Chapter Summaries

Zhang Biao, a Red River Palace martial artist sent as reinforcements, attacked Han Country assassins Ji Yang and Wu Yi after witnessing their operation. Shen Xishan stopped him and introduced him to the hidden allies, while Ji Yang recovered from his injuries.

• Ji Yang and Wu Yi discussed Xiong Tuo's killing of Chu's antiwar ministers and the Red River Palace Master's cultivation.
• Zhang Biao emerged from the forest and challenged Ji Yang and Wu Yi, revealing he had watched them kill the Chu envoys.
• Ji Yang struck Zhang Biao's shoulder with his dagger, but Zhang Biao retaliated and knocked Ji Yang unconscious.
• Shen Xishan arrived and ordered Zhang Biao to stop; Zhang Biao gave Ji Yang a Pill and helped him recover.
• Shen Xishan introduced Zhang Biao to the Han Country allies and apologized for his rash behavior.

Wu Yi and Ji Yang learned that Chu's allies planned to disrupt Wei during the first battle, while the Wei court tracked the invading armies. The chapter ended with news that the formation eye protecting the Daliang Imperial Palace had been destroyed.

• Shen Xishan told Wu Yi that Chu Lord wanted him and Ji Yang to wait until the first battle in seven days before acting.
• Wu Yi and Ji Yang planned to gather intelligence on the Seven Stars Heaven Severing Formation and returned to Great Liang City to recover.
• Jian'an Emperor Zhao Yongxu and his ministers reviewed the armies of Han, Chu, and Zhao and discussed the threat from Qi.
• Feng Dabao reported that the formation eye of the Daliang Imperial Palace's protective formation had been destroyed.

After the palace-protecting formation was sabotaged, Zhao Yongxu refused to leave the Imperial Palace but arranged for the Crown Prince and princes to be moved to safety. Meanwhile, Zhao Hongming prepared to advance to the Innate Martial Master realm.

• Feng Dabao reported that the Seven Stars Heaven Severing Formation's formation eyes had been sabotaged, and Zhao Yongxu suspected someone in the Palace Guard Division had leaked their locations.
• Hong Daowen and the ministers urged Zhao Yongxu to seek refuge at the Zhengyi Sect, but he refused to abandon the Imperial Palace.
• Zhang Qian proposed relocating the Crown Prince and princes, and Zhao Yongxu summoned Zhao Tingzhang to arrange their transfer to secure locations.
• At Clear Breeze Pavilion, Zhao Hongming confirmed that he had enough experience to advance from Aperture Opening Ninth Grade and commanded Heaven's Reward to initiate his breakthrough.

Zhao Hongming advanced to the Innate Realm, overcoming the pressure of National Destiny and gaining the ability to manipulate objects with his Divine Soul. Finding his new strength and abundant qi and blood difficult to expend, he sought a powerful explosive Martial Skill and received the Wrathful Mountain Skill.

• Zhao Hongming condensed his True Intent Mark as mysterious power repaired it against the crushing pressure of National Destiny.
• Zhao Hongming advanced to the Innate Realm and used his Divine Soul to manipulate a long arrow.
• Zhao Hongming drew and broke the Two Stone bow, then realized his qi and blood still had strength to spare.
• Zhao Hongming went to the Martial Repository Pavilion to find an explosive skill that consumed qi and blood.
• The steward gave Zhao Hongming the Wrathful Mountain Skill parchment and explained its immense power and ancient origins.

Zhao Hongming learned Wrathful Mountain Skill and discovered it could be combined with Mountain Shaking Fist. Meanwhile, Chu’s advance devastated Wei’s southern front, but Cen Xiu’s letter explained his strategy to the Jian'an Emperor, who waited for pressure on Chu to ease from the Eastern Army.

