Recaps

Lin Qu and Anyuan City's exhausted defenders faced the snake-men’s final assault while Lin Qu fought Yan Ci in the sky. As the battle raged, the narrator and Ling Ying reflected on how insignificant the war might seem beyond the empires caught in it.

• Lin Qu wounded a Snake-People Dou Ling and helped drive the snake-men off Anyuan City’s walls, but fresh troops soon renewed the attack.
• After the defenders repelled another army, the narrator recognized that the snake-men were using successive attacks to exhaust the city before their decisive assault.
• Yan Ci led thirty thousand rested snake-men toward Anyuan City with his elite guards and the heads of two thousand defenders killed earlier that morning.
• Lin Qu rallied the battered defenders to fight to the death, then accepted Yan Ci’s challenge and charged into a Dou Wang battle above the city.
• The narrator watched the bloody siege with Ling Ying, who compared it to ants fighting over a nest, and the narrator recalled a foreign man preserving an ant nest in tin.

The Snake-People Tribe conquered Anyuan and the passes along the Chuyun Empire’s northern border, then planned to advance south along the Yushui River by capturing Yushui City. The chapter ended with news that Yan Leng’s force had been wiped out while attacking Tiantu City.

• Yan Ci killed Lin Qu, and the Snake-People army routed Anyuan’s defenders before withdrawing for the night.
• The Snake-People army fought street battles in Anyuan City, and the remaining defenders retreated after suffering heavy losses.
• The Snake-People Tribe occupied Anyuan and the northern passes, then sent three hundred thousand troops south into the Chuyun Empire.
• A Snake-People general explained to Yue Mei that Yushui City controlled the river route south and would need to be captured.
• A battle report announced that Yan Leng’s force of more than eight thousand men had been wiped out while attacking Tiantu City.

Nalan Ye learned that the Toxic Sect had poisoned Yan Leng's eight-thousand-strong division at Tiantu City and recognized its leader as his old friend, the Little Fairy Doctor. He persuaded Yue Mei against a reckless attack and set out to meet her, while wondering whether Cai Lin could rule the Snake-People Tribe again if she returned to life.

• A report revealed that the Toxic Sect had poisoned and wiped out Yan Leng's forces near Tiantu City.
• Nalan Ye recognized the sect's name and told Yue Mei that its leader was an old friend he had met two years earlier.
• Yan Ci demanded permission to attack the Toxic Sect, but Nalan Ye warned that its leader might be a poison-attribute Dou Emperor and that the Snake-People lacked enough experts to defeat her safely.
• Yan Ci tried to attack Nalan Ye, but Ling Ying intervened and Yue Mei ordered Yan Ci to stand down.
• Nalan Ye told Yue Mei he would go to Tiantu City and try to persuade the Little Fairy Doctor not to become his enemy.
• Nalan Ye reflected on Yue Mei's growing prestige and wondered whether Cai Lin could rule the Snake-People Tribe again if she returned to life.

After learning that Xiao Ding and Nalan Ye were alive, Xiao Yan agreed to remain involved in the war to protect the Xiao Family. Meanwhile, Qing Yue’s scheme advanced in Gama City when Lu Man brought her a girl who resembled Qing Lin.

• Nalan Yanran told Xiao Yan that Xiao Ding and Nalan Ye were alive and that Xiao Ding was in the Snake-People Holy City to earn military merit.
• Xiao Yan tried to leave for the Snake-People Holy City, but Nalan Yanran warned him that the Chuyun Empire’s forces still threatened the Gamma Empire and the Xiao Family.
• Xiao Yan turned back and stayed to help the Gamma Empire, while wondering why Yao Lao had not realized Xiao Ding faked his death.
• Lu Man brought an unconscious girl resembling Qing Lin to Qing Yue in Gama City.
• Qing Yue ordered Lu Man to dress the girl like Qing Lin, and a burly man arrived and said the master’s plan could begin.

