Chapter Summaries

Ge Long seized grain in Northland City and marched to reclaim Red Assembly territory, while Zhou Qing planned an ambush and arranged a river assault on Wendist City. Zhou Qing won Silvis IX’s cooperation by revealing how much territory the Red Assembly had already taken.

• Ge Long ordered the confiscation of sixty percent of Northland City’s commoners’ grain, left troops to garrison the city, and led an army southwest to retake Northern Province.
• Zhou Qing ordered Wang Sheng to ambush Ge Long at Dragon Slaying Slope and assigned Tang San to seize Wendist City by traveling down the Shuangchi River.
• Zhou Qing prepared Artificial Soul Rings and Xiong Jun’s hairs as gifts and traveled to meet Silvis IX in Silvis City.
• Silvis IX welcomed Zhou Qing, who asked to use the Shuangchi River route for a pincer attack against Ge Long.
• Zhou Qing told Silvis IX that the Red Assembly had taken control of Fasinuo Province and one-third of Northern Province within half a month.

Zhou Qing secured the Silves Kingdom’s cooperation and leased land from the Balak Kingdom before Ge Long’s army entered an ambush at Dragon Slaying Slope. The rolling-boulder attack scattered Ge Long’s troops, though he remained alive as the battle began.

• Zhou Qing demonstrated his power to Silvis IX, who pledged the Silves Kingdom’s friendship with the Red Assembly.
• Zhou Qing leased land along the Barak River from King Barak for five billion Gold Soul Coins in annual rent.
• Ge Long’s army reached Dragon Slaying Slope, and he chose to advance without sending ground scouts to search it.
• Wang Sheng and concealed militiamen attacked the army with Zhuge Divine Crossbows and rolling boulders after it entered the slope.
• Ge Long ordered his troops into defensive formations, but the falling boulders struck the panicked infantry and cavalry with devastating force.

Wang Sheng’s forces defeated Ge Long at Dragon Slaying Slope, while Zhou Qing ordered them to secure captured cities rather than pursue the retreating army. Tang San’s troops captured Wendist City, where Ning Tian and the local merchants pledged support to the Red Assembly.

• Ge Long retreated from Dragon Slaying Slope after suffering heavy losses and abandoning his army’s provisions.
• Wang Sheng’s militiamen gathered spoils, treated surviving prisoners, and learned his lesson to make friends and turn enemies into friends.
• Zhou Qing told Wang Sheng not to pursue Ge Long and instead to hold their cities and continue taking territory through guerrilla warfare.
• Tang San and the Tang Sect disciples infiltrated Wendist City, opened its gates, and captured the city for the Red Assembly.
• Ning Tian met Tang San and offered the Seven Treasure Pavilion’s support, while Tang San reassured her and the city’s merchants that they could continue their businesses if they obeyed the law.

After Wendist City fell, Zhou Qing rejected Tang San’s proposal to advance directly on Heaven Dou City and outlined a longer campaign to avoid overextending the Red Assembly. He planned to use feigned attacks and repeated retreats across the Shuangchi River to exhaust Heaven Dou’s forces and force a negotiated border, while first securing the Northern Province.

• Tang San reported Wendist City’s capture to Zhou Qing and proposed striking Heaven Dou City, but Zhou Qing warned that the Red Assembly lacked the personnel to govern more territory.
• Zhou Qing told Tang San to prepare to abandon Wendist City when Heaven Dou sent a large force to retake it, then seize Jialing Pass and feign an advance on the capital.
• Zhou Qing explained that the Red Assembly should use the apparent threat to draw Heaven Dou’s troops across the Shuangchi River, then retake Wendist City and harass the pursuing army through rough terrain.
• Zhou Qing planned another feigned attack on Heaven Dou City before redirecting Tang San’s troops toward Jialing Pass, aiming to exhaust Xue Ye’s forces and establish the Shuangchi River as a border.
• Zhou Qing said the Red Assembly first had to take the Northern Province, and ordered Tang San to capture Ge Long’s returning messengers and ensure Wendist City’s residents saw the Red Assembly as different from Heaven Dou’s army.

After the Red Assembly captured Wendist City, Xiaolan led 3,000 Red Scarf Soldiers to pressure Ge Long into surrendering at Northern City while another force attacked from the west. Ge Long realized Heaven Dou was finished as the western force breached the city gates.

