Chapter Summaries

Li Mu’s Zhao army seized Hexi City through a surprise attack aided by Vast Righteous Sect infiltrators, while Zhao Hongming learned of the invasion and prepared to lead the Wei Elite Soldiers into battle. The chapter ended with the thirty thousand troops swearing to fight as Zhao Hongming and Wu Qi set out to respond.

• Li Mu’s infiltrators opened Hexi City’s eastern gate, allowing his army to enter and occupy the city as the magistrate and surviving defenders fled.
• Li Mu ordered his forces and supplies to cross the river, revealed plans to conquer Ying Commandery and Heyuan County with three hundred thousand troops, and prepared for a battle near Jin Yin City.
• A retainer brought news of Hexi City’s fall to Zhao Hongming’s camp, and Wu Qi advised him to verify the report before deciding how to respond.
• Lu Zonghui sought to exploit the crisis by demanding the hundred thousand sets of military equipment promised to the Eastern Army in exchange for its help.
• After Gao Yanshi confirmed the news, Zhao Hongming proposed setting out that day, Wu Qi agreed, and the Wei Elite Soldiers vowed to fight.

Zhao Hongming sent Wu Qi and thirty thousand Wei Elite Soldiers toward the front as Zhao Country’s invasion threatened Ying Commandery. After Li Li chose to defend Jin Yin City and secretly reported officials planning to flee, Zhao Hongming rejected the Eastern Army’s demand for one hundred thousand sets of military supplies, leaving Lu Zonghui’s support uncertain.

• Zhao Hongming watched Wu Qi lead the thirty thousand Wei Elite Soldiers out on a forced march, while Ma Chuanping gained courage from Le Yang’s determination to earn military merit.
• Li Li refused to abandon Jin Yin City, imprisoned the fleeing Hexi County Magistrate, and ordered his clerk to secretly send Zhang Yi a list of officials who planned to flee.
• Zhao Hongming returned to the Martial King Residence and summoned Zhu Wei, an envoy from the Eastern Army, to Taihe Hall.
• Zhu Wei demanded one hundred thousand sets of military supplies for Lu Zonghui’s army in exchange for joining the defense against Zhao Country.
• Zhao Hongming refused the demand and warned that Lu Zonghui would bear the consequences if he chose to stay out of the fighting.

Zhao Hongming refused to trade military equipment for the Eastern Army’s support and decided to lead preparations at the front himself. As Zhao Country’s Li Mu advanced on Jin Yin, Wu Qi marched out with thirty thousand Wei Elite Soldiers to meet a much larger enemy force.

• Zhao Hongming told Gao Yanshi that empowering the Eastern Army would create a dangerous future rival, then ordered preparations to travel to Jin Yin.
• Lu Zonghui sent ten or twenty thousand Eastern Army troops toward Jin Yin to observe the fighting and intervene if Wu Qi was defeated.
• Zhang Yi and Li Li welcomed Wu Qi’s thirty thousand Wei Elite Soldiers at Jin Yin, where Zhang had prepared a camp and provisions for them.
• Li Mu learned that Wu Qi commanded the Wei force, judged it vulnerable, and ordered his army to march on Jin Yin at dawn.
• Zhao Hongming set out for Jin Yin while Wu Qi received reports of Li Mu’s advance and led his troops toward Wilderness Slope to fight in the open.
• Wu Qi faced Li Mu’s vastly larger army and declared that his rise to fame would begin that day.

Wu Qi led the Wei Elite Soldiers against Li Mu’s much larger Zhao Army, using disciplined formations, crossbows, and the terrain to blunt its advance. After Zhao Hongming arrived and the battle began, the Wei forces routed Zhao units at heavy cost to the attackers, while the fighting continued.

• Wu Qi divided the thirty thousand Wei Elite Soldiers into an archer vanguard and two infantry wings as Li Mu prepared Zhao Country’s 180,000 troops to attack.
• Zhao Hongming arrived from Jin Yin City with six captured officials, and Wu Qi had them executed as a sacrifice to the banner and warning against retreat.
• Li Mu ordered the Zhao Army to charge, and Wu Qi sent Zhang Shan’s thousand-man unit forward to draw the first echelon into the range of the Wei archers’ Tread-Draw Crossbows.
• The Wei archers and a flanking force struck the Zhao soldiers, killing nearly twenty thousand and forcing the Zhao Army to retreat temporarily.
• After Zhao Country’s second echelon attempted a flank maneuver, Wu Qi sent saber-and-shield troops to counter-encircle it, and Le Yang and Ma Chuanping led their units into the fight.
• Ma Chuanping’s five-man formation used a Triangular Formation Flag to repel a Zhao martial warrior, and the Wei Elite Soldiers wiped out the detouring Zhao force at small cost.

