Chapter Summaries

Meng Zhao and Ding Zhanyun discussed using Ding Yuqin to gain intelligence about Dragon City, while Ding Yuqin confronted Dragon City over his failure to face Meng Zhao. Ding Yuqin accepted Dragon City's excuses but remained privately uncertain about him.

• Ding Zhanyun told Meng Zhao she would accept Ding Yuqin joining him, while asking him not to forget her.
• Meng Zhao reassured Ding Zhanyun and explained that he wanted Ding Yuqin to switch sides because of her ties to Dragon City and the information she could provide.
• Ding Yuqin dragged Dragon City to a frozen pond and called him a coward for avoiding a confrontation with Meng Zhao.
• Dragon City claimed Meng Zhao's power and possible dirty tactics made a direct fight too risky, and Ding Yuqin saw through his excuses.
• Ding Yuqin stayed with Dragon City despite her disappointment, and his teasing brought her smile back while her true feelings remained hidden.

Meng Zhao oversaw craftsmen forging prototypes while rivalry grew among the women in his household as Xun Wenjun and Zhuo Muling sought help from their families. Zhu'er’s attempt to leave for Yanzhou was stopped, while Ding Zhanyun watched the household tensions and began forming plans of her own.

• Meng Zhao gave craftsmen limited knowledge from the Secret Classic of Heavenly Crafts and supervised their work on five useful prototypes.
• Xun Wenjun and Zhuo Muling, feeling threatened by Ding Zhanyun’s success, returned to their natal families to seek assistance for Meng Zhao’s household.
• Liang Muqiu warned Meng Zhao about the growing competition, and he allowed it as long as it did not disrupt household harmony.
• The Xun and Zhuo families provided substantial benefits, leaving the Meng Family better off while their own resources suffered.
• Zhu'er considered going to Yanzhou to arrange a marriage between her young lady and Meng Zhao, but Liang Muqiu stopped her and Meng Zhao scolded her before comforting her.
• Ding Zhanyun observed the household rivalry and began making plans, confident that her trump card set her apart from the other women.

Ding Zhanyun met with her sister Ding Yuqin, taunting her over their recent clash and the gulf between their martial arts. Ding Yuqin reflected on her regrets about choosing Dragon City and remained uncertain about their future together.

• Ding Yuqin arrived at a tea house private room and accused Ding Zhanyun of inviting her only to mock her.
• Ding Zhanyun reminded Ding Yuqin that she had struck first during their clash and said her own martial arts had advanced far beyond Ding Yuqin's.
• Ding Zhanyun questioned why Dragon City had not helped Ding Yuqin improve her cultivation.
• Ding Yuqin reflected that Dragon City was busy building his reputation and that she had spent her time supporting his future rather than cultivating herself.
• Ding Yuqin regretted her choice as she compared her uncertain relationship with Dragon City to Ding Zhanyun's position as General Yangwu's woman, but noted that she and Dragon City had not crossed propriety's boundaries.

Ding Zhanyun urged Ding Yuqin to consider marrying Meng Zhao, arguing that he surpassed Dragon City and offered greater prospects. Ding Yuqin recognized Meng Zhao’s superior potential and began to wonder whether she might have a chance with him.

• Ding Zhanyun challenged Ding Yuqin’s defense of Dragon City and said he had avoided an open contest with Meng Zhao.
• Ding Zhanyun proposed bringing Ding Yuqin together with Meng Zhao so she could marry into the Meng Family.
• Ding Yuqin protested that she and Dragon City had already reached the point of discussing marriage, though the suggestion stirred unexpected feelings in her.
• Ding Zhanyun said she was offering Ding Yuqin an opportunity and explained how rare it was to become Meng Zhao’s concubine.
• Ding Yuqin privately compared Dragon City’s prospects with Meng Zhao’s and realized that marrying Meng Zhao might bring her greater wealth and status.

Ding Zhanyun tried to persuade Ding Yuqin to join the Meng Family, promising her Meng Zhao’s favor and arguing they should ally against his future lawful wife. Ding Yuqin agreed to consider the offer but insisted on hearing Meng Zhao’s answer for herself.

• Ding Zhanyun told Ding Yuqin that bringing her into the Meng Family would earn her favor and give them an ally.
• Ding Yuqin worried that she might use Meng Zhao to take revenge on Ding Zhanyun, but Ding Zhanyun dismissed the threat and named Meng Zhao’s future lawful wife as their shared rival.
• Ding Yuqin questioned whether Ding Zhanyun truly loved Meng Zhao, and Ding Zhanyun said she loved him while also wanting more of his affection.
• Ding Yuqin asked whether Meng Zhao knew about the proposal, and Ding Zhanyun assured her that he had agreed to it.
• Ding Yuqin said she wanted to hear Meng Zhao confirm the offer himself, and Ding Zhanyun agreed while calling herself the elder sister.