• Zhao Hongming studied Wrathful Mountain Skill, cultivated it for five hours, and used Heaven's Reward to break through to its first stage.
• Zhao Hongming gathered Qi and Blood in his arms, then used Mountain Shaking Fist to strengthen his flesh and blood and relieve the strain.
• The Red River Palace Master broke through South Suppression Pass, killed four Wei generals, and helped Chu’s army wipe out ten thousand Wei soldiers and seize seventeen southern cities.
• Yu Hezheng gave the Jian'an Emperor a letter from Cen Xiu explaining that he had yielded cities and sent smaller units behind the enemy rather than face Chu’s advance directly.
• The Jian'an Emperor accepted Cen Xiu’s strategy and heard that General Feng had contacted Zhao Country while Sun Ji was preparing Qi Country’s army for war.

In court, Zhao Yongxu awaited completion of the God-Demon Weapon, hoping it would persuade Daoist Bi to confront the Red River Palace Master. In the palace, Zhao Hongming tested his martial arts before being told he would leave the Imperial Palace the next morning, and he ended by revealing the devastating power of his Mountain Shaking Fist enhanced by the Wrathful Mountain Skill.

• Xiao Boling warned Zhao Yongxu that the Southern Army could not launch a successful counteroffensive until the Red River Palace Master was dealt with, and Chen Mou said the God-Demon Weapon would be roughly complete within the month.
• Chen Xuerong demonstrated the ninth form of the Mountain Shaking Fist, first striking the iron-plated stump with physical strength and then denting it deeply with True Qi.
• Zhao Hongming tried the same physical-strength punch but left no mark, while Wang Bao told him the Imperial Clan Court had ordered him to leave the palace the next morning.
• After Chen Xuerong departed, Zhao Hongming tested his Divine Soul Power and True Intent against the stump, then struck it with the eighteenth form of the Mountain Shaking Fist.
• Zhao Hongming combined the Mountain Shaking Fist with the Wrathful Mountain Skill, shattered the iron-clad stump with one punch, and quickly recovered his spent Qi and Blood through the Eternal Youth True Intent.

Zhao Hongming combined the Mountain Shaking Fist and Wrathful Mountain Skill into a new Martial Skill, Wrathful Fist, and judged himself prepared to handle emergencies in Great Liang City. At the Chen Residence, Chen Xuerong learned that the princes were leaving the palace and persuaded Chen Mou to let her escort the Fifth Prince.

• Zhao Hongming found that the Martial Arts Panel had recorded an unnamed Martial Skill after he linked the Mountain Shaking Fist with the Wrathful Mountain Skill.
• Zhao Hongming named the new skill Wrathful Fist and assessed his Innate cultivation and three Martial Skills.
• Chen Mou told Chen Xuerong that Han Country assassins had destroyed the eye of the National Destiny Formation and that the princes would leave the palace, likely for the Zhengyi Sect.
• Chen Xuerong worried that the Fifth Prince lacked maternal-family protection and asked to escort him on the journey.
• Chen Mou agreed that Chen Xuerong could escort the Fifth Prince, seeing the journey as a chance for the Fifth Prince to seize an opportunity.

Zhao Hongming left the palace with a small convoy and discovered that Chen Xuerong had joined it to escort him. The six princely parties went in different directions, leaving Zhao Hongming’s destination unknown.

• Gao Yanshi woke Zhao Hongming and helped him prepare to leave, earning Zhao Hongming’s notice and the task of carrying his books.
• Zhao Hongming departed Clear Breeze Pavilion with Wang Bao and Chang Wubing and gathered with the other princely convoys before Zhenghe Hall.
• Wan Youqing assigned an Imperial Guard battalion to each convoy, and Zhao Hongming noticed that his escort was less formidable than the Crown Prince’s.
• Zhao Hongguang told Zhao Hongming that his imperial mother suspected they were headed to the Zhengyi Sect, though neither prince knew their destination for certain.
• The six parties split up after leaving the palace, and Chen Xuerong joined Zhao Hongming’s convoy to escort him along the way.