Wu Qi led the thirty thousand Wei Elite Soldiers to destroy the Zhao Army’s chariots and rout a much larger force, breaking through to the Innate Realm during the battle. Li Mu ordered the remnants to withdraw, while Zhao Hongming celebrated the victory.

• After the Zhao Army lost fifty thousand troops, Li Mu sent five hundred War Chariots into battle, and Wu Qi deployed three thousand specialized Wei Elite Soldiers to stop them.
• The War Chariots shattered the Wei soldiers’ front line, but the surviving troops trapped and disabled the chariots, then overwhelmed their crews.
• Wu Qi killed Captain Tang with a spear and ordered the Wei army to attack, breaking through to the Innate Realm as the battle surged forward.
• The Wei Elite Soldiers routed the Zhao Army, reducing its force from one hundred and eighty thousand to fifty thousand.
• Li Mu ordered the Zhao remnants to retreat toward He Xi, while Zhao Hongming emerged from his carriage and praised the victory.

Lu Zonghui brought Eastern Army troops to Jin Yin City, expecting to rescue Zhao Hongming and force him into a costly agreement, but he arrived after Zhao Hongming’s thirty thousand soldiers had routed Li Mu’s army. When Lu Zonghui joined the fight, Zhao Hongming’s forces mistook his men for enemies and attacked them, leaving Lu Zonghui to approach Zhao Hongming directly.

• Lu Zonghui marched toward Jin Yin City intending to use Zhao Hongming’s crisis to demand all taxes from his fief.
• Lu Zonghui and Zhu Wei saw Zhao Hongming’s thirty thousand troops defeat Li Mu’s much larger army and force the Zhao Army to retreat.
• Lu Zonghui joined the battle against the retreating Zhao Army, but Zhao Hongming ordered Wu Qi to treat the unidentified force as hostile.
• Zhu Wei tried to strike a Zhao Country general, but Li Mu knocked him down and wounded him with arrows.
• Zhao Hongming’s Wei Elite Soldiers attacked Lu Zonghui’s Eastern Army, and Lu Zonghui rode to Zhao Hongming’s carriage to identify himself.

Zhao Hongming defused Lu Zonghui’s confrontation after the battle, while Wu Qi and Gao Yanshi arranged for Zhu Wei to be killed and presented his head. Zhao Hongming promised Lu a share of the spoils to secure his cooperation, then admitted he was only using him before discovering Zhu Wei’s death.

• Lu Zonghui approached Zhao Hongming, then knelt and asked him to stop the Wei troops from attacking the Eastern Army; Zhao summoned Wu Qi and apologized for the apparent misunderstanding.
• Wu Qi withdrew most of his soldiers from the Eastern Army, but Gao Yanshi told him about Zhu Wei’s earlier demand for one hundred thousand sets of armor and weapons from Zhao Hongming.
• Wu Qi branded Zhu Wei an enemy spy, and Le Yang, Ma Chuanping, and other Wei Elite Soldiers killed him and delivered his head to Wu Qi.
• Zhao Hongming ordered Wu Qi to stop attacking Lu Zonghui’s officers and offered Lu a share of the Zhao Army’s spoils as compensation; Lu agreed to gather his remaining troops.
• Zhao Hongming told Wu Qi he had only been toying with Lu Zonghui, then learned that Wu Qi had Zhu Wei’s head and realized Lu’s deputy had been killed.

After Wu Qi’s army defeated Zhao Country’s forces, Zhao Hongming urged him to invade Hedong County, while Quan Erbao tried to flee Hedong City and learned that the Vast Righteous Sect was sending powerful reinforcements. The chapter ended with three Vast Righteous Sect elders leading more than one hundred thousand troops toward Hexi City as Quan Erbao was trapped inside the city.

• Lu Zonghui blamed Wu Qi’s Wei Elite Soldiers for Zhu Wei’s death and considered using the Zhao Army to advance his own interests.
• Zhao Hongming excused Wu Qi for killing Zhu Wei and proposed invading Hedong County after the Wei Elite Soldiers’ victory.
• Wu Qi agreed to attack, and Zhao Hongming promised that Zhang Yi would help with logistics.
• Quan Erbao overheard that three Vast Righteous Sect elders were coming with reinforcements and tried to leave Hedong City, but the gates closed.
• Quan Erbao learned that the Zhao Army had been crushed by the Wei Elite Soldiers and that the city might conscript its adult men.
• The three Vast Righteous Sect elders led more than one hundred thousand troops toward Hexi City without stopping in Hedong.

