Chapter Summaries

Li Shimin’s army renewed its assault on Luoyang after Kou Zhong believed Yang Guang’s qi had been depleted, but Wang Ming ambushed the experts climbing the walls and revealed overwhelming power. Wang Ming invoked Calamity Descent as Song Que charged toward him, leaving the battlefield’s danger unresolved.

• Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling persuaded Li Shimin that Yang Guang might be weakened, and Li Shimin ordered the army to attack Luoyang.
• Kou Zhong taunted Yang Guang beneath the walls while Wang Ming warned Yang You and Dugu Feng not to fall into a trap.
• After the defenders offered no resistance, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Shi Feixuan, Ba Feng Han, Hou Xibai, and Fan Qinghui climbed the walls, where Wang Ming blasted them down and badly injured several of them.
• Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling treated the wounded, and Song Que arrived and vowed to avenge Fan Qinghui.
• Wang Ming blocked Li Shimin’s sword volley with his protective qi and unleashed Calamity Descent, sending his qi into the sky.
• Song Que rushed toward Wang Ming, then stopped when he sensed that something was wrong with the rain falling around him.

Wang Ming unleashed a rain infused with the Life and Death Talisman, incapacitating Li Shimin’s two-million-strong army while leaving himself badly injured. Song Que found Fan Qinghui safe in a tent, and the surviving leaders rejected surrender to Yang Guang and chose to keep fighting.

• Song Que set out to kill Yang Guang, but the strange rain invaded his body until he forced its energy out and shielded himself from the downpour.
• The rain spread across the battlefield, leaving Li Tang’s soldiers writhing in agony, and Song Que hurried back to find Fan Qinghui.
• Song Que found Fan Qinghui with Shi Feixuan, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Hou Xibai; Xu Ziling said she had avoided the rain and her injuries were stable.
• In Luoyang, the defenders celebrated Wang Ming’s victory while Dugu Feng and Yang You tended to his bloodied, severely injured body.
• Wang Ming’s account revealed that he had converted the soldiers’ gathered true qi into a simplified Life and Death Talisman and sent it into the clouds, incapacitating the invading army for several days.
• Hou Xibai proposed surrendering, but Shi Feixuan, Song Que, Kou Zhong, and Xu Ziling rejected the idea and resolved to continue fighting Yang Guang.

Wang Ming’s Life and Death Talisman rain routed Li Shimin’s army, but Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji’s troops arrived as Li Shimin’s apparent reinforcements. The chapter ended with Wang Ming recognizing that they might give Luoyang a chance to resist, while Li Shimin and his allies realized the newcomers were a threat to him.

• Wang Ming used the garrison’s power to create a rain of Life and Death Talismans, causing Li Shimin’s two-million-strong army to collapse.
• Fan Qinghui woke and learned from Shi Feixuan, Xu Ziling, and Song Que that Yang Guang had defeated Li Shimin’s army; Song Que agreed to join a planned ambush with Ning Daoqi, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Shi Feixuan.
• Yang You told Wang Ming that Li Tang survivors were approaching, so Wang Ming stopped recovering and went to the city wall.
• Wang Ming initially ordered Luoyang to surrender when a large Li Tang force appeared, but Dugu Feng and You Chuhong noticed the approaching soldiers were behaving strangely, and Wang Ming realized they might not be Li Shimin’s troops.
• Li Shimin and his companions recognized the arriving force as the army of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, who had taken his command; they waited tensely for Li Jiancheng to arrive.

As Li Jiancheng's army advanced on Luoyang, Wang Ming ordered the city to surrender and tried to leave, but a group of martial arts masters blocked him. He fought Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Shi Feixuan by reflecting their own techniques back at them, while Song Que and Ning Daoqi held back and watched.

• Li Jiancheng advanced on Luoyang with an elite army, and Yang You asked Wang Ming how the city could resist; Wang Ming ordered the garrison to surrender and prepared to escape with his allies.
• Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Shi Feixuan, Song Que, and Ning Daoqi confronted Wang Ming, while Zhu Yuyan and Wan Wan watched from afar.
• Wang Ming drew the fight away from the city walls, and Song Que engaged Dugu Feng while Ning Daoqi faced Yang You and You Chuhong.
• Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Shi Feixuan attacked Wang Ming, who countered them with their own techniques, including the Outer Lion Seal, the Well Eight Methods, and the Cihang Sword Canon.
• Wang Ming explained that he could learn their combat moves at a glance, while Song Que and Ning Daoqi hesitated to reveal their own martial arts.