Ding Zhanyun brought Ding Yuqin to Meng Zhao at the Yangwu Grand Barracks, where he offered her a place in the Meng Family’s inner residence. Meng Zhao explained why he was untroubled by taking the sisters in, and Ding Yuqin was left embarrassed and moved by his frankness.

• Ding Yuqin envied Ding Zhanyun’s guards and attendants as they traveled by carriage to see Meng Zhao.
• Meng Zhao arranged for Meng Chuan to escort the women into the barracks secretly because he feared spies might leak information about them.
• Meng Chuan brought Ding Zhanyun and Ding Yuqin into Meng Zhao’s guarded command tent, where the army’s grim atmosphere had left them uneasy.
• Ding Zhanyun presented Ding Yuqin to Meng Zhao and asked him to promise her a place in the Meng Family.
• Meng Zhao offered Ding Yuqin a place in the inner residence and argued that taking both sisters in would not ruin his reputation, leaving her embarrassed and moved.

Meng Zhao addressed Ding Yuqin’s doubts about choosing him over Dragon City by showing her the strength and resources of his army. He then urged her to return to the Ding Family and sever her ties with Dragon City, confident she would choose the stronger man.

• Ding Yuqin worried that joining Meng Zhao would provoke Dragon City and bring trouble, while also damaging her reputation and straining her family ties.
• Meng Zhao answered her concerns with an expression of confidence and led Ding Yuqin and Ding Zhanyun to inspect his camp.
• Ding Yuqin and Ding Zhanyun watched five thousand soldiers drill in coordinated formations and combat exercises.
• Meng Zhao showed the women the camp’s armor, weapons, food, and other supplies.
• Back in the command tent, Meng Zhao declared that his strength and resources far surpassed Dragon City’s and urged Ding Yuqin to return to her family and break with Dragon City.

Ding Yuqin agreed to follow Meng Zhao if he protected her reputation, and learned that he wanted her because of her connection to Dragon City. Meng Zhao asked her to remain close to Dragon City and secretly monitor his contacts, then gave her an earring to protect her from danger.

• Ding Yuqin agreed to follow Meng Zhao on the condition that he resolve the threat to her reputation.
• Meng Zhao explained that Ding Yuqin's relationship with Dragon City was what made her valuable to him.
• Ding Yuqin suspected Dragon City was hiding something and described his secretive behavior.
• Meng Zhao told Ding Yuqin that Dragon City had a serious hidden purpose in Lingwu City and ordered her to observe his secret contacts.
• Meng Zhao gave Ding Yuqin an emerald earring that would protect her if she faced danger.

Ding Yuqin concealed her affair with Meng Zhao while continuing to act close to Dragon City, then questioned him about his unusual daily absences. She learned that he had been visiting prominent martial artists around Lingwu City, though his true purpose remained unclear.

• Ding Yuqin accepted Meng Zhao’s earrings and became firmly committed to him, while he continued building his strength and arrangements in Lingwu City.
• More than ten days later, Ding Yuqin brought Dragon City a meal at the Ding Family estate, pretending she had cooked it herself.
• Ding Yuqin hid her disdain and resentment as Dragon City praised the food, which her maidservant had actually prepared.
• Ding Yuqin questioned Dragon City about his recent absences, hoping to discover what he was doing for Meng Zhao.
• Dragon City said he had been helping disaster victims and exchanging martial arts with experts, while Ding Yuqin suspected his first explanation was false and his visits to martial artists concealed a deeper purpose.

Ding Yuqin questioned Long Cheng about another woman, then learned he planned to introduce her to the One Heart Style Fist Gym’s master and ask the Ding Family for help. She agreed while privately deciding to report Long Cheng’s connections to Meng Zhao.

• Ding Yuqin confronted Long Cheng about being seen with a beautiful woman, and he explained that she was a married martial artist whose Great Wilderness Loose Hand he hoped to teach Ding Yuqin.
• Long Cheng offered to introduce Ding Yuqin to the woman so they could become sworn sisters and Ding Yuqin could learn her martial arts.
• Ding Yuqin suspected Long Cheng might be drawing her into a scheme, but she calmed herself by thinking of Meng Zhao and touching her earring.
• Long Cheng revealed that he had known the One Heart Style Fist Gym’s master for a long time and that the gym wanted Ding Family help recruiting refugees after the Yangwu Army conscripted its disciples.
• Ding Yuqin agreed to speak with her father, while privately seeing the connection as valuable information to pass to Meng Zhao.

Meng Zhao learned that Zhou Changfeng and Yao Jinling, the One Heart Style Fist Gym’s masters and old acquaintances of Dragon City, might be connected to the Rebel Army’s schemes. He reconsidered his defensive strategy and prepared to take the initiative against the threat to Lingwu City.