• Soul Master families fleeing Northern City were ambushed by Red Scarf Soldiers, captured, and taken to Wendist City, which they learned had already surrendered to the Red Assembly.
• Tang San sent the captives back with Xiaolan and 3,000 Red Scarf Soldiers to urge Ge Long to surrender and confirm Wendist City’s capture.
• Xiaolan corrected the captives’ surrender message, and the Red Scarf Soldiers repeatedly withdrew from Ge Long’s troops while wearing down their morale.
• Ge Long confirmed Wendist City had fallen and cursed the Red Assembly’s guerrilla tactics as his army grew exhausted.
• A western force led by Wang Sheng breached Northern City’s gates, and Ge Long concluded that the Heaven Dou Empire was finished.

The Red Assembly captured Northern Province and Marshal Ge Long, prompting Xue Ye to mobilize an 800,000-strong army to retake the lost territory. He left Xue Qinghe in command of Heaven Dou City as the court and its allies prepared to march against the Red Assembly.

• The Red Assembly took Northern Province, captured Ge Long, and disarmed surviving Soul Master prisoners with a Soul Tool developed by Tang San and Lou Gao.
• Xue Ye learned that Fasinuo Province and Northern Province had fallen and that Heaven Dou had lost contact with Idefu Province, then collapsed from anger and coughed blood.
• Xue Qinghe considered the Red Assembly's unified discipline and ideals, recognizing that its soldiers had defeated Heaven Dou through coordination, conviction, and advanced crossbows.
• Xue Ye ordered an 800,000-strong army and the remaining Royal Knights to join his expedition, placed cities under martial law, and told Xue Xing to restrain Dugu Bo without forcing him to fight.
• Xue Ye put Xue Qinghe in charge of Heaven Dou City, while the academies, clans, and sects there prepared to march against the Red Assembly.

Tang San led the Red Assembly out of Wendist City as Xue Ye’s 800,000-strong army approached, then captured Jialing Pass and learned that the Star Luo Empire had invaded the Gulei Kingdom. Xue Ye marched toward Jialing Pass and Longxing City, while Tang San and Zhou Qing recognized that the Star Luo advance could ease pressure on the Red Assembly.

• Tang San announced that the Red Assembly would leave Wendist City rather than face Xue Ye’s 800,000 troops, and civilians gave the departing soldiers food and winter clothing.
• Ning Tian wondered how the Red Assembly could retake Wendist City after the Heaven Dou Army reclaimed it.
• Tang San led 15,000 troops to seize Jialing Pass by capturing its commanders and forcing the garrison to surrender.
• Xue Qinghe learned that the Star Luo Army had taken Longxing City and that the Gulei Kingdom was requesting aid.
• Xue Ye left 30,000 troops in Wendist City and led more than 700,000 soldiers toward Jialing Pass and Longxing City.
• Tang San told Zhou Qing that the Star Luo Empire’s advance could relieve pressure on the Red Assembly.

Tang San led the Red Assembly from Jialing Pass across the Shuangchi River and rapidly captured towns on the way to undefended Heaven Dou City. Xue Qinghe scrambled to defend the capital as Heavenly Soul Kingdom advanced from the northeast, and the chapter left the Red Assembly holding Heaven Dou Royal Academy and its noble students.

• Tang San left provisions for the captured forces at Jialing Pass, then led the Red Assembly north across the Shuangchi River toward Heaven Dou City.
• Xue Qinghe learned that Tang San was advancing rapidly and that Heavenly Soul Kingdom had breached Zhenbei City.
• Qian Renxue summoned Ning Fengzhi, Yu Yuanzhen, and other allies, who learned how Tang San had taken Jialing Pass and turned north.
• Yu Yuanzhen offered to lead the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan north to defend Dragon City, while Ning Fengzhi stayed in Heaven Dou City to help guard it.
• Three days later, Xue Qinghe learned that the Red Assembly had captured Heaven Dou Royal Academy and taken Meng Shenji, Bai Baoshan, Zhi Lin, and the noble students prisoner.