Wang Ming ordered Luoyang to surrender but was trapped by Grandmasters determined to kill him. After fighting off Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Shi Feixuan, he faced Song Que and Ning Daoqi, then another powerful enemy emerged from Li Jiancheng's army.

• With Luoyang unable to defend itself, Wang Ming ordered the city to surrender and tried to flee, but Song Que, Ning Daoqi, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Shi Feixuan surrounded him while Wan Wan and Zhu Yuyan watched nearby.
• Wang Ming struck Xu Ziling with an attack that amplified and returned Xu Ziling's force, leaving him injured; Zhu Yuyan stopped Wan Wan from intervening directly.
• Wang Ming used paired weapons and a stream of varied sword techniques to drive Kou Zhong and Shi Feixuan into retreat until Ning Daoqi rescued them.
• Wan Wan and Zhu Yuyan moved to confront Song Que and Ning Daoqi's opponents, while Xu Ziling recovered enough to check on Kou Zhong and Shi Feixuan.
• Song Que and Ning Daoqi stepped forward to face Wang Ming, who prepared for battle after confirming that Dugu Feng, Yang You, and the others were still safe.
• A man emerged from Li Jiancheng's army, uncovered his face, and declared that he would join in killing Yang Guang.

Fu Cailin, Shi Zhixuan, and other grandmasters surrounded Wang Ming and attacked him, but his martial arts let him repel them. A cavalry force of several hundred grandmasters then arrived to protect him and revealed that they had captured Li Yuan, leaving Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin stunned.

• Fu Cailin arrived to join Song Que, Ning Daoqi, and the others in confronting Wang Ming, while Shi Zhixuan also appeared and said the Holy Sect backed Li Jiancheng.
• Fu Cailin struck at Wang Ming, and Song Que, Ning Daoqi, Kou Zhong, and the others joined the attack.
• Wang Ming used the Art of the Eight Desolates and Six Realms, I Alone Am Supreme to erase their true qi and counterattack, injuring most of his attackers.
• A cavalry force of several hundred grandmasters charged through Li Jiancheng's army, forcing the attackers to scatter, then dismounted and bowed to Wang Ming.
• The cavalry commander reported that the Nine Yang Battle Group had completed its mission and presented Li Yuan as a captive.
• Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin recognized Li Yuan, and Wang Ming's soldiers' raid on Chang'an and capture of Li Yuan were revealed.

Wang Ming used Li Yuan’s capture to unsettle the Li forces and expose the tensions between Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin. Li Yuan revealed that he had not made Li Shimin crown prince because Li Shimin was too much like Yang Guang, leaving Li Shimin stunned.

• Li Shimin demanded to know why Li Yuan had appeared on the battlefield, while Li Yuanji worried about the army’s grain route.
• Shi Feixuan brought Xu Ziling to treat Fan Qinghui, who explained that Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin could not surrender because the Demonic Sect and Buddhism had invested in them.
• Wang Ming admitted he had hoped Li Yuan would make his sons surrender, but said the capture’s real purpose was to destabilize the Li army by showing that its rear had suffered a major upheaval.
• Wang Ming asked Li Yuan why he had not made Li Shimin crown prince despite his accomplishments.
• Li Yuan told Wang Ming that Li Shimin was too much like Yang Guang, and Li Shimin was left stunned by the revelation.

Li Yuan explained why he had doubted Li Shimin as heir, then claimed Yang Guang had deliberately destroyed the Sui Dynasty to break the power of the aristocratic families. His revelation made the aristocratic scions resolve to prevent Yang Guang’s return and demand a massacre of Luoyang after victory.

• Li Yuan clarified that he had compared Li Shimin to Yang Guang because of their similar personalities and military careers, not because of any connection to his wife.
• Li Yuan told Li Shimin he had favored Li Jiancheng because he feared Li Shimin might repeat Yang Guang’s costly campaigns and believed Jiancheng’s support from the rear had matched Shimin’s battlefield contributions.
• Li Yuan admitted that on the road to Luoyang he had begun to think Li Shimin could be a good emperor, then claimed Yang Guang’s policies and military failures had been a deliberate plan to weaken the aristocratic families.
• Wang Ming privately doubted that Yang Guang had intentionally ruined the Sui Dynasty, while Fan Qinghui and Song Que questioned the supposed benefits of Yang Guang’s plan.
• Li Yuan claimed Luoyang’s widespread literacy meant Yang Guang no longer needed aristocratic families to govern, prompting the aristocratic scions to decide they must fight hard and later demand Luoyang’s people be massacred.