• Ding Yuqin secretly told Meng Zhao that Dragon City was an old acquaintance of Zhou Changfeng and Yao Jinling.
• Meng Zhao reviewed the couple’s histories and learned that they were formidable martial artists whose small gym had fallen on hard times.
• Meng Zhao and his advisers connected the couple to Dragon City and the Rebel Army’s infiltrators in the refugee camp.
• Dou Xi warned that hidden agents and linked schemes threatened Lingwu City and urged Meng Zhao to prepare and strike first.
• Meng Zhao considered changing his plan from defending against the Rebel Army to taking the initiative and attacking them.

Meng Zhao and his advisers considered how to counter the forces probing Lingwu City and how to strengthen his own position. After Meng Zhao revealed that he wanted to secretly bring the Rebel Army under his command, Dou Xi endorsed the plan and explained how it could protect Meng Zhao’s power and support future expansion.

• Han Pu urged caution because Wang Xu was imprisoned and Dragon City’s connection to the One Heart Style Fist Gym remained uncertain.
• Dou Xi proposed placing Meng Zhao’s people among the refugees chosen by Zhou Changfeng and Yao Jinling, and sending agents to investigate and infiltrate the Rebel Army in Liang Prefecture.
• Meng Zhao weighed the dangers of infiltrating the Rebel Army and considered how control of the Yangwu Army, the Meng families, Lifeng Trading Company, and Tan Cai’er’s allies could secure his strength.
• Meng Zhao told Dou Xi and Han Pu that he wanted to subdue the Rebel Army rather than defeat it, because its elite soldiers could become a valuable force.
• Dou Xi supported Meng Zhao’s plan and argued that secretly controlling the Rebel Army could help him resist an Imperial Court transfer and expand his influence across the Northern Lands.

Meng Zhao and his advisers discussed secretly taking control of the Liang Prefecture Rebel Army, a move that could be seen as rebellion against Great Yong. He decided to travel there himself, but first needed to conceal his plans and secure Lingwu City in his absence.

• Dou Xi pledged his sincere loyalty to Meng Zhao, and Meng Zhao explained that their different positions shaped their views of the rebels.
• Han Pu warned that secretly subduing the Rebel Army could provoke the Imperial Clan, so Meng Zhao ordered the men to keep their discussion secret.
• Dou Xi said the scout sent to Liang Prefecture would be crucial, while Han Pu volunteered to investigate the rebels.
• Meng Zhao refused to send Han Pu, telling him to stay in the Yangwu Grand Barracks and train elite soldiers.
• Meng Zhao decided to handle the mission personally, while recognizing that he had to hide his identity and arrange Lingwu City's affairs before leaving.

Meng Zhao planned to travel to Liang Prefecture to recruit the rebel army, so he arranged for trusted allies to guard Lingwu City and maintain the illusion that he remained there. He left Dou Xi and Han Pu responsible for the Yangwu Army and Dragon City, with Beitang He and a secret channel through Madam Ding as safeguards.

• Dou Xi and Han Pu warned Meng Zhao that leaving Lingwu City could destabilize the Yangwu Army and invite trouble from Dragon City and other forces.
• Meng Zhao proposed using someone disguised by the Art of Disguise to take his place and put Liang Muqiu in charge of approving any emergency decisions.
• Meng Zhao said he would intimidate Lingwu's factions before departing and have Meng Chuan help conceal his absence.
• Meng Zhao entrusted Dou Xi and Han Pu with handling Dragon City and told them to seek help from Beitang He if the situation became unmanageable.
• Dou Xi and Han Pu accepted the responsibility, and Meng Zhao revealed that Madam Ding controlled a secret channel that would alert them to Dragon City's unusual movements.

Meng Zhao chose Howling Wind Hall as the target of a justified crackdown, planning to use the Yangwu Army to intimidate Lingwu City's restless forces before departing for Liang Prefecture. He began by ordering the arrest of the hall's soldiers embedded in his army, leaving their fate in his hands.

• Meng Zhao reviewed intelligence on Lingwu City's powers and selected Howling Wind Hall and its master, Zhang Zhichong, as his first target.
• Meng Zhao weighed Howling Wind Hall's crimes, its military contribution, and Zhang Zhichong's good relationship with Dragon City as reasons and risks for the campaign.
• Meng Zhao summoned Meng Chuan and ordered him to have Linghu Rui arrest all 397 Howling Wind Hall men in the camp without harming them.
• Meng Zhao told Meng Chuan to notify Dou Xi to reassure the camp's officers and soldiers while the prisoners were kept under guard.