Zhao Hongming’s convoy left Great Liang City for the wilderness after the Imperial Palace Grand Formation was damaged, and he grew wary of a possible ambush. Meanwhile, the Chu army attacked Crown Prince Zhao Hongli’s convoy, and Shen Xishan ordered a deadly crossbow volley as the chapter ended.

• Zhao Hongming questioned Wang Bao about the route and grew suspicious when he learned it would pass through the forests near Li Mountain.
• Crown Prince Zhao Hongli worried about Wei Country’s turmoil and his uncertain position while traveling with Gu Wei.
• A sudden stop revealed Chu soldiers surrounding Zhao Hongli’s convoy outside Great Liang City.
• Shen Xishan identified himself as a Chu innate martial artist sent by the Chu King to kill the Crown Prince.
• Shen Xishan ordered the attack, and Chu archers unleashed a volley of arrows at Zhao Hongli’s party.

Shen Xishan and Zhang Biao led the Chu Army in ambushing Crown Prince Zhao Hongli’s convoy, killing its guards and the Tu Clan’s martial artists. After Zhao Hongli and Crown Princess Gu Wei were killed, Shen Xishan agreed to pursue Wei Country’s Fifth Prince, with orders to withdraw if the next target proved too difficult.

• Shen Xishan led the Chu Army’s attack, and his soldiers trapped and killed battalion commander Zheng Xiangbing.
• Zhang Biao joined the battle, destroyed the carriage, and killed the Tu Clan Innate Martial Artist guarding Zhao Hongli.
• The surviving convoy soldiers fled, and Shen Xishan ordered his troops not to pursue them.
• Zhang Biao killed Crown Princess Gu Wei and Crown Prince Zhao Hongli after Zhao Hongli begged for his life.
• Shen Xishan agreed to lead the force toward Wei Country’s Fifth Prince, while warning that they would withdraw if they encountered a formidable opponent.

Wu Qi’s Imperial Guard escorted Zhao Hongming toward Zhengyi Sect through Li Mountain when he sensed pursuers and prepared for an ambush. After arrows failed to break the guards’ formation, Shen Xishan ordered his attackers to target the carriage, leaving the fight about to begin.

• Wu Qi ordered the Imperial Guard to draw their blades and travel in defensive formation through Li Mountain.
• Chang Wubing asked Wu Qi why the guards were on alert, and Wu Qi explained that the forest was vulnerable to ambush.
• Wu Qi heard approaching horses and ordered the rear guards to face the pursuers while the front escorted Zhao Hongming onward.
• The attackers fired a volley of arrows, but Wu Qi’s guards formed a shielded formation and suffered few casualties.
• Shen Xishan ordered his men to bypass the Imperial Guard and kill the person in the carriage, while Zhang Biao charged into the guards.

Chu forces pursued Zhao Hongming’s carriage as Wu Qi and the Imperial Guards split up to divide and fight the attackers. Shen Xishan caught up with the carriage, but Zhao Hongming appeared in time to block his strike and confront him.

• Zhang Biao smashed through the Imperial Guards’ formation, and Wu Qi recognized the attackers as soldiers from Chu Country’s Red River Palace.
• Wu Qi ordered his men to let most of the Chu Army pass, then ambushed the force to divide it and fight the separated groups.
• An Imperial Guard captain sent around fifty guards to delay the pursuers while Zhao Hongming’s carriage raced ahead with only a few escorts.
• Shen Xishan shot the coachman, but Gao Yanshi took control of the carriage and drove it onward.
• Shen Xishan struck Chang Wubing aside and raised his Mo Dao over the carriage, but Zhao Hongming appeared and blocked the blow with a steel saber.

Zhao Hongming revealed his Innate Realm strength and defeated Shen Xishan with repeated Heaven and Earth Severing Slashes. Zhang Biao then killed Shen Xishan and turned his attention to Zhao Hongming.