After the Zhao Army suffered a crushing defeat at Jin Yin, Li Mu withdrew toward Hedong and joined the Vast Righteous Sect reinforcements. Wu Qi prepared to press the Wei victory further, while Li Mu told the three elders what had happened and sought their advice on the next move.

• Li Mu blamed the Black-Clad Society for the failed intelligence, ordered his surviving generals to withdraw to Hedong, and threatened them with death if they lost again.
• Wu Qi consolidated his standing after the victory, resolved to expand the Wei Army's gains, and ordered his troops to march before dawn.
• Zhao Hongming ignored the officials and residents welcoming him in Jin Yin City and continued cultivating inside his carriage.
• Li Mu led the fifty thousand surviving Zhao soldiers across the river at night, punished the commander who had misjudged its depth, and predicted Wu Qi would attack Hedong.
• Li Mu changed course to meet the hundred thousand reinforcements and the three Vast Righteous Sect Elders, then reported the scale of the defeat and asked to discuss their response.

Li Mu learned that the Vast Righteous Sect sought the Yin Kingdom Heritage in Lu Ling and agreed to renew his campaign for Ying Commandery. As Ji Guofu went undercover to investigate, Wu Qi reached Hexi City and sent a small vanguard through its apparently deserted gates.

• Li Zixu told Li Mu that Di Xin's Heaven-Slaying had caused the Heavenly Dao to collapse and that the Yin Kingdom Heritage in Lu Ling contained an imperial seal and a method for refining National Destiny.
• The Vast Righteous Sect elders privately discussed using Li Mu to seize Ying Commandery, their desire to find the heritage, and their suspicions of the Martial King and Wei Wuji.
• Li Mu agreed to capture Lu Ling, then ordered Ji Guofu to infiltrate Ying Commandery and investigate its military situation and the Yin Kingdom Heritage.
• At dawn, Ji Guofu and five comrades disguised themselves and left the Zhao camp for Hexi City.
• Wu Qi arrived near Hexi City, found its gates open and the city apparently unguarded, and sent ten soldiers ahead to scout.

Wu Qi entered Hexi City after the Zhao Army withdrew and learned that its able-bodied men had been taken away as the Zhao forces regrouped. In Daliang, Jian'an Emperor Zhao Yongxu feared Ying Commandery would fall because Lu Zonghui had withheld the Eastern Army, but the chapter ended with news that Zhao Hongming’s thirty thousand Wei Elite Soldiers had crushed Li Mu’s army of one hundred and eighty thousand.

• Wu Qi entered Hexi City, found it abandoned, and learned from a hidden cook that the Zhao Army had taken the able-bodied men.
• Wu Qi concluded that Li Mu was regrouping rather than abandoning his campaign, ordered scouts to track the Zhao Army, and prepared to award military merits.
• Jian'an Emperor Zhao Yongxu berated his ministers over Lu Zonghui’s refusal to deploy the Eastern Army and ordered Cen Xiu to reinforce Ying Commandery and take over its defense.
• An Imperial City Division agent reported that Li Mu had captured Hexi City and was advancing toward Jin Yin while the Eastern Army remained inactive.
• Jian'an Emperor Zhao Yongxu ordered the court to mobilize troops, then received a guard’s report that Zhao Hongming’s thirty thousand Wei Elite Soldiers had defeated the one hundred and eighty thousand Zhao soldiers.

After Wu Qi and the Wei Elite Soldiers crushed Zhao's army, Jian'an Emperor praised Zhao Hongming but ordered the court to keep his role low-profile while using the victory to reinforce the war and seize control of the Eastern Army. Zhao Hongming planned to reward his soldiers and prepare a larger campaign against Zhao, while rival princes reacted with jealousy or support; the chapter ended with six disguised men entering Wei territory and heading for Lu Ling.

• An Imperial Guard reported that Wu Qi's thirty thousand Wei Elite Soldiers had defeated Zhao's one hundred eighty thousand troops and killed more than one hundred thousand enemies at the Battle of Jin Yin.
• Jian'an Emperor Zhao Yongxu celebrated Zhao Hongming as his Qilin Child, ordered rewards for those present, sent another hundred thousand troops to reinforce General Cen, and directed Cen to take command of the Eastern Army after dealing with Lu Zonghui.
• Jian'an Emperor privately told Feng Dabao to limit court discussion of Zhao Hongming's role and emphasize the achievements of Wu Qi and the Wei Elite Soldiers.
• Fourth Prince Zhao Hongli grew jealous of Zhao Hongming, Seventh Prince Zhao Hongsheng reacted similarly, and Eighth Prince Zhao Hongguang began planning to choose a nearby fief so he could join Zhao Hongming later.
• Zhao Hongming reasoned that he needed a much larger army and imperial support to cripple Zhao's forces, then prepared to reward the Wei Elite Soldiers.
• Six disguised men crossed back into Wei territory and, when asked where they were going, the man addressed as Official Ji said they were heading to Lu Ling.