Qing Yue and Long Xi staged a battle in Gama City to make Qing Lin appear to die in a disaster, while Bai Ya and Lu Man secretly abducted the real Qing Lin. The two Dou Zong fled after destroying the Nalan Residence, leaving the city in ruins as its people evacuated.

• Qing Yue met the disguised Long Xi in a calligraphy shop, and they began their planned fight, killing the shop’s customers and leveling the alley.
• Tengshan Mitre and Jia Xingtian recognized the two fighters as Dou Zong experts and began evacuating Gama City by tearing down sections of its walls.
• Lu Man entered the Nalan Residence with a fake Qing Lin and switched her for the real Qing Lin.
• Bai Ya and Lu Man carried the unconscious Qing Lin out of Gama City through the panicked crowds after Qing Yue gave them the signal.
• Qing Yue and Long Xi fought above the Nalan Residence, destroying it and making the fake Qing Lin appear to have died in the battle.
• Long Xi fled and Qing Yue pursued him, leaving Gama City filled with ruins and corpses.

Nalan Ye reached Tiantu City and reunited with the Little Fairy Doctor, now the Poison Sect Master, after more than two years apart. She let him and Ling Ying into the city, where he tried to persuade her to leave the war, and he explained that he still had not become an alchemist.

• Nalan Ye and Ling Ying passed the charred remains of the Snake-People camp and approached Tiantu City.
• Nalan Ye asked the city guards to tell the Poison Sect Master about the materials worth thirteen thousand gold coins that the Little Fairy Doctor had taken.
• The Little Fairy Doctor appeared on the wall, recognized Nalan Ye, and questioned how he had returned after being reported dead.
• The Little Fairy Doctor ordered the gates opened and brought Nalan Ye and Ling Ying to the City Lord's Mansion.
• The Little Fairy Doctor asked whether Nalan Ye had come to persuade her to submit to the Gamma Empire, and he said he wanted to keep his friend from dying in the war.
• The Little Fairy Doctor asked if Nalan Ye had become an alchemist, and he answered that his lightning and wood attributes had prevented him from doing so.

With the Snake-People Tribe invading, Anke Lai Ni murdered his brothers and proposed founding the Morning Dawn Empire with the support of two great sects and the army. He sought to ally with the Snake-People Tribe and fight the Gamma Empire for control of its lands.

• Man Meisi ordered the Chuyun Empire's seven hundred thousand troops to withdraw and return home to repel the Snake-People Tribe.
• An Ke met his brothers Aqi Er and Bei Te, who argued over his past failures and the threat to their empire.
• An Ke poisoned Aqi Er and Bei Te during a gathering, killing both princes.
• An Ke summoned Xie Shan and Wu Ya and asked whether the Chuyun Empire could survive the allied invasion.
• An Ke proposed founding the Morning Dawn Empire and allying with the Snake-People Tribe, offering it the Chuyun Empire's lands in exchange for its neutrality in the Gamma Empire's territory.

An Ke persuaded Xie Shan and Wu Ya to help him conquer the Gamma Empire, but the two sect leaders secretly decided to kill him once he was no longer useful. After they purged loyalists and spread frightening rumors, the Chuyun army launched a desperate assault, and the battle between the armies and their sixteen experts began.

• An Ke proposed allying with the Snake-People Tribe, defeating Mu Tie and Nalan Jie, and taking the Gamma Empire as the new Morning Dawn Empire.
• Xie Shan and Wu Ya agreed to support An Ke’s plan but privately resolved to eliminate him and make Man Meisi emperor instead.
• Xie Shan and Wu Ya purged officers loyal to the Chuyun Emperor while An Ke spread rumors that Dou Zong experts supported the Chuyun army and had destroyed Gama City and Yun Lan Sect’s headquarters.
• The Chuyun army launched a relentless assault on Mu Tie’s defenses, and on the third morning Man Meisi sent one hundred thousand fresh troops forward.
• Xie Shan and Wu Ya led their Dou Wang elders toward the battlefield, where Yun Yun, Hai Bodong, and other Gamma experts met them, beginning a battle involving sixteen experts and the armies of both empires.