After Tang San captured Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Zhou Qing planned to pressure Heaven Dou City by destroying its gates and ransoming the noble students for valuables instead of Soul Coins. He explained why Xue Beng would likely reveal the plan to Qian Renxue disguised as Xue Qinghe, leaving Heaven Dou’s survival dependent on the brothers setting aside their rivalry.

• Zhou Qing told Tang San they would attack Heaven Dou City’s four gates and ransom the captured noble students for art, antiques, ores, and treasures.
• Zhou Qing explained to Xiaolan that demanding Soul Coins could turn Heaven Dou’s commoners against the Red Assembly, while confiscated valuables could preserve history and supply resources.
• Tang San and Zhou Qing intimidated the noble students, who disclosed the treasures their families possessed.
• Tang San asked why Zhou Qing had revealed part of their plan to Xue Beng, and Zhou Qing said Xue Beng would report it to Qian Renxue disguised as Xue Qinghe.
• Zhou Qing argued that Heaven Dou’s bloodline-based succession was unreliable and that the Red Assembly should choose leaders by conviction rather than ancestry.
• Zhou Qing concluded that Xue Beng would likely pledge loyalty to Xue Qinghe because Heaven Dou faced threats from both the Red Assembly and Star Luo while Xue Ye was away at war.

Zhou Qing met with Meng Shenji, Bai Baoshan, and Zhi Lin, then led the Red Assembly to Heaven Dou City and demonstrated its overwhelming power. After Tang San brought down the southern wall and Zhou Qing incapacitated the defenders without harming the citizens, Qian Renxue felt powerless.

• Zhou Qing assured the three commissioners that he did not plan to take Emperor's Province and invited them to cooperate on research into Martial Soul cultivation.
• Meng Shenji, Bai Baoshan, and Zhi Lin refused to betray the Heaven Dou Empire, and Zhou Qing kept them imprisoned.
• Zhou Qing and Tang San escorted the commissioners, Xue Beng, teachers, and noble students to Heaven Dou City.
• Tang San used True Meaning of Blue Silver: Natural Growth! Instantaneous Bloom! to make Blue Silver Emperors grow through the southern wall and collapse it.
• Zhou Qing used Autumn Roar to clear the dust and disable the defenders while sparing the citizens and city buildings.
• Xue Qinghe watched the defenders lose their strength without casualties, and Qian Renxue felt powerless.

Zhou Qing and Tang San destroyed all four walls of Heaven Dou City, then forced Xue Qinghe to redeem Xue Beng and the teachers and students of Heaven Dou Royal Academy with rare treasures. After collecting the treasures, Zhou Qing left with Tang San and the others for Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

• Tang San used Blue Silver Tyrant Spears to bring down the eastern, western, and northern walls, while Zhou Qing softened the soldiers’ falls with wind.
• Ning Fengzhi abandoned his plan to seize Xue Qinghe when Zhou Qing announced they had come to negotiate.
• Zhou Qing demanded treasures from the royal treasury in exchange for Xue Beng, and Xue Qinghe agreed to redeem her younger brother.
• Xue Qinghe arranged for the noble families to deliver the rare treasures Zhou Qing demanded to redeem the other academy teachers and students.
• Zhou Qing stored the treasures in his Inner Scenery and departed with Tang San and the others for Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

Xue Beng deduced that the Red Assembly had lured Xue Ye’s army away to isolate Heaven Dou City, then urged Xue Qinghe to attack their position. At Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Zhou Qing invited the unrecruited commoner teachers to join Nuoding Academy, while Qin Ming remained reluctant.

• Xue Beng explained that the Red Assembly had seized Jialing Pass to draw Xue Ye’s army away, leaving it exhausted and vulnerable to capture.
• Xue Beng proposed sending the 40,000 Royal Knights against the Red Assembly, but Chen Xin and Bone Douluo claimed their injuries prevented them from fighting.
• Xue Qinghe questioned Xue Beng’s sudden change in behavior, and Xue Beng pledged to serve the empire alongside him.
• Zhou Qing invited the unrecruited commoner teachers at Heaven Dou Royal Academy to join Nuoding Academy.
• Qin Ming refused to surrender to the Red Assembly, and Zhou Qing reminded him that Flender and the other Shrek teachers worked at Nuoding Academy.