Li Yuan revealed that Yang Guang had a second powerful army and concluded that the Li clan had been paving the way for Yang Guang, while Wang Ming admitted he planned to take the realm after Li Shimin unified it. As the group grasped the danger facing their factions, Fan Qinghui resolved to strike at Yang Guang before the other army returned.

• Li Yuan told Li Shimin and the others that Yang Guang commanded another army as formidable as the force that captured him.
• Song Que feared for his clan in Lingnan, and Wang Ming said he intended to reunite Song Que with his family.
• Li Yuan concluded that the Li clan had been working for Yang Guang, and Wang Ming admitted he planned to take the empire after Li Shimin unified the realm.
• Li Jiancheng's allies, the sects, and Fan Qinghui feared Yang Guang's return to power and the consequences for their factions.
• Fan Qinghui told Shi Feixuan they had to prevent Yang Guang from becoming emperor and breach Luoyang before his second army returned.

Fan Qinghui feared Yang Guang’s growing power would destroy Cihang Pure Monastery, so she tried to keep the coalition fighting despite Song Que’s belief that retreat was necessary. Song Que said he would stay if Fan Qinghui could persuade everyone to continue.

• Fan Qinghui recalled how Bi Xiuxin had overshadowed her, then how Bi Xiuxin’s death let her become sect master and pursue power over her feelings for Song Que.
• Fan Qinghui reasoned that the coalition could still take Luoyang, but only if Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin were protected from Yang Guang’s attacks.
• Fan Qinghui approached Song Que and learned that his children were safe, while his younger brother Song Lu had likely been captured by Yang Guang.
• Song Que said the coalition could not win and would likely have to retreat, citing Li Yuan’s capture and the growing desire among their allies to withdraw.
• Fan Qinghui argued that retreat would leave them no chance to defeat Yang Guang, then asked Song Que whether he would stay if she persuaded the others to keep fighting.

Fan Qinghui tried to persuade Song Que to join the fight against Yang Guang, and Song Que agreed only if the Grandmasters united against him. After realizing Yang Guang had deliberately engineered the Sui Dynasty’s collapse to destroy the aristocratic clans, Song Que prepared for a likely fatal battle and sent Song Zhi to protect the Song Clan’s future.

• Fan Qinghui argued that Yang Guang’s return would bring suffering and urged Song Que to fight for the common people, but Song Que questioned the cost of the coming conflict.
• Fan Qinghui admitted that Li Jiancheng’s army might slaughter Luoyang while Yang Guang tried to kill Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng, and she said she would accept the resulting slaughter.
• Song Que refused to join on the strength of Fan Qinghui’s appeal alone, but agreed to fight if she could unite all the Grandmasters against Yang Guang.
• Song Que concluded that Yang Guang had deliberately caused the dynasty’s collapse to eliminate the aristocratic clans and establish a realm under his control.
• Song Que warned Song Zhi that the Song Clan might face a reckoning if Yang Guang won and ordered him to take some clansmen into hiding.
• Song Que told Song Zhi he might not return from fighting Yang Guang, and Song Zhi quietly left the battlefield.

Fan Qinghui incited Li Jiancheng’s forces to join the battle to rescue Li Yuan, while the Buddhist and Demonic factions focused on defeating Yang Guang. Song Que abandoned his ambitions and attacked Wang Ming, who met him in a fierce saber duel.

• Li Yuanji asked Li Jiancheng what to do after Li Yuan was captured, and Li Jiancheng turned to Li Shimin for advice.
• Fan Qinghui announced that the Crown Prince had promised rewards for rescuing Li Yuan, and a battle erupted with help from the Demonic Sect.
• Song Que let go of his ambitions and drew his saber, using his aura to overwhelm the Nine Suns Army.
• Wang Ming’s chant helped the Nine Suns Army unite their auras and resist Song Que’s pressure.
• Song Que shattered their defense with a powerful strike and charged Wang Ming, who drew his saber to fight him.