Nalan Ye spoke with the Little Fairy Doctor about her past, the war, and what they were fighting for. A carrier pigeon then brought news that two Dou Zong experts had fought in Gama City, destroying streets and killing or injuring thousands, and that Qing Lin was dead.

• Nalan Ye asked the Little Fairy Doctor about founding her sect, and she described returning to the Monster Mountain Range to cultivate the Seven Coloured Poison Scripture before traveling to the Chuyun Empire.
• Nalan Ye reminded the Little Fairy Doctor that she had always saved people, and they discussed the war, its causes, and whether anything could stop it.
• A junior officer brought a carrier pigeon to the hall, and Nalan Ye recognized it as a message from his household.
• Nalan Ye read that two Dou Zong experts had fought in Gama City, razed several streets, and caused tens of thousands of casualties, including damage to his family's estate.
• Nalan Ye learned that Qing Lin had died and wondered whether his actions had changed her fate.

After Qing Lin’s death and the Gama Army’s devastating defeat, Nalan Ye sought Little Fairy Doctor’s help to protect his family and salvage his war plan. She agreed and flew with Nalan Ye and Ling Ying toward Anyuan City, revealing that she had reached One-Star Dou Emperor while he was only Three-Star Dou Shi.

• Little Fairy Doctor asked about Nalan Ye’s family, and he read that two suspected Central Plains Dou Zongs were linked to Qing Lin’s death.
• Nalan Ye received news that Mu Tie’s four hundred thousand soldiers had been routed by the Cloudrise Empire’s seven hundred thousand troops, leaving the defensive line collapsed.
• Nalan Ye reconsidered his plan and asked Little Fairy Doctor to help protect his family as the Cloudrise Empire advanced toward Gama City.
• Little Fairy Doctor agreed to help because she owed Nalan Ye a favor, then left Tiantu City with him and Ling Ying for Anyuan City.
• During the flight, Little Fairy Doctor told Nalan Ye she had recently become a One-Star Dou Emperor, while he had reached only Three-Star Dou Shi.

Nalan Ye returned to Anyuan City and found the Snake-People Tribe considering an alliance offer from the newly founded Morning Dawn Empire. He challenged Yue Mei to look beyond the immediate gains, leaving the tribe’s decision unresolved.

• Nalan Ye returned to Anyuan City with the Little Fairy Doctor and Ling Ying, where Ling Ying warned that the Snake-People Tribe seemed to be watching them.
• Nalan Ye introduced the Little Fairy Doctor to Yue Mei as the Poison Sect Master and a Dou Huang expert.
• Luo Heng identified himself as the Morning Dawn Empire Envoy and explained that the former Chuyun troops had founded a new nation.
• Luo Heng offered the Snake-People Tribe all of Chuyun’s lands in exchange for an alliance against Gamma.
• Nalan Ye urged Yue Mei not to focus only on the immediate benefits of Luo Heng’s offer.

The narrator challenged Yue Mei to remain loyal to the Gamma Empire, and she rejected Luo Heng’s offer to ally with the Morning Dawn Empire. After invoking the Snake-People Tribe’s honor to secure her subjects’ obedience, Yue Mei ordered Luo Heng beheaded.

• The narrator accused Yue Mei of chasing short-term gains, and she told Flower Snake to stand down before reaffirming the tribe’s alliance with the Gamma Empire.
• Luo Heng urged Yue Mei to reconsider and threatened that the Morning Dawn Empire would fight the Snake-People Tribe if she refused its alliance.
• Yue Mei invoked her Medusa bloodline to command the Snake-People in the hall and argued that their ancestral honor required them to keep their promises.
• Luo Heng offered to seek more territory from his emperor, but Yue Mei called him a rebel and ordered the guards to drag him out and behead him.

Yue Mei had Luo Heng executed after rejecting the Morning Dawn Empire’s offer, reinforcing her authority and confirming her alliance with the Gamma Empire. She appointed Qi Lin to lead a hundred thousand Snake-People into the Gamma Empire to help suppress the rebellion.