Ji Guofu uncovered a letter showing that Eastern Army General Lu Zonghui planned to collude with Li Mu, then decided to defect to Martial King Zhao Hongming after seeing extraordinary qi surrounding him. The chapter ended with Ji Guofu stopping Zhao Hongming’s convoy to report the matter.

• Ji Guofu and his five companions found Wei soldiers murdering villagers, and Ji Guofu killed the soldiers with his men.
• Ji Guofu discovered a letter from Lu Zonghui to Li Mu proposing a secret alliance and changed course for Hexi City.
• Ji Guofu saw dragon qi, martial artist purple qi, and royal qi around Zhao Hongming, injuring his eyes when he tried to observe them.
• Ji Guofu decided to pledge allegiance to Zhao Hongming and rushed to the carriage to report an urgent matter.
• Zhao Hongming’s convoy stopped as Imperial Guards challenged Ji Guofu.

Ji Guofu warned Zhao Hongming that Lu Zonghui was conspiring with Zhao Country, then pledged his service and revealed the Zhao Army’s preparations for another major battle. Zhao Hongming arrived in Hexi City, welcomed the victorious Wei Elite Soldiers, and opened their victory banquet with a call for them to become invincible in battle and unstoppable in attack.

• Ji Guofu stopped Zhao Hongming’s carriage, presented Lu Zonghui’s sealed letter as proof of the Eastern Army commander’s treachery, and offered to follow Zhao Hongming.
• Zhao Hongming accepted Ji Guofu into his service and learned that Li Mu could mobilize another two hundred thousand troops, including three Vast Righteous Sect elders.
• Zhao Hongming arrived in Hexi City, where Wu Qi and the commanders welcomed him at a victory banquet for the Wei Elite Soldiers.
• Zhao Hongming praised the soldiers, asked Wu Qi to honor the families of the fallen, and toasted the army’s victory.
• Zhao Hongming called on the Wei Elite Soldiers to shake the world with their might, and the soldiers answered with their vow to be invincible in battle and unstoppable in attack.

At the victory banquet, Zhao Hongming and Wu Qi rewarded the Wei Elite Soldiers and rallied them for a new campaign against Zhao’s two hundred thousand troops. After the banquet, Zhao Hongming asked Ji Guofu to return to the Zhao Army as an inside man and help entrap Lu Zonghui.

• Zhao Hongming praised Wu Qi’s victory at Jin Yin and promised to seek him the title of Right General if he defeated Zhao’s forces again.
• Wu Qi agreed to prepare an attack, and Zhao Hongming assured him he would shield him from blame by the imperial court.
• Zhao Hongming distributed rewards to the Wei Elite Soldiers, while Wu Qi announced the coming campaign and led the army in a departure rite.
• A Wei general challenged Ji Guofu’s place at the banquet, but Ji Guofu said his information had saved Zhao Hongming from calamity.
• After the banquet, Zhao Hongming told Ji Guofu to return to the Zhao Army as an inside man and reveal false military intelligence to help trap Lu Zonghui.

Zhao Hongming arranged for Ji Guofu to pose as Li Mu’s envoy and deceive Lu Zonghui into taking a position that would expose him to the Zhao Army. Ji Guofu won Lu Zonghui’s trust and left with the two disguised Wei Elite Soldiers, while Lu believed the cooperation would help him defeat Wu Qi.

• Zhao Hongming explained his scheme to Ji Guofu and used the Bone Forging Skin Changing Art to make two Wei Elite Soldiers resemble the Eastern Army soldiers Lu Zonghui had sent.
• Wu Qi advised Zhao Hongming to draw Lu Zonghui toward Hua County, where his position would threaten the Zhao Army’s route and give Li Mu reason to attack him.
• Zhao Hongming sent Ji Guofu toward the Eastern Army camp with two disguised soldiers and detained three of Ji Guofu’s men as leverage.
• Lu Zonghui discussed his ambitions and ties with Pu Yuanqing before admitting Ji Guofu, who presented the letter and seal and proposed cooperation against Wu Qi.
• Lu Zonghui accepted Ji Guofu’s proposal, allowed Jiang Shouming and Yue Yibin to escort him back, and rewarded them for their supposed role in arranging the alliance.

