Recaps

As the Snake-People attacked Qi City, Little Fairy Doctor moved to break a defensive line and was ambushed by the Dou Huang peak expert Xie Biyan. After surviving his first strike and countering with poison, she heard his proposal to unite Poison Masters under a realm of their own.

• The Snake-People grew uneasy as the troops around Qi City sang, while their commanders tried to rally them for the Cloudrise Empire fleet's landing.
• Little Fairy Doctor approached the gate towers and joined the Snake-People's assault, intending to eliminate the archers and crossbowmen.
• A black-robed old man concealed in the tower revealed himself as a Dou Huang peak expert and struck Little Fairy Doctor, sending her crashing through a tower and into a courtyard wall.
• Little Fairy Doctor evaded his follow-up attack and used a hidden poison pellet to corrode his Poison Dou Qi Armor, forcing him to halt his pursuit.
• The old man identified himself as Xie Biyan of the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate and invited Little Fairy Doctor to join a Poison Master alliance that would establish its own realm.

Little Fairy Doctor rejected Xie Biyan’s offer to unite the Poison Masters, so he attacked her and Ling Ying, while the battle for Qi City and the Qi River beaches continued. As Nalan Ye joined Qi Lin’s reinforcements, the Holy Sword Knight Order appeared on the eastern horizon.

• Little Fairy Doctor refused Xie Biyan’s invitation, and he attacked her with a huge Dou Qi hand and Black Light Balls.
• Ling Ying ambushed Xie Biyan, but Xie Biyan countered the attack and escaped unharmed; two Dou Wangs then joined him in surrounding Little Fairy Doctor and Ling Ying.
• Nalan Ye watched from Qi City’s wall as the Snake-People began losing ground, then warned Qi Lin that a river beach was about to fall.
• Qi Lin led the last five hundred reserves toward the beach, and Nalan Ye went with her to fight the Cloudrise Empire Fleet’s landings.
• A rider bearing the Chuyun Imperial Family’s banner appeared near Qi City, followed by thousands of riders from the Holy Sword Knight Order.

As the Holy Sword Knight Order arrived at the Qi River, the Chuyun Imperial Family offered to surrender directly to Nalan Ye rather than to the Gamma Empire. Nalan Ye realized the family had judged his hidden influence and agreed to accept their offer.

• Nalan Ye warned Qi Lin to gather the Snake-People troops as the Holy Sword Knight Order approached, and Qi Lin dispatched messengers with orders to withdraw west of Qi City.
• The Holy Sword Knight Order halted east of Qi City, and its delegation rode toward Nalan Ye.
• Prince Wei Yi Lai Ni told Nalan Ye that the Chuyun Empire wished to surrender to him personally, not to the Gamma Empire.
• Wei Yi revealed that Emperor Faris Lai Ni was with the Holy Sword Knight Order and would abdicate in Nalan Ye's favor if he accepted the surrender.
• Nalan Ye recognized that the Chuyun Imperial Family had seen his growing power and told Wei Yi he would accept Faris Lai Ni's surrender.

Anthony Moreyni and Zoe Moreyni realized Ling Ying’s disciplined fighting style pointed to a powerful faction backing Nalan Ye, and the Chuyun Imperial Family accepted Nalan Ye’s terms of surrender. As Chuyun’s forces prepared to yield, the Snake-People army gathered west of Qi City while the Chu Yun Rebels occupied the abandoned riverbanks.

• Anthony Moreyni and Zoe Moreyni watched Ling Ying battle Xie Biyan and concluded that Ling Ying’s Earth Class techniques and standardized fighting style suggested a powerful faction behind him.
• Anthony Moreyni and Zoe Moreyni reasoned that Nalan Ye likely directed that faction’s affairs in the region, despite his youth and modest cultivation.
• Prince Wei Yi returned and reported that Nalan Ye had agreed to Chuyun’s surrender, then questioned why the family had to yield to him.
• Zoe Moreyni rebuked Wei Yi, while Faris explained that Nalan Ye’s powerful backing made surrender necessary.
• Anthony Moreyni watched the Snake-People army assemble west of Qi City as the Chu Yun Rebels occupied the riverbanks it had abandoned.

