe backlash from divination and reflected on the dangers of Pointing Fate.
• Liu Er summoned Guan Hong, Zhang Hei, and Ning Zhuo, then announced that he would reclaim spoils-of-war rights only from some soldiers while compensating them with better rations and pay.
• Liu Er announced that he would pursue Mu Lan openly; Guan Hong and Zhang Hei agreed to support him, Ning Zhuo complied, and Ning Zhuo feared Three Generals Camp’s situation would deteriorate.

Mu Lan received provisions and pay for the Red Flower Camp through the Three Generals Camp, prompting Sun Gan and Shuang Jing to secretly ally against Liu Er and his camp. After Zhang Hei was captured in a staged clash, Guan Hong was attacked by an assassin and feared the strategist was in danger.

• Old Monster Stone attacked a grain convoy, but escaped underground after Tang Yan fought him until reinforcements arrived.
• Mu Lan found the Red Flower Camp supplied by the Three Generals Camp and learned Liu Er had acted out of love for her, though she remained disgusted by his feelings.
• Sun Gan and Shuang Jing agreed to target Liu Er and the Three Generals Camp, then Three Generals Camp cultivators were robbed and three were killed.
• Sun Gan staged a clash between the Golden Halberd Army and the Three Generals Camp, captured Zhang Hei, and returned to the city.
• Guan Hong stopped himself from rushing to rescue Zhang Hei, but an assassin wounded him, leaving him worried about the strategist.

Ning Zhuo and Liu Er watched the Three Generals Camp come under attack while Liu Er sought Mu Lan’s help and Guan Hong killed the assassin who had wounded him. After Mu Lan fell unconscious, a Royal Capital envoy arrived at the Red Flower Camp with an imperial decree, leaving Ning Zhuo and Liu Er fearing Sun Gan and Shuang Jing’s back-up plan.

• Ning Zhuo hid in the Ten Thousand Miles Swimming Dragon as Zhang Hei was captured, Guan Hong was wounded, and Liu Er was delayed at the City Lord’s Mansion.
• Liu Er visited Mu Lan for help rescuing Zhang Hei, but she offered him an alliance and a government post while making clear she did not return his feelings.
• Shuang Jing poached soldiers from the Three Generals Camp, and Ning Zhuo refused to spend money competing for them; Guan Hong later killed the assassin who had attacked him.
• Mu Lan collapsed after being struck by the Defeated Soldiers General-Breaking Art, and Ning Zhuo warned that Sun Gan and Shuang Jing likely had a back-up plan.
• A Royal Capital envoy arrived at the Red Flower Camp with an imperial decree and demanded to see Mu Lan, alarming Ning Zhuo and Liu Er.