Chapter Summaries

Meng Zhao questioned Hong Tianzheng about possible threats within the Divine Might Army and arranged for Hong to oversee its commanders while Ji Rulin led the Danchi warriors. He left Hong with a warning to watch for rebellion and a declaration that he was the only person in the army Meng Zhao trusted.

• Hong Tianzheng reported that Xiang Qing, Si Peng, and Wei Hua were the only officers whose recent contact with outsiders warranted caution.
• Meng Zhao decided to use Si Peng and the others without fully trusting them, while ordering Hong to watch Mo Li, Xu Fei, Shen Zhihang, Li Ao, and Fang Gongming and suppress any signs of rebellion.
• Meng Zhao chose Ji Rulin to command the five thousand Danchi warriors and assist Hong in keeping the Divine Might Army under control.
• Hong offered to assist Ji Rulin, but Meng Zhao told him to take the lead and said he was the only person in the army he could trust.
• Hong Tianzheng felt his loyalty to Meng Zhao deepen after hearing the reassurance.

Meng Zhao was ambushed by a guard using Commander Bai’s deadly Death Spirit Sword Qi, and Evil Calamity shattered while protecting him. He restrained the assassin and recognized him as a Death Sword Guard, leaving the attack’s consequences unresolved.

• Meng Zhao left Hong Tianzheng’s camp with guards to speak with Ji Rulin before returning to Lingwu City.
• A disguised guard unleashed a concealed sword-qi strike and killed the other guards to strengthen his attack.
• Evil Calamity sprang from the Heavenly Evil Battle Casket and blocked the strike, but the sword qi shattered the bone dragon and injured its spirit.
• Meng Zhao struck back with the Northern Prison Profound Underworld Truth Supreme Method, slowing and restraining the assassin.
• Meng Zhao identified the young guard as one of Commander Bai’s Death Sword Guards, a wielder of Death Spirit Sword Qi.

Meng Zhao survived a Death Sword Guard’s concealed assassination attempt, though the strike badly damaged Evil Calamity’s spirituality. As the assassin prepared his strongest attack, Meng Zhao countered with a black dragon formed from his weapon technique.

• The young Death Sword Guard, disguised as Meng Zhao’s personal guard, attacked him from behind with Death Spirit Sword Qi.
• Meng Zhao sensed the danger and used Evil Calamity to withstand the strike, while the weapon shattered and then repaired itself with weakened spirituality.
• The young guard broke free from Meng Zhao’s Frozen Expanse and acknowledged that his assassination attempt had failed.
• As soldiers in the nearby camp reacted to their clash, Meng Zhao infused Evil Calamity with evil intent and unleashed a black dragon at the young guard.

Meng Zhao survived a Death Sword Guard’s lethal Sword Qi Thunderclap by using Evil Calamity and the Azure Dragon Battle Armor, while the attacker died from the backlash. The fight left Meng Zhao determined to improve his guards and purge infiltrators from the Divine Might Army.

• The Death Sword Guard aged rapidly as he used his life force and Death Spirit Sword Qi to unleash Sword Qi Thunderclap at Meng Zhao.
• Meng Zhao summoned the Azure Dragon Battle Armor, whose Azure Dragon Battle Soul neutralized the Death Spirit Sword Qi.
• The Death Sword Guard’s body collapsed from the backlash, and Meng Zhao returned Evil Calamity to the Heavenly Evil Battle Casket.
• Meng Zhao reconsidered the value of highly skilled, loyal guards and resolved to investigate better training methods for them.
• Meng Zhao decided to purge the Divine Might Army from top to bottom after realizing an infiltrator had reached his personal guard.

After a Death Sword Guard infiltrated Meng Zhao’s personal guards and attempted to assassinate him, Meng Zhao ordered the Divine Might Army sealed and assembled its senior officers. The meeting left Mo Li and Li Ao especially exposed to suspicion as the army’s leaders prepared to uncover Commander Bai’s hidden agents.

• Hong Tianzheng arrived with soldiers and found Meng Zhao amid the corpses, then followed his orders to summon the army’s senior officers and seal the camp.
• Meng Zhao explained that a young Death Sword Guard had infiltrated his personal guards and tried to assassinate him, and said he would purge the army’s internal threat.
• Hong Tianzheng gathered the guard generals and Holy Emissaries in his tent while soldiers secured the camp.
• Si Peng accused Commander Bai of activating hidden agents and urged the army to track them down.
• Mo Li denied colluding with Commander Bai and volunteered to investigate and capture those involved.
• Li Ao feared that his role in arranging Meng Zhao’s personal guards would make him responsible for the infiltration.