Qin Ming and several teachers joined Nuoding Academy, while Xue Qinghe sent Xue Beng and Xue Xing to lead a night raid on Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Tang San detected the approaching army, and Xiaolan’s forces ambushed the Royal Knights with crossbows.

• Qin Ming and other commoner teachers accepted Zhou Qing’s invitation to join Nuoding Academy.
• Xue Qinghe gave Xue Beng twenty thousand Royal Knights for a night raid and assigned Xue Xing and Dugu Bo to accompany him.
• Dugu Bo agreed to help Xue Xing in exchange for being released from his obligation, then entered Zhou Qing’s Inner Scenery to fight him.
• Tang San sensed the Royal Knights’ approach and spread his Inner Scenery across Heaven Dou Royal Academy to protect its defenders.
• Xiaolan led her forces to ambush Xue Beng’s troops with Divine Crossbows of Zhuge, killing or wounding more than half of the Royal Knights.

The Red Assembly routed Xue Beng’s royal knights with upgraded Soul Tool Divine Crossbows, capturing Xue Xing and leaving his legs gravely injured. Xue Qinghe learned of the defeat and despaired over Heaven Dou’s dire position, likening the Red Assembly to a cat playing with mice.

• Tang San’s crossbow-wielding Red Scarf Soldiers devastated the royal knights, forcing Xue Beng to retreat with the surviving troops while Xiaolan froze Xue Xing’s legs with ice arrows.
• Zhou Qing and Tang San told the captured Xue Xing that his legs could be restored, and Zhou Qing asked how much Heaven Dou’s treasury would ransom him for.
• Xue Beng led his remaining knights through Heaven Dou City, trampling civilians and prompting people to flee.
• Xue Qinghe rebuked Xue Beng for losing half the royal knights, and Xue Ke arrived to insist she was not useless.
• Xue Qinghe told Xue Ke that Heaven Dou was near collapse and that the Red Assembly seemed to be playing with them.

Xue Ye pursued the Red Assembly after Zhou Qing and Tang San repeatedly crossed the Shuangchi River and struck at Jialing Pass. He led fifty thousand lightly armored troops northwest, where the Red Scarf Soldiers could use guerrilla tactics in Sunset Forest.

• Xue Ke suggested that she could secure a marriage alliance with the Red Assembly, and Xue Qinghe considered the idea plausible.
• A messenger told Xue Ye that Heaven Dou City had fallen and Zhenbei City had been captured, prompting Xue Ye to order reinforcements and divide his forces.
• Zhou Qing, Tang San, and Xiaolan crossed the Shuangchi River again, then attacked Jialing Pass and took its stored supplies.
• Xue Ye reached the ruined Jialing Pass, left one hundred thousand troops there, and personally pursued the Red Assembly with fifty thousand soldiers.
• Xue Ye ordered his pursuing troops to wear lighter armor, while the Red Scarf Soldiers withdrew and advanced according to Zhou Qing’s guerrilla tactics toward Sunset Forest.

The Red Assembly outmaneuvered Xue Ye’s army, recaptured Wendist City, and distributed food to its suffering residents. After restoring order for two and a half months, Zhou Qing and the Red Scarf Soldiers left, promising the people they would return and keep the Heaven Dou Army from reclaiming the city.

• During half a month of guerrilla attacks, Zhou Qing, Tang San, and Xiaolan’s Red Scarf Soldiers wore down Xue Ye’s army and treated its wounded prisoners.
• Xue Ye ordered a general executed for advising him to ally with the Red Assembly against the Star Luo Empire.
• Wang Sheng’s five thousand troops joined Zhou Qing’s forces in a two-sided assault that recaptured Wendist City, killing seven thousand enemy soldiers and capturing three thousand.
• The Red Assembly distributed provisions to Wendist City’s impoverished people and exchanged captured weapons and armor with Ning Tian’s Seven Treasure Pavilion for more food.
• After governing Wendist City for two and a half months, Zhou Qing and the Red Assembly departed and promised the townspeople they would return and prevent the Heaven Dou Army from coming back.

Xue Ye realized the Red Assembly had repeatedly outmaneuvered him and rushed after Zhou Qing, while Zhou Qing halted near the Shuangchi River to face the pursuing army. He planned to settle the conflict in a decisive battle and capture Xue Ye alive.