• Luo Heng pleaded for his life, but the narrator dismissed Morning Dawn as an unrecognized band of rebels, and Yue Mei had him dragged away and executed.
• The Snake-People leaders bowed their heads after a guard brought Luo Heng’s severed head into the hall.
• The narrator explained that Yue Mei’s choice of the Gamma Empire as an ally would help prevent the Snake-People Tribe from alarming the surrounding human empires.
• The narrator asked Yue Mei to send reinforcements to suppress the rebellion in the Gamma Empire, and she agreed.
• Yue Mei appointed Qi Lin commander of a hundred-thousand-strong vanguard bound for the Gamma Empire, and Qi Lin accepted.

The narrator joined Qi Lin’s Snake-People army as it marched to reinforce the Gamma Empire and discussed the dangers of attacking the Chuyun forces. The chapter ended as he warned Qi Lin that the Chuyun rebels controlled the Eastern Border, a key supply base for their seven hundred thousand soldiers.

• The Xing Army and Zhong Army departed, followed two days later by the Main Army, while the Snake-People planned to help encircle the Chuyun soldiers.
• Qi Lin dismissed the narrator as too young for the battlefield, but backed down after he pointed out that Little Fairy Doctor and Ling Ying would protect him.
• The narrator told Little Fairy Doctor that the Snake-People army’s healers and discipline would make spreading a plague through the Chuyun army difficult.
• The narrator, Little Fairy Doctor, and Ling Ying traveled with Qi Lin’s army in carriages as the Snake-People began their slow march.
• The narrator warned Qi Lin that the Chuyun rebels had captured the Eastern Border, which had supplied the invading Chuyun forces.

The narrator urged Qi Lin to take Le City before attacking Qian City, but Qi Lin ordered a direct assault on Qian City and reluctantly agreed to let the narrator lead a detachment against Le City. The next morning, Qi Lin revealed that the Xing Army had captured Qian City overnight, leaving the narrator stunned.

• The narrator studied the map with Qi Lin and learned that the Snake-People could not swim across the Qi River, so the army would need to use Qianqi Ferry.
• The narrator recommended capturing Le City as a base before attacking Qian City, but Qi Lin ordered the Xing Army to prepare a direct assault on Qian City.
• Qi Lin agreed that the narrator could lead a detachment to capture Le City the following day.
• The narrator returned to the carriage and reflected on how Qi Lin was also facing her first battle command.
• The next morning, Qi Lin told Nalan Ye that the Xing Army had captured Qian City during the night.

The Snake-People army reached Qian City and found it burned and stripped of boats, leaving the wide Qi River as a barrier between them and Qi City. After fending off repeated raids while preparing to cross, they faced a sudden Chu Yun Rebel assault on the fifth day, as hundreds of warships advanced from the southern bank.

• The Snake-People army arrived at Qian City and found its defenders had burned the city, docks, and nearby wooden supplies before withdrawing across the Qi River.
• Qi Lin sent Snake-People soldiers to fell trees and build boats, while Chu Yun Rebel raiders attacked the workers from the southern bank and escaped by boat.
• I advised Qi Lin to station scouts along the river and guards with the tree-felling parties, stopping later Chu Yun Rebel landing attempts.
• The Chu Yun Rebels made no further landings on the fourth day, and I expected the decisive battle to begin once the Snake-People crossed the river.
• At dawn on the fifth day, war drums sounded as hundreds of Chu Yun Rebel ships sailed from the southern bank toward Qian City.

Nalan Ye suspected the Chu Yun Rebels’ fleet was a feint meant to conceal reinforcements crossing the Qi River elsewhere. He arranged a counterattack with Qi Lin, but Ling Ying returned without finding any reinforcements.

• The Little Fairy Doctor told Nalan Ye that a fleet was approaching the Snake-People camp across the Qi River.
• Nalan Ye noticed the fleet was charging from too far away and concluded it was bait for a secret crossing elsewhere.
• Nalan Ye sent Ling Ying to scout Qianqi Ferry and warned Qi Lin that reinforcements might be targeting their flank.
• Qi Lin gave Nalan Ye a Gilded Silver Token and assigned him a Snake-People Commandant so he could lead ten thousand soldiers against the suspected reinforcements.
• Ling Ying returned and told Nalan Ye that he had found no sign of the reinforcements.