• Shen Xishan attacked Zhao Hongming, who evaded his strikes and proved he was in the Innate Realm.
• Zhao Hongming used Heaven and Earth Severing Slash repeatedly, overpowering Shen Xishan and severing one of his arms.
• Zhang Biao arrived but refused to help Shen Xishan, saying his own target had already been dealt with.
• Zhang Biao crushed Shen Xishan's skull and faced Zhao Hongming alone.

Zhao Hongming tested his Wrathful Fist against Zhang Biao in a prolonged battle, eventually overpowering and killing him. He stood uninjured as Chen Xuerong, Chang Wubing, and the others stared at him in shock.

• Zhao Hongming tested Zhang Biao's steel-hard defense with his fists, then activated Wrathful Fist to draw out his qi and blood.
• Zhao Hongming and Zhang Biao exchanged hundreds of punches, and Zhang Biao grew weaker while Zhao Hongming remained vigorous.
• Zhao Hongming used Eight Desolations Secret Travel to exploit Zhang Biao's sluggishness, break through his defenses, and batter him into the ground.
• Zhao Hongming picked up an undamaged saber and beheaded Zhang Biao.
• Chen Xuerong, Chang Wubing, and the others saw Zhao Hongming standing over Zhang Biao and froze in shock.

Zhao Hongming revealed his formidable cultivation while defeating the Chu attackers, then oversaw the aftermath and ordered the captives brought before him. The Imperial Guards gathered the spoils and tended to the wounded as Zhao Hongming’s strength left his men shocked and awed.

• Zhao Hongming defeated the Chu Leader and Zhang Biao, then faced the remaining Chu Soldiers as Chen Xuerong and Wu Qi joined the fight.
• Wu Qi and Chen Xuerong helped wipe out or capture the Chu Soldiers, and Wu Qi apologized to Zhao Hongming for arriving late.
• Zhao Hongming told Wu Qi to tend to the injured Chang Wubing, then returned to the carriage to change his damaged clothes.
• Wu Qi questioned whether Zhao Hongming was Shu Consort’s biological son, and Chang Wubing sternly defended the late consort and Zhao Hongming’s parentage.
• The Imperial Guards gathered the corpses and spoils, and Zhao Hongming ordered them to bring the Chu Country captives to him.

Zhao Hongming interrogated the captured Chu soldiers, then distributed battle rewards to Wu Qi and the Imperial Guard before continuing toward the Zhengyi Sect. As rain fell, he invited Chen Xuerong into his carriage, where she confronted him about staring at her chest.

• Zhao Hongming learned that Chu soldiers had entered Wei Country with help from Sword Casting Villa and that intelligence about the princes’ routes may have come from a Han Country assassin.
• Zhao Hongming ordered the captured soldiers killed, sparing the first speaker only by maiming him and abandoning him in the mountains.
• Zhao Hongming rewarded Wu Qi, his deputy, Chang Wubing, Chen Xuerong, Wang Bao, Gao Yanshi, and the Imperial Guard, then kept the remaining spoils for himself.
• Wu Qi led the lightly wounded guards onward toward the Zhengyi Sect as rain swept over Li Mountain.
• Zhao Hongming invited Chen Xuerong into his carriage to shelter from the rain, and she asked whether he enjoyed looking at her breasts.

Zhao Hongming broke through to the second layer of Wrathful Fist while traveling with Chen Xuerong. Meanwhile, Feng Dabao learned that the Crown Prince and Crown Princess had been killed and that Zhao Hongming had wiped out the Chu soldiers responsible, then went to investigate the attack site.