Meng Zhao had 397 soldiers suspected of ties to Howling Wind Hall seized and ordered their interrogations as part of his preparations to destroy the organization. He left the army to begin securing allies and public support for the coming campaign.

• Meng Chuan supplied the roster, and Linghu Rui quietly captured all 397 named soldiers and officers.
• Meng Zhao arrived at the makeshift prison with Meng Chuan and his guards, while Linghu Rui questioned why so many troops had been arrested.
• Dou Xi warned Linghu Rui that the matter involved classified military secrets, and Linghu Rui withdrew, feeling excluded from Meng Zhao’s inner circle.
• Meng Zhao told Dou Xi to guide Linghu Rui and ordered the prisoners sorted, interrogated about Howling Wind Hall, and made to sign pledges and accusations against it and Zhang Zhichong.
• Meng Zhao ordered the army to suppress rumors and unrest, while Dou Xi and Han Pu prepared to conduct the interrogations themselves.
• Meng Zhao planned to seek Beitang He’s cooperation and build support in the city before moving against Howling Wind Hall.

Meng Zhao warned Beitang He that Dragon City might be tied to the Liang Prefecture Rebel Army and proposed secretly traveling there to investigate. Beitang He opposed his departure, but Meng Zhao planned to leave a trusted double in the camp and asked Beitang He to keep Lingwu City stable.

• Meng Zhao told Beitang He that Dragon City had deep ties to a force of the Rebel Army in Liang Prefecture.
• Beitang He agreed that Dragon City was dangerous but suggested targeting Zhou Changfeng and Yao Jinling at the One Heart Style Fist Gym instead.
• Meng Zhao explained that he had planted spies among the refugees entering the fist gym and feared a coordinated assault by the Rebel Army and the Pudu Cult.
• Beitang He urged Meng Zhao not to leave Lingwu City, warning that the Yangwu Army and the city could fall into turmoil without him.
• Meng Zhao insisted that he would secretly travel to Liang Prefecture, leave a trusted confidant disguised as himself, and rely on Beitang He to maintain order.

Meng Zhao persuaded Beitang He to support his plans, warning him of the danger to Lingwu City and promising to gather intelligence on the Liang Prefecture Rebel Army. Beitang He agreed to help him destroy Howling Wind Hall, leaving Meng Zhao free to begin the crackdown with political backing.

• Meng Zhao released his killing intent to warn Beitang He, then urged him to prepare for the threats facing Lingwu City.
• Beitang He considered the risks and agreed that Meng Zhao should act while they used their shared military and political influence to control the situation.
• Meng Zhao named Howling Wind Hall and Zhang Zhichong as his targets, accusing them of secretly supplying military goods to the southern Rebel Army.
• Meng Zhao said interrogated former Howling Wind Hall disciples had confessed and recorded the shipping routes, giving him evidence against Zhang Zhichong.
• Beitang He agreed to handle Howling Wind Hall's allied factions and keep the fighting contained, while Meng Zhao promised to gather intelligence on the rebels and counter the Pudu Cult of Yanzhou.

Meng Zhao mobilized the Yangwu Army to secure Lingwu City and ordered Linghu Rui to launch a swift assault on Howling Wind Fortress. The surprise attack began under cover of night, with scouts opening the fortress gates and killing its sentries.

• Meng Zhao replaced the City Lord's Mansion troops guarding Lingwu City with Yangwu Army soldiers and sent two battalions toward Howling Wind Fortress.
• Meng Zhao ordered Linghu Rui to lead the assault, kill those who resisted, and capture those who surrendered.
• Linghu Rui organized a covert nighttime march, deployed scouts, positioned an ambush, and prepared twenty crossbow carts.
• Linghu Rui gave the command to attack, and scouts silently killed the fortress's gate sentries and opened its barriers.
• Yangwu Army troops charged into Howling Wind Fortress from multiple directions as scouts infiltrated deeper to sow chaos.

The Yangwu Army stormed Howling Wind Fortress and slaughtered its defenders, overwhelming Howling Wind Hall’s warriors with disciplined formations and armor. Liu Hai surrendered to protect his family, and the army prepared to attack the fortress’s core defenses.

• Linghu Rui’s surprise assault scattered Howling Wind Fortress’s defenders as Yangwu Army soldiers urged surrender while killing those who resisted.
• The Yangwu Army divided its forces to herd skilled Howling Wind Hall warriors inward and clear the outer perimeter in coordinated formations.
• Liu Hai watched his fellow disciples die and, unable to protect his family by fighting, surrendered to five Yangwu soldiers.
• The soldiers sealed Liu Hai’s qi apertures, bound him, and drove him and his family deeper into the fortress without harming them.
• Yangwu soldiers pushed ballista carts toward the watchtowers as the army prepared to breach the fortress’s core.