The Holy Sword Knight Order helped the Chuyun Imperial Family seize Qi City and turned the battle above it against Xie Biyan. Ling Ying killed Xie Biyan with a Heaven Rank Lower Tier Dou Technique, but the technique left Ling Ying badly injured.

• I ordered Qi Lin to have the Holy Sword Knight Order capture Qi City and send experts to help kill Xie Biyan.
• The Holy Sword Knight Order called on Qi City's defenders to surrender, and its troops seized the city as the defenders' morale collapsed.
• Anthony joined the Little Fairy Doctor, Ling Ying, and Zoe against Xie Biyan, while two Dou Wangs withdrew from the conflict.
• Xie Biyan attacked the Little Fairy Doctor, then tried to flee when he began losing ground.
• Ling Ying intercepted Xie Biyan and killed him with the Heaven Rank Lower Tier Dou Technique Stab, then vomited blood and struggled to land.

The allied armies defeated the Morning Dawn Empire and besieged its last stronghold, U Yue City, while its sect leaders escaped before the city fell. As the Chuyun Imperial Family’s forces entered the city, An Ke set fire to the attic where he stood.

• After the Chuyun Imperial Family surrendered, the Snake-People Tribe and allied forces retook the Cloudrise Eastern Region and surrounded the Morning Dawn Empire’s troops.
• Qi Lin told me she was leaving to lead an attack on a southeastern pass, and I gave her a medicinal pill before she departed.
• Over the next three months, the allied armies defeated most of the Morning Dawn Empire’s forces and trapped the survivors in U Yue City.
• The allied forces breached U Yue City’s eastern wall, then discovered the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate and Wu Tian Mansion’s experts had escaped before the siege.
• An Ke learned U Yue City had fallen, put on his imperial robes, and set fire to the lamp-oil-soaked attic around himself.

After the war at U Yue City, Xiao Yan prepared to leave for Canaan Academy, and Nalan Yanran gave him a map of the Black-Corner Region. At the riverbank, Xiao Yan kissed her after Yao Lao urged him to act, leaving their relationship uncertain as he departed.

• The war ended with Anke Lai Ni dead and the senior members of the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate and Wu Tian Mansion fleeing, while the riverbank remained littered with the dead and weapons.
• Nalan Yanran asked Xiao Yan if he was leaving, and he said he would visit his brothers before going to Canaan Academy.
• Xiao Yan declined his war rewards and brushed off Nalan Yanran's warning about the dangers of the Black-Corner Region.
• Nalan Yanran gave Xiao Yan a map showing Canaan Academy and warned him not to talk to anyone in the region.
• Yao Lao urged Xiao Yan to kiss Nalan Yanran, and Xiao Yan embraced and kissed her as she began to draw away.

Nalan Ye planned a new balance of power across the Gamma Empire, the Chuyun Empire, and Tagor while the U Yue Peace Conference stalled without his leadership. He invited Mu Tie and Anthony to propose a marriage alliance between the Mu and Mo Lai Ni families, leaving both men to consider his purpose.

• Nalan Ye mapped out how the region’s powers could balance one another, including moving the Mitre and Nalan families to Chuyun Territory and pairing the Mu and Chuyun Imperial families in the Gamma Empire.
• Nalan Ye summoned Mu Tie and Anthony after learning the peace conference had again ended in discord, and Anthony urged him to preside over it.
• Mu Tie questioned why Nalan Ye had invited him, and Nalan Ye praised Mu Zhan’s wartime conduct before raising the prospect of a marriage match.
• Mu Tie suggested Nalan Yanran as a bride for Mu Zhan, but Nalan Ye refused to decide his older sister’s marriage.
• Nalan Ye proposed that Mu Zhan instead marry a young woman from Anthony’s Mo Lai Ni Family, leaving Mu Tie and Anthony silently weighing his intentions.

The protagonist explained his plan to divide conquered regions between the Snake-People Tribe and the Nalan Family, with the Nalan Family taking control while nominally remaining part of the Gamma Empire. He then met Ya Fei in U Yue City and asked when she had left the Auction House in Wutan City.