Nalan Ye discovered that the Cloudrise Empire reinforcements he expected were nowhere nearby, and his plan for an ambush fell apart. As the Chu Yun Rebels repeatedly feinted from their fleet, he recognized that they were using fatigue warfare to keep the Snake-People army on constant alert.

• Ling Ying reported that he had found no Cloudrise Empire reinforcements near Qianqi Ferry, so Nalan Ye abandoned his ambush plan.
• Nalan Ye returned to Qi Lin feeling embarrassed after his assessment proved wrong, while Little Fairy Doctor stayed beside him.
• The Chu Yun Rebels beat their war drums, read a proclamation demanding the Snake-People leave the Gamma Empire, and withdrew without attacking.
• At dusk, another Rebel fleet approached and made the Snake-People camp mobilize, but it again stayed out of reach.
• Nalan Ye recognized the Rebels' tactic as fatigue warfare, which kept the Snake-People defending the riverbank and prevented them from building ships.

As the Snake-People prepared to cross the Qi River, the narrator planned a dawn attack on the enemy fleet and enlisted Little Fairy Doctor and Ling Ying to help. Ling Ying recognized Little Fairy Doctor's Calamity Poison Body and warned that it could endanger the entire army if she lost control, while the narrator claimed he had a way to resolve it.

• The narrator visited Qi Lin and learned that the Snake-People had enough boats to carry eight thousand troops, with enough for ten thousand expected by nightfall.
• The narrator pointed out that the enemy fleet had dwindled to a few dozen boats and persuaded Little Fairy Doctor to attack it before dawn so the army could cross safely.
• Qi Lin approved the plan and summoned her officers, while the narrator told Little Fairy Doctor to burn oil on the river and keep her cultivation suppressed at the Dou Wang level.
• The narrator asked Ling Ying to ambush and kill the enemy expert if he intervened during the battle.
• Ling Ying identified Little Fairy Doctor's Calamity Poison Body and warned that it could spread deadly poison through the camp if it went out of control.
• The narrator said Ling Ying could restrain Little Fairy Doctor if necessary and claimed he had a way to resolve her condition.

The narrator and Little Fairy Doctor set fire to the Chu Yun Rebels’ fleet on the Qi River, while elite Snake-People began crossing upstream. The chapter left Little Fairy Doctor fighting beneath the burning water as the Snake-People’s rafts approached the southern bank.

• The narrator waited until just before dawn, then sent Little Fairy Doctor to pour oil into the river upstream of the fleet.
• Little Fairy Doctor ignited the oil, sending the Chu Yun Rebels’ ships into confusion as flames spread across the Qi River.
• Little Fairy Doctor struck the flagship and another large ship, while the fleet’s elderly officer led Da Dou Shi experts into the river to pursue her.
• Qi Lin’s messenger ordered the elite Snake-People to cross the river on rafts from a concealed upstream position.
• A Snake-Person Dou Ling killed the Chu Yun Rebel scouts who spotted the approaching rafts.

Qi City fell after the Little Fairy Doctor blasted open its north gate, and the Snake-People began crossing the river to occupy it. At the riverbank, Nalan Ye revealed that he knew about her Calamity Poison Body and promised to cure it, then held her as she feared her poison would hurt him.

• The Little Fairy Doctor destroyed Qi City's north gate, and its defenders fled as the Snake-People poured into the city.
• Qi Lin ordered the troops on the northern bank brought across the Qi River so she could dine in Qi City that evening.
• Nalan Ye asked the Little Fairy Doctor whether she was hurt, then told her he would help cure her Calamity Poison Body.
• The Little Fairy Doctor doubted that Nalan Ye could cure her and asked whether he feared her poison and its loss-of-control episodes.
• Nalan Ye reassured her that he trusted her and would not be afraid, then stepped forward and held her tightly.