• Chen Xuerong rode in Zhao Hongming's carriage, where her embarrassment and frustration over their past lessons left the two in awkward silence.
• Zhao Hongming used the Heaven's Reward Martial Path Attribute Panel to break through Wrathful Fist and gained its second layer, with Yin Extreme and Yang Extreme forms.
• A messenger alerted Feng Dabao to an urgent matter, and Emperor Zhao Yongxu wondered whether events had begun.
• Feng Dabao found Zhao Hongli and Gu Wei dead at the attack site and learned that Chu soldiers had killed the Crown Prince before Zhao Hongming wiped them out.
• Feng Dabao ordered his men to collect the bodies and clean the scene, then set out to investigate where Zhao Hongming had been attacked.

Feng Dabao learned that Zhao Hongming had killed two Chu Country Innate Martial Artists and reported the Crown Prince’s death and Zhao Hongming’s apparent breakthrough to the Jian'an Emperor. Zhao Yongxu ordered Zhao Hongming’s advancement kept secret while he remained at the Zhengyi Sect, then went to answer the Empress’s request as a furious voice demanded he come outside.

• Feng Dabao found the injured Imperial Guards and learned that Zhao Hongming had gone to the Zhengyi Sect after killing two Innate Martial Artists from Chu Country.
• Feng Dabao examined the two Innate corpses, then hurried back to Qianqing Palace to report his findings.
• Feng Dabao told Zhao Yongxu that the Crown Prince and Crown Princess had perished in an attack, and Zhao Yongxu ordered the Empress and the front lines informed.
• Feng Dabao privately told Zhao Yongxu that Zhao Hongming appeared to have become an Innate Martial Artist.
• Zhao Yongxu decided not to summon Zhao Hongming back and ordered the Imperial Guards kept under his command while the news was concealed.
• A eunuch announced that the Empress requested an audience, then a furious woman shouted for Zhao Yongxu to come outside.

After Crown Prince Zhao Hongli’s death, Tu Lihua accused Zhao Yongxu of arranging his murder and attacked him in Qianqing Palace. Zhao Yongxu used the Seven Stars Sky Severing Formation to defeat and imprison her, while officials gathered to discuss the attack and Wan Youqing saw a chance for advancement.

• Tu Lihua confronted Zhao Yongxu over Zhao Hongli’s death and accused him of killing his own son as part of a scheme against his political rivals.
• The Seven Stars Sky Severing Formation repelled Tu Lihua’s attack, and Zhao Yongxu explained that Chu Country was responsible for the Crown Prince’s death.
• Tu Lihua attacked Zhao Yongxu again, but the formation crushed her with National Destiny and severed her Achilles tendons.
• Zhao Yongxu ordered that Tu Lihua be treated and sent to Quiet Palace, where Feng Dabao arranged her care after she collapsed in grief.
• News of Zhao Hongli’s death spread through Great Liang, prompting senior officials to enter the palace, while Wan Youqing saw an opportunity in Chu Country’s strength.

After the Crown Prince’s death, Zhao Yongxu fainted, giving Wan Youqing and Li Yangchun’s conspirators the opening they had awaited. They planned to unleash thousands of Martial Warriors on Great Liang City, seize the throne, and control Wei Country from behind the scenes.

• At court, Xiao Boling suspected an insider had helped cause the palace attacks, while Wu Hanwen urged the Crown Prince’s burial; Zhao Yongxu dismissed the court and then collapsed.
• Wan Youqing heard that Zhao Yongxu had fainted and hurried to Li Mansion, where he met Li Yangchun and Elder Lin Cang.
• Wan Youqing told Li Yangchun and Lin Cang that Zhao Yongxu remained unconscious, and they agreed the ruined palace formation and his condition created an opportunity to act.
• Lin Cang estimated that five or six thousand Martial Warriors were in Great Liang City, and the conspirators planned to announce the God-Demon Weapon’s completion and the formation’s failure to incite them.
• Li Yangchun, Lin Cang, and Wan Youqing plotted to kill Zhao Yongxu, slaughter most of the Zhao Clan, and control Wei Country through a puppet successor; news of the Emperor’s collapse and the completed God-Demon Weapon spread across Great Liang City.