Wang Ming fought Song Que while Fu Cailin prepared a decisive move against Yang Guang, but Wang Ming disrupted Fu Cailin before he could strike. The battle continued as Song Que and Fu Cailin joined forces against Wang Ming, who endured their assault and relied on his distinct cultivation system.

• Wang Ming and Song Que fought at high speed as Xu Ziling, Shi Zhixuan, Kou Zhong, and Fu Cailin assessed their strengths.
• Fu Cailin expanded his awareness across the battlefield and searched for an opening to attack Yang Guang with his Yi Swordplay.
• Wang Ming broke away from Song Que and attacked Fu Cailin, forcing him to release the power he had been gathering.
• Wang Ming pressed Fu Cailin with rapid saber strikes, while Song Que joined the fight and attacked Wang Ming from behind.
• Wang Ming withdrew after withstanding their combined strike, suffering no serious injuries, and the narration explained how his Lesser Unphased Divine Skill let him imitate the momentum of this world's martial artists.

Wang Ming fought to escape as Ning Daoqi, Song Que, Fu Cailin, and the others pressed him from every side. He maneuvered through the battlefield and left Fan Qinghui behind after knocking her away, while Shi Feixuan and Song Que were positioned to pursue her.

• Wang Ming redirected Ning Daoqi’s qi birds into Song Que and Fu Cailin, then fought Ning Daoqi at close range as Ning’s qi techniques hindered his saber.
• Wang Ming broke away from Ning Daoqi and used Lingbo Micro-steps to keep the surrounding fighters from attacking him all at once.
• Ning Daoqi punched Wang Ming into the air, but Wang Ming borrowed force to evade Fu Cailin’s lethal sword thrust and escape the encirclement.
• Fan Qinghui and Shi Feixuan attacked Wang Ming, and Fan Qinghui urged him to stop resisting.
• Wang Ming deflected Shi Feixuan’s sword, blocked Fan Qinghui’s strike with his true qi, slapped her aside, and fled as her disciple and Song Que remained nearby.

Wang Ming fled from a powerful group of Grandmaster opponents while Yang You and his allies worried over his safety. Convinced that Wang Ming could survive, they decided to intervene and divide the attackers.

• Song Que left Fan Qinghui with Shi Feixuan after she confirmed her injuries were not severe.
• You Chuhong remained loyal to Wang Ming and believed his restraint was part of a plan to defeat his enemies and strengthen the Dugu Clan.
• Dugu Feng reassured Yang You that Wang Ming was unlikely to face mortal danger, despite being pursued by numerous Grandmasters.
• Ning Daoqi blasted Wang Ming to the ground, and Wang Ming dodged attacks from Song Que, Kou Zhong, and Fu Cailin before striking Xu Ziling and fleeing again.
• Yang You proposed sharing some of Wang Ming's opponents, and Dugu Feng agreed.
• You Chuhong rushed out to block Fan Qinghui and Zhu Yuyan.

Wang Ming was hunted outside Luoyang by a coalition of Grandmasters seeking to kill the Sui emperor, but he was saved from their coordinated assault when Fu Cailin was suddenly wounded. The attackers broke formation and suspected betrayal, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Song Que, Shi Zhixuan, Ning Daoqi, Fu Cailin, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Shi Feixuan, Wan Wan, Zhu Yuyan, and Fan Qinghui pursued Wang Ming outside Luoyang.
• Fu Cailin and Bi Xuan drove Wang Ming toward the battlefield, where Bi Xuan ambushed him from among Li Jiancheng's cavalry and sent him flying.
• Bi Xuan joined the Grandmasters in surrounding Wang Ming, and Song Que and Ning Daoqi attacked him at close range.
• Bi Xuan, Fu Cailin, and Shi Zhixuan built up their attacks while Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Shi Feixuan kept Wang Ming from escaping.
• Wang Ming unleashed “Eight Desolations and Six Directions, I Alone Am Eternal,” wiping away the incoming attacks, and Fu Cailin suddenly coughed blood and retreated with a bleeding shoulder.
• Song Que, Ning Daoqi, and Bi Xuan accused their allies of betrayal as the group broke formation and distanced themselves from one another.