• Anthony thanked the protagonist for securing favorable terms for the Mo Lai Ni Family, and the protagonist reminded him and Mu Tie to maintain their families' new marriage alliance.
• The protagonist showed Nalan Jie his plan to allocate regions to the Snake-People Tribe and Nalan Family, and Nalan Jie suggested that the Nalan Family keep nominal loyalty to the Gamma Empire.
• The protagonist agreed that Nalan Jie's proposal could avoid provoking the Gama Royal Family while still giving the Nalan Family control of four regions.
• Hai Bodong arrived with Ya Fei Mitre, and the protagonist was surprised to meet her in U Yue City.
• Ya Fei greeted the Nalan Heir Apparent, and the protagonist welcomed her before asking when she had left the Auction House in Wutan City.

The Nalan heir tried to recruit the Mitre Family to Chuyun Territory, arguing that its leaders could use force to reshape the unstable region, but Ya Fei questioned the business risks. When Yun Yun arrived with Yun Lan Sect elders and Gama Royal Family representatives, he asked to speak with her alone, leaving her visibly torn between him and the Imperial Family.

• Ya Fei explained that the Mitre Family's business relied on its connections in the Gama Empire and warned that moving to Chuyun Territory could damage its established trade.
• The Nalan heir argued that the Mitre Family's Dou Emperor and Dou Wang could help impose a new balance in Chuyun Territory, and said he could instead bring the Mu Family or support a local power.
• After Hai Bodong and Ya Fei left, the Nalan heir invited Yun Yun to meet, unaware that informants had reported his earlier private meetings around the city.
• Yun Yun arrived with Yun Lan Sect elders and Gama Royal Family members, and a young royal accused the Nalan Family of plotting rebellion.
• The Nalan heir greeted Yun Yun and asked to speak with her alone, while Prince Gerr Gama watched and Yun Yun hesitated before saying official matters need not exclude the Imperial Family.

Nalan Ye spoke privately with Yun Yun and learned why the Yun Lan Sect forbade its junior sect master from romantic entanglements before reaching Dou Wang. He left regretful over the conflicts the rule had caused, then announced an alliance assembly for the next morning despite Prince Gerr’s objection.

• Nalan Ye invited Yun Yun into the main hall while Prince Gerr and the other guests waited outside.
• Nalan Ye brewed tea with Yun Yun and refrained from discussing official business after hearing how simply she made tea.
• Nalan Ye asked why Yun Yun had allowed Nalan Yanran to break off her engagement, and Yun Yun explained the Yun Lan Sect’s rule against young sect masters pursuing romance before reaching Dou Wang.
• Nalan Ye reflected that the rule had caused needless suffering and felt relieved that Nalan Yanran and Yun Yun had avoided unhappy romantic outcomes.
• Nalan Ye announced an alliance assembly for the next morning in the U Yue City Lord’s Mansion, ignored the Imperial Family’s objection, and ordered the guests to be shown out.

Nalan Ye used the alliance assembly to push the Chuyun Emperor to surrender rather than abdicate, while arguing against another war. When Jia Xingtian threatened to fight anyway, several powerful leaders rallied against him, leaving Yun Yun uncertain whether to support the Gama Royal Family.

• Nalan Ye opened the alliance assembly in U Yue City and brushed aside a young Gama royal who challenged his right to preside.
• Faris offered to abdicate as Chuyun's emperor, but Gerr rejected the offer and demanded surrender; Faris pointed out that Gama had no troops in Chuyun Territory.
• Nalan Ye, Little Fairy Doctor, Yue Mei, Mu Tie, Hai Bodong, and Yun Yun opposed renewing the war, isolating Gerr's position.
• Nalan Ye urged Jia Xingtian not to fight, and Jia Xingtian challenged him while releasing his Dou Huang Peak pressure.
• Ling Ying blocked Jia Xingtian's pressure as Little Fairy Doctor, Yue Mei, Anthony, Zoe, Nalan Jie, and three Snake-People Dou Wangs joined the confrontation.
• Yun Yun rose from her seat but hesitated over whether defending the Gama Royal Family was worth making enemies of the gathered powers.

The alliance conference continued after Yun Yun withdrew the Yun Lan Sect, leaving Jia Xingtian facing the remaining powers. The narrator secured Jia Xingtian’s agreement to grant the Gama Eastern Region as part of a proposed special administrative region, while the conference’s settlement reshaped the former Chuyun lands.