Nalan Ye feared that the Little Fairy Doctor’s poisonous fragrance had poisoned him, but Ling Ying found no poison and warned him that the Calamity Poison Body made trust dangerous. Remembering what he knew of her future, Nalan Ye called after her that he trusted her.

• Nalan Ye embraced the Little Fairy Doctor, learned her fragrance was poisonous, and asked her for an antidote.
• The Little Fairy Doctor knocked the Medicinal Pills from Nalan Ye’s hands, called him a liar, and walked away.
• Ling Ying examined Nalan Ye and found no poison in his body.
• Ling Ying warned Nalan Ye that people with the Calamity Poison Body could have unpredictable temperaments and might poison him without his knowledge.
• Nalan Ye recalled the Little Fairy Doctor’s future and shouted after her that he trusted her.

Nalan Ye followed Little Fairy Doctor into the reeds, where he fought off a greedy Chu Yun Rebels officer before confronting her about her lies and asking her to walk the path of cultivation with him. Just as Little Fairy Doctor was about to answer, they spotted a powerful white surge racing down the Qi River.

• Nalan Ye searched the reeds for Little Fairy Doctor and was attacked by a Chu Yun Rebels officer who accused him of aiding the Snake-People and coveted his Ring of Holding.
• Nalan Ye dodged the officer’s saber strikes, and Little Fairy Doctor emerged from the reeds after poisoning the attacker, who fell dead.
• Nalan Ye accused Little Fairy Doctor of lying about the fragrance and demanded an apology, then told her he would not fear or reject her Calamity Poison Body.
• Nalan Ye took Little Fairy Doctor’s hand and asked her to walk the long path of cultivation with him, and she began to respond.
• Little Fairy Doctor sensed danger and lifted Nalan Ye above the reeds, where they saw a huge white surge rushing down the Qi River.

The narrator discovered that the Chu Yun Rebels had dammed the Qi River and sent a huge wave downstream to trap the Snake-People army as it crossed on a pontoon bridge. With Qi City still held by enemy troops and the rebel fleet approaching, he chose to stand and ordered the bridge burned.

• The narrator spotted the falling river level and warned the Little Fairy Doctor that a massive wave was coming.
• The Little Fairy Doctor carried the narrator to Qi Lin, who was directing the battle, and he explained that the Chu Yun Rebels had lured the Snake-People into a trap.
• The narrator and Qi Lin saw the wave and a fleet of nearly a thousand Chu Yun Rebel ships approaching downstream.
• Qi Lin ordered the Snake-People on the pontoon bridge to retreat to either bank and barred more troops from crossing.
• The Little Fairy Doctor and Ling Ying said they could not quickly eliminate the defenders in Qi City, leaving the army unable to secure the city before the fleet arrived.
• The narrator decided the Snake-People could not retreat and ordered Ling Ying to pour oil on the pontoon bridge and set it ablaze.

Ling Ying burned the pontoon bridge as the Cloudrise Empire’s fleet rode a flood downstream and broke through, then divided to land along the south bank. As Qi Lin’s outnumbered Snake-People prepared to defend the shore, forty thousand Cloudrise Empire soldiers sang as they charged, leaving the battle about to begin.

• Ling Ying poured burning oil over the pontoon bridge and set it ablaze before the flood swept through Qianqi Ferry.
• Thirty armored mengchong smashed the burning bridge, and the Cloudrise Empire’s fleet attacked Snake-People caught in the river.
• Qi Lin ordered nearly a hundred Dragon Hunting Crossbows to fire at the fleet, while the narrator learned that Ling Ying sensed two Dou Wangs but no Dou Emperors among the rebels.
• The Cloudrise Empire divided nearly eight hundred ships into flotillas and began landing along a forty-to-fifty-li stretch of prepared south bank, where the Snake-People were badly outnumbered.
• Forty thousand Cloudrise Empire soldiers sang together as they rowed toward shore, their anger at the Snake-People driving them into the attack.