Zhao Hongming set his plan in motion by sending Ji Guofu to mislead Li Mu while mobilizing the Wei Elite Soldiers to attack Zhao. As the armies moved toward battle, Ji Guofu warned Li Mu that the Wei Army planned to strike Hua County, but a report that the Wei advance had slowed left the situation uncertain.

• Ji Guofu reported that Lu Zonghui had agreed to the plan, and Zhao Hongming prepared to attack Zhao while giving Ji Guofu false intelligence about the Jade Seal.
• Lu Zonghui ordered the Eastern Army to march on Hua County, believing he and Li Mu would use the campaign to defeat Wu Qi and seize Ying Commandery.
• The Zhao Army forcibly conscripted men in Hedong, and Quan Erbao broke his own leg to avoid recruitment.
• Li Mu prepared an ambush for the Wei Army at a river crossing, while Zhao Hongming and Wu Qi advanced toward Hedong.
• Ji Guofu returned to Li Mu and warned him that the Wei Army intended to attack Hua County and encircle the Zhao Army.
• A messenger reported that the Wei Army advancing from Hexi had suddenly slowed, prompting Colonel Wang to suspect a change in the situation.

Li Mu learned that a large Wei force was heading for Hua County and dispatched Xue Guangdao and Zhong Qin to intercept it while he stayed to defend Hedong. Zhao Hongming secretly left the Wei camp with a surprise force, and Lu Zonghui’s army reached the valley where the Zhao troops were approaching.

• Li Mu received confirmation that at least 150,000 Wei soldiers were advancing toward Hua County and assigned Hu Yunfeng to defend the main camp while Xue Guangdao and Zhong Qin led 100,000 troops to intercept Lu Zonghui.
• Li Mu told Elders Li Zixu and Yu Du that Zhao Hongming had obtained the Jade Seal from the Yin Kingdom tomb, then secured their promise to support the campaign against Ying Commandery.
• Zhao Hongming planned to wait until Lu Zonghui and the Zhao army had fought each other before attacking the Zhao main camp with a surprise force.
• Before dawn, Zhao Hongming disguised himself as Wei Wuji and left the army with about 3,000 Wei Elite Soldiers and some war chariots.
• Lu Zonghui halted his 150,000 troops in a valley, where he spotted Zhao soldiers approaching.

Lu Zonghui’s secret agreement with Li Mu collapsed when the Zhao Army ambushed and annihilated the Eastern Army at Shallow Valley. Lu Zonghui escaped with a Life-Stealing Puppet, blamed Li Mu, and called to a squad of Wei Elite Soldiers for help.

• Lu Zonghui signaled the approaching Zhao Army to cooperate, but Xue Guangdao mistook the signal for an insult and shot the flag bearer before ordering an arrow barrage.
• Zhong Qin led a second Zhao force into the Eastern Army’s rear, trapping Lu Zonghui’s troops between the attacks as Zhao reinforcements poured into Shallow Valley.
• Lu Zonghui fought Xue Guangdao, but Yu Du and Li Zixu intervened; Yu Du’s Martial Courage Realm attack wounded Lu Zonghui, who used a Life-Stealing Puppet to escape.
• Li Zixu stopped Yu Du from pursuing Lu Zonghui, and the Zhao Army routed the Eastern Army, killing or scattering its troops and suffering forty thousand casualties.
• Lu Zonghui fled through the forest, collapsed after the puppet drained his lifespan, and vowed revenge on Li Mu before spotting Wei Elite Soldiers and calling for aid.

Zhao Hongming executed the weakened Lu Zonghui, took the Life-Stealing Puppet, and led his troops toward the Zhao Army’s rear flank. As Li Mu received news of the Eastern Army’s defeat, Wu Qi’s forces prepared to cross the Lin River after logs floated downstream.

• Zhao Hongming encountered Lu Zonghui, revealed his identity and Martial Courage Realm strength, then killed him despite Lu’s pleas for mercy.
• Zhao Hongming discovered and claimed the Life-Stealing Puppet, which had consumed Lu Zonghui’s Qi and Blood and lifespan.
• Scouts reported that the Eastern Army had suffered 110,000 casualties and 40,000 captives, while the Zhao Army had lost roughly two-fifths of its forces.
• Zhao Hongming led his 3,000 Wei Elite Soldiers to the upper Lin River, while Li Mu heard that Xue Guangdao and Zhong Qin had defeated the Eastern Army.
• Wu Qi saw rows of logs drifting downstream and ordered his army to put on armor and prepare to cross the river.