• The narrator reminded Yun Yun that the Yun Lan Sect had traditionally avoided worldly affairs, and Yun Yun announced that she would obey Yun Shan’s order and return to the mountain with her disciples.
• After a scout reported that the Yun Lan Sect was packing to leave, the narrator suspected Yun Shan was using the withdrawal to preserve the sect’s freedom to reject the conference’s decisions.
• The narrator praised the Yun Lan Sect’s departure and pressed Jia Xingtian to continue the alliance conference, and Jia Xingtian asked what he intended to do.
• The narrator proposed giving the former Chuyun Empire’s Northern Region and Eastern Border to the Snake-People Tribe, merging Chuyun into the Gamma Empire, and creating a special administrative region under the Lion Heart Marshal.
• When Jia Xingtian rejected giving up the Gama Eastern Region, the narrator listed his contributions and threatened the royal family with the consequences of denying him a reward.
• Jia Xingtian finally agreed to grant the Gama Eastern Region to the narrator.

After the U Yue Peace Conference, the narrator questioned Yue Mei about how the Snake-People would govern the human population in its newly allocated regions, then spoke with Qi Lin about her breakthrough and future plans. The Snake-People began withdrawing from Gama territory as the narrator and his allies traveled to Gama City, where the Gamma Emperor was due to announce the peace terms; the narrator privately vowed to avenge Qing Lin.

• The narrator told Yue Mei to take her troops back to Tagor and asked how she would govern the humans in the Cloudrise Northern and Eastern Regions.
• Yue Mei said she would avoid slaughtering humans and move the Mei Snake Tribe and Mo Snake Tribe into the two regions to govern alongside supported human factions.
• Qi Lin thanked the narrator for the medicinal pill that helped her break through to Dou Wang, questioned his influence, and said she would travel to Tagor to move her people.
• The Snake-People began withdrawing from cities in the Gama Eastern Region, which were handed over to Nalan Jie's forces as the Chuyun Protectorate was established under Nalan Su.
• The narrator, Little Fairy Doctor, Ling Ying, and other factions traveled to Gama City for the Gamma Emperor's planned announcement of the peace terms, and the narrator vowed to avenge Qing Lin.

Mo Lin announced the postwar settlement, which gave the Nalan Family control of the Chuyun Protectorate and placed Nalan Ye over the new Supervisory Left Division. Nalan Ye recruited Little Fairy Doctor and distributed complaint tokens to powerful factions, establishing how they could bring major grievances to the division.

• Mo Lin received the decree renaming his realm the Gama and Chuyun United Empire and learned that the settlement favored the Nalan Family.
• The decree assigned two Cloudrise Empire regions to the Snake-People Tribe, placed the other three and the Gama Eastern Region under the Nalan Family’s hereditary Chuyun Protectorate, and named Nalan Ye Left Supervisor of the Supervisory Left Division.
• Mo Lin’s assembled officials realized the division could oversee both the empire and protectorate, while Mo Lin clenched his fists in anger.
• Nalan Ye persuaded Little Fairy Doctor to become a Retainer, and she joined him and Ling Ying in wearing the division’s black robes.
• Nalan Ye entered the palace and distributed Heaven Reaching Tokens, explaining that their holders could use them to report injustices or unlawful activity to the Supervisory Left Division.

As the Supervisory Left Division rose to power and several families prepared to migrate, Yun Shan met with Wu Protector and learned that the Hall of Souls intended to approach Nalan Ye instead of relying on the Yun Lan Sect. Yun Shan abandoned his plan to attack the Division and summoned Nalan Yanran to examine her cultivation.

• The Nalan Family and the Mitre Family prepared to move to the Chuyun Protectorate, while the Mo Lai Ni Family prepared to relocate to Gama City.
• Yun Shan told Wu Protector that he had stayed out of affairs below the mountain as instructed, then asked whether Nalan Ye belonged to the Hall of Souls.
• Wu Protector said Nalan Ye was not yet one of them but soon would be, and explained that he would approach the Supervisory Left Division rather than help the Yun Lan Sect bring it down.
• Wu Protector mocked Yun Shan for falling short of Nalan Ye and vanished, leaving Yun Shan furious and humiliated.
• Yun Shan considered attacking the Supervisory Left Division, then rejected the idea rather than risk opposing the Hall of Souls.
• Yun Shan summoned Nalan Yanran and said he wished to examine her cultivation.