Wang Ming revealed that Pei Ju, Zhu Yuyan, and hidden agents had helped him turn the battle against Li Tang and the Young Marshal Army in his favor. The chapter ended with the Li Tang forces effectively lost and Kou Zhong stunned by Wang Ming’s reach.

• Pei Ju revealed himself as Shi Zhixuan and declared his loyalty to Wang Ming, then ordered his agents to act.
• Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji’s troops turned against their own forces, while Zhu Yuyan struck down Fan Qinghui and Wan Wan stopped fighting Dugu Feng.
• Shi Zhixuan explained that he had infiltrated Li Tang’s officials and revealed that Luoyang had supplied many of the agents.
• Kou Zhong vowed that the Young Marshal Army would resist Wang Ming, but Wang Ming said Xu Xingzhi had been his agent from the beginning.
• Wang Ming explained how Shi Zhixuan had become his ally after secretly meeting him in the imperial palace.

Wang Ming’s victory was disrupted when Fan Qinghui’s death freed Song Que and Ning Daoqi from their mental shackles, allowing them to challenge him and Shi Zhixuan. As Song Que pressed his attack, Wang Ming retreated toward Luoyang and called for the Nine Suns Battle Array, which turned out to be an ordinary square formation.

• Wang Ming’s schemes left Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng captured and the main armies subdued, but the grandmasters’ fight remained decisive.
• Song Que drew his saber and revealed that Fan Qinghui’s death had freed him from his emotional restraints, making his attacks far more powerful.
• Wang Ming fought Song Que with the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms while Ning Daoqi confronted Shi Zhixuan, having also completed his Dao heart after Fan Qinghui’s death.
• Song Que burned through his conviction, true qi, and life force to strengthen his Heavenly Saber, forcing Wang Ming to flee toward Luoyang.
• Wang Ming ordered the Nine Suns Battle Array, but Kou Zhong recognized that the assembled troops had formed only an ordinary square formation.

Wang Ming used the Nine Yang Battle Group to repel the gathered martial artists, who rallied and broke through his Kun's Protection shield. After surviving their combined attack, Wang Ming counterattacked and killed Bi Xuan and Fu Cailin, leaving the decisive battle unresolved.

• Wang Ming absorbed true qi from the six hundred soldiers of the Nine Yang Battle Group and blocked Song Que, Bi Xuan, Fu Cailin, Shi Feixuan, Kou Zhong, and Xu Ziling with Kun's Protection.
• Wang Ming hurled a mountain at the attackers, and Song Que split it with a single slash; Wang Ming then summoned two more peaks.
• Bi Xuan charged Wang Ming with his Moon Wolf Spear as Song Que and the others joined the assault, and their combined strikes shattered Kun's Protection.
• Wang Ming emerged uninjured, charged Bi Xuan, and killed him with a palm after his spear bent against Wang Ming's chest.
• Wang Ming attacked Fu Cailin, twisted his sword apart, and crushed his head with a slap.

Wang Ming defeated the remaining challengers, reunited the Sui Dynasty, and shaped the surrounding kingdoms through enfeoffments, debts, and tribute. Centuries later, after restoring order and establishing a constitutional monarchy, he left the world once his system’s get-out-of-death-free card had recharged.

• Wang Ming killed the remaining grandmasters, using the Golden Man form after absorbing the Nine Suns Army soldiers’ true energy, and resolved to compensate the injured soldiers.
• A month later, Wang Ming rewarded his allies and sent Li Yuan, Song Que, Kou Zhong, and the Dugu Clan to establish kingdoms beyond the Sui borders, while appointing Pei Ju prime minister.
• Over the following decades, the new kingdoms expanded under Wang Ming’s financial support and Pei Ju’s administration, while Li Shimin, Song Que, and Kou Zhong failed to outlive Wang Ming and eventually left through shattering the void.
• Wang Ming’s descendants and the foreign kingdoms’ rulers continued expanding, but Li Shimin’s successors repeatedly failed to conquer the Sui, and the four kingdoms eventually joined forces against it.
• Wang Ming emerged from seclusion, conquered the four kingdoms, and unified the world under the Great Sui; centuries later, he suppressed a rebellion and established a constitutional monarchy.
• After the new system stabilized, Wang Ming left the world when his system’s get-out-of-death-free card finished recharging.