• After returning to Wendist City and learning that the Red Assembly had crossed the Shuangchi River toward Heaven Dou City, Xue Ye recognized Zhou Qing’s strategy and became so enraged that he coughed blood.
• Ning Tian offered Xue Ye a thousand-year blood ginseng, which restored his strength, though she noticed fine black threads in his eyes.
• Xue Ye left 20,000 soldiers in Wendist City, ordered reinforcements from Jialing Pass, and pursued the Red Assembly with his army traveling light.
• After crossing the Shuangchi River for the third time, Zhou Qing learned through Romantina’s intelligence that Xue Ye was pursuing him and established camp instead of attacking Heaven Dou City.
• Zhou Qing explained to Tang San that he intended to fight Xue Ye beside the Shuangchi River and capture him alive.

Zhou Qing and Tang San considered why Xue Ye’s army was advancing slowly and concluded that Xue Ye’s mixed poison had worsened after he consumed a powerful tonic. As the Heaven Dou Army prepared to cross the Shuangchi River, Zhou Qing ordered the Red Scarf Soldiers to disrupt their pontoon bridge and learned that trouble had arisen in the Gulei Kingdom.

• Zhou Qing had the Red Scarf Soldiers build trust with nearby villages through fair trade and by teaching villagers and children to read.
• Tang San and Zhou Qing watched Xue Ye’s army prepare to cross the Shuangchi River and discussed why its soldiers had slowed down after shedding their heavy gear.
• Tang San explained that Xue Ye’s mixed poison could have been driven into his spinal marrow by a powerful tonic, while Zhou Qing judged that Xue Ye would not survive three days without intervention.
• Zhou Qing told Xiaolan to assemble two thousand Red Scarf Soldiers and use Zhuge’s Soul Tool Divine Crossbow to attack the pontoon bridge as the Heaven Dou Army approached its midpoint.
• Zhou Qing received word from Romantina that something had happened in the Gulei Kingdom.

Xue Ye’s army attempted to cross the Shuangchi River using an ice path and a pontoon bridge, but Red Assembly forces attacked from the opposite bank. The ice shattered and much of the bridge was swept away, leaving hundreds of soldiers in the river.

• Xue Ye rejected his attendant’s concern, saying he felt well after taking the Thousand-Year Blood Ginseng Ning Tian had given him, and ordered the crossing to speed up.
• Shui Bing’er and Shui Yue’er froze the river for the pontoon bridge while discussing the army’s obligations and how the Red Assembly might have crossed so quickly.
• Red Scarf Soldiers on the far bank fired Soul Tool Divine Crossbows of Zhuge, striking Shui Yue’er and Shui Bing’er and killing unarmored soldiers.
• The Heaven Dou troops retreated under fire, and without the academy students maintaining the ice, the path cracked and the current swept away nearly half the pontoon bridge.
• Hundreds of soldiers fell into the Shuangchi River and struggled in the current.

Zhou Qing learned that Tang Chen was slaughtering ordinary soldiers in Gulei Kingdom and resolved to stop him, while Xue Ye ordered his army to press on across Shuangchi River. Zhou Qing froze the river and trapped the Heaven Dou forces on its surface, setting the stage for a decisive battle with Xue Ye.

• The Skywater Academy dean warned Xue Ye that the Red Assembly had ambushed the opposite bank with a long-range Soul Guidance Weapon, but Xue Ye ordered the pontoon bridge construction to continue.
• The academies deployed their Soul Masters to defend the bridge builders, while Huyan Zhen kept Elephant Armored Academy out of the conflict and Ning Fengzhi remained in Heaven Dou City to honor his public support for the empire.
• Xiaolan reported that the Red Assembly's crossbow bolts were less effective against the enemy's defensive formation, and Zhou Qing revealed that Tang Chen had joined the battle in Gulei Kingdom.
• Zhou Qing showed Tang San and Xiaolan how Tang Chen had broken Longxing City's walls and massacred Heaven Dou soldiers, then declared that the slaughter had to be stopped.
• Zhou Qing gathered the Red Scarf Soldiers and froze Shuangchi River, trapping soldiers and Soul Masters on the ice as the rest of the Heaven Dou force retreated to shore.