After mourning Qing Lin, Nalan Ye arranged for the Little Fairy Doctor to relocate the Toxic Sect and other Poison Masters to the Cloudrise Southern Region. Near U Yue City, he chose Pill King Gu He as the Supervisory Left Division’s first target, and Zoe publicly accused Gu He at Nalan Ye’s order.

• Nalan Ye visited Qing Lin’s grave and vowed to avenge her by killing the two Dou Zongs responsible for her death.
• The Little Fairy Doctor left to oversee the Toxic Sect’s relocation, and Nalan Ye proposed moving Poison Masters to the Cloudrise Southern Region.
• Nalan Ye decided the Supervisory Left Division would make its name by targeting Pill King Gu He for allegedly hoarding goods and raising medicinal pill prices.
• Nalan Ye ordered the Mo Lai Ni Family to accuse Gu He, and Zoe arrived in U Yue City the next morning.
• Zoe publicly asked the Left Supervisor to arrest Gu He as a Pest of the Nation.

Gu He supervised Liu Ling’s first attempt to refine a Three-Rank Qinghe Pill, but Ling Ying interrupted the refinement and arrested Gu He over accusations of hoarding goods and raising pill prices. Liu Ling was left behind, furious, and began planning to enlist the Alchemist Guild, Yun Lan Sect, and Imperial Family to secure his master’s release.

• Gu He guided Liu Ling through refining a Qinghe Pill, and Liu Ling reached the final pill-fusion stage after successfully purifying the ingredients.
• Ling Ying of the Supervisory Left Division arrived and announced that Zoe of the Mo Lai Ni Family had accused Gu He of hoarding goods and maliciously raising pill prices.
• Ling Ying’s interruption caused Liu Ling’s half-formed pill to explode, and Gu He shielded his disciple from the blast.
• Gu He resisted arrest, but Ling Ying defeated him, bound him, and carried him toward U Yue City.
• Liu Ling realized Gu He had been taken and decided to seek help from the Alchemist Guild, Yun Lan Sect, and Imperial Family.

After Nalan Ye seized Gu He, Fa Ma and Jia Xingtian debated whether to intervene, while the Yun Lan Sect urged them to wait for the Supervisory Left Division’s ruling. Jia Xingtian grew suspicious of Yun Shan’s motives and decided to wait alongside him.

• Liu Ling asked Fa Ma to rescue Gu He, but Fa Ma said the matter was complicated and the Alchemist Guild could not act rashly.
• Fa Ma met Jia Xingtian and urged him to punish Nalan Ye, while Jia Xingtian insisted they wait for the Yun Lan Sect’s view.
• The Yun Lan Sect’s message said it would wait for the Supervisory Left Division to rule before seeking justice for Gu He.
• Jia Xingtian visited Yun Lan Mountain and questioned Yun Shan, who repeatedly insisted that they wait.
• Jia Xingtian suspected Yun Shan was withholding a reason for his delay and resolved to wait with him.

Nalan Ye faced protests demanding Gu He's release while refusing to yield to the Gama Alchemist Guild. After suspecting Yun Shan had allied with the Hall of Souls, he resolved to prepare for the threat and bring Gu He into his camp.

• Crowds gathered outside the Supervisory Left Division to demand Gu He's release, while the Left Guard defended the mansion.
• Nalan Ye left An Ke's burned pavilion uncleared and refused a meeting with Dai Tuo and the alchemists.
• Nalan Ye dismissed the Gama Alchemist Guild's objections and insisted Gu He's case would proceed under the law.
• Nalan Ye realized Yun Shan might be working with the Hall of Souls and briefly panicked before deciding to confront the threat in the Northwest Territory.
• Nalan Ye resolved to secure Gu He as a strategic ally and went to see how he had settled into U Yue City.

The Left Supervisor tried to make Gu He join the Supervisory Left Division alone, first threatening him with lifelong imprisonment and then offering him the chance to obtain Han Feng’s Sea Heart Flame. Gu He accepted the offer and agreed to join the division.

• The Left Supervisor told Gu He he must leave the Gama Alchemist Guild, the Yun Lan Sect, and the Gama Royal Family to serve the Supervisory Left Division alone.
• The Left Supervisor said the other factions would not rescue Gu He and threatened to imprison him in the ninth level of a planned underground prison if he refused.
• Gu He rejected the demand, declaring that he would not join the Supervisory Left Division alone.
• The Left Supervisor praised Gu He’s resolve and offered him an Exotic Flame in exchange for serving the division.
• The Left Supervisor revealed that he intended to kill Han Feng and give Gu He the Sea Heart Flame, and Gu He agreed to join the Supervisory Left Division.

The Left Supervisor secretly secured Gu He’s allegiance, then encountered a powerful stranger from the Hall of Souls in his study. After mistaking the visit for a death sentence, he realized the stranger had not attacked and asked what he wanted.

• The Left Supervisor persuaded Gu He to join him and kept the alliance secret from Yun Shan.
• The Left Supervisor went to his study and worried about how to face the Hall of Souls and Yun Shan.
• A black-robed man appeared from the shadows and revealed that he belonged to the Hall of Souls.
• The Left Supervisor feared the man would kill him, but eventually realized he was still alive and that the visitor had not attacked.
• The Left Supervisor asked the stranger what instructions he had for him.

Nalan Ye negotiated with Wu Protector of the Hall of Souls, who wanted the Tou She Ancient God Jade held by the Xiao Family. Wu Protector agreed to provide aptitude-improving medicinal ingredients in advance, while Nalan Ye accepted the task and received a Jade Slip depicting the jade.

• Wu Protector asked Nalan Ye to retrieve the Tou She Ancient God Jade from the Xiao Family of Wutan City.
• Nalan Ye pretended not to know the jade’s significance and asked Wu Protector what reward he would offer.
• Wu Protector offered to raise Nalan Ye’s cultivation, but Nalan Ye requested aptitude-improving medicinal ingredients and a Lightning Attribute Heaven Rank Cultivation Method instead.
• Wu Protector said the Hall of Souls had no cultivation methods for the Nine Attributes, but agreed to provide the medicinal ingredients as a deposit for the deal.
• Wu Protector left as black mist, and Nalan Ye examined the Jade Slip’s drawing of the jade and resolved to take it from the Xiao Family.

The narrator decided to give Wu Protector the Tou She Ancient God Jade and used a coded letter to test whether Yun Shan had ties to the Hall of Souls. Yun Shan came to U Yue City and agreed to seal the Yun Lan Sect’s mountain gate, leaving the narrator’s alliance with the Hall of Souls and its enemies unresolved.

• The narrator weighed giving Wu Protector the Tou She Ancient God Jade against betraying him, then chose to hand it over while secretly obtaining the jade from the Xiao Family.
• The narrator wrote Yun Shan a vague letter that would signal Wu Protector’s wishes if Yun Shan had contacted the Hall of Souls, then cultivated until the following evening.
• Yun Shan arrived at the narrator’s study with Ling Ying, and the narrator told him he had already met Wu Protector and agreed to cooperate.
• Yun Shan asked whether the narrator still intended to oppose him, but after considering the Hall of Souls’ power, he agreed to seal the Yun Lan Sect’s mountain gate and withdraw from worldly affairs.

Nalan Ye used a Lightning Attribute Po Zong Pill to tempt Yun Shan into accepting his terms, and Yun Shan left without sealing the Yun Lan Sect’s gates. Two days later, Yun Lan Sect disciples arrived at U Yue City and announced that they had come to the Supervisory Left Division to await commands.

• Nalan Ye showed Yun Shan a seventh-rank Po Zong Pill, which Ling Ying identified as a pill that could help a peak Dou Huang break through to Dou Zong.
• Nalan Ye warned Yun Shan that the pill’s lightning attribute made it dangerous for him to take, then implied he could provide a Wind Attribute Po Zong Pill if Yun Shan cooperated.
• Yun Shan returned the pill and departed, accepting the temptation of a possible breakthrough and longer life.
• Two days later, six flying magical beasts carrying Yun Lan Sect disciples approached U Yue City, and the crowd outside the City Lord’s Mansion expected them to force Nalan Ye to release Gu He.
• Dai Tuo questioned why Fa Ma and the Gama Royal Family had not been involved, sensing that the Yun Lan Sect’s arrival was unusual.
• Elder Yun Heng announced that he had brought fifty-two disciples to the Supervisory Left Division to await commands from the sect leader.