Meng Zhao ordered the six guard generals to investigate the attempted assassination and spent the wait advising He Wuji and observing the Holy Emissaries. The generals returned with evidence that the assassin, Yin Sheng, had been planted in the army and had infiltrated Meng Zhao’s guards.

• Li Ao denied colluding with Commander Bai and promised to investigate the army.
• Meng Zhao gave the six guard generals one hour to uncover the conspiracy or face punishment as possible traitors.
• Meng Zhao answered He Wuji’s questions about martial arts, while the other Holy Emissaries continued making progress and Si Peng and Xiang Qing traded barbs.
• The six guard generals returned after about half an hour, and Hong Tianzheng presented Meng Zhao with a report identifying the assassin as Yin Sheng.
• Hong Tianzheng reported that Yin Sheng had been sent from a stronghold outside the mountain, placed under General Shen’s command, and made to appear as a veteran before General Li selected him as a guard.

Meng Zhao learned that Commander Bai had placed loyalists in both the Divine Might Army and the bandit strongholds, and ordered a purge in response to the assassination attempt. The chapter ended with several commanders accepting missions to interrogate and execute traitors and destroy Commander Bai’s remaining strongholds.

• Hong Tianzheng reported that the six guard generals had arrested more than forty suspected collaborators in the Divine Might Army, including four mid-ranking officers.
• Meng Zhao ordered the suspects to be interrogated for information about Commander Bai, then commanded Hong Tianzheng to execute them with Evil Calamity and use their blood to restore its spirituality.
• Meng Zhao reassured Hong Tianzheng that he could control Evil Calamity through their linked thoughts.
• Meng Zhao ordered Li Ao and Shen Zhihang to sweep Hu Mountain’s bandit strongholds, recruit compliant groups under supervision, and kill those who resisted.
• Meng Zhao ordered Xiang Qing and Mo Li to destroy every stronghold connected to Commander Bai and kill everyone involved.

Meng Zhao received He Xin and a group of familiar subordinates at the Dan Chi Clan barracks after they returned from Lingwu City with supplies. As his plans strengthened his hold over the Divine Might Army, Cao Zhan arrived to help him in Liang Prefecture.

• Meng Zhao polished Evil Calamity and learned that Xiang Qing and Mo Li had joined forces with Yuan Qing to disrupt Commander Bai's arrangements in Yongjian Commandery City.
• Ji Rulin told Meng Zhao that He Xin had arrived with experts and a large batch of supplies.
• He Xin reported that he had delivered Meng Zhao's letter to Liang Muqiu and brought back supplies, while realizing that Meng Zhao's resources could support the army if its transport routes remained secure.
• He Xin learned from Xiang Qing and Mo Li that Meng Zhao had resolved the Divine Might Army's logistical danger and became more convinced of Meng Zhao's prospects.
• Meng Zhao welcomed Cao Zhan, one of his trusted subordinates, who had traveled from Lingwu City to help him in Liang Prefecture.

Meng Zhao heard Cao Zhan’s report on Lingwu City, learning of mysterious killings, growing Pudu Cult unrest, and hidden military supplies. The news left him facing Liang Muqiu’s call to return and stabilize the city while he remained responsible for the Divine Might Army in Liang Prefecture.

• Meng Zhao welcomed Cao Zhan and his five companions, then learned that Cao Zhan had cultivated gang qi with an inner core from a ferocious ape.
• Cao Zhan reported that unidentified outsiders had repeatedly been found dead in Meng Family Village, though no one among Liang Muqiu’s experts had detected the killer.
• Cao Zhan described Pudu Cult believers setting their families ablaze, two connected families rebelling, and Lingwu City’s authorities detaining suspected followers.
• Cao Zhan explained that Liang Muqiu wanted Meng Zhao to return to Lingwu City to steady the Yangwu Army and guard against internal unrest and Dragon City’s possible collusion with the Pudu Cult.
• Cao Zhan told Meng Zhao that the Meng Family of Nan'an Commandery had secretly delivered powerful military supplies to Meng Family Village.

Meng Zhao briefed Cao Zhan on his gains in Liang Prefecture and entrusted him with the Divine Might Army after his departure. He left Cao Zhan with a guide to the army’s key figures and allies, along with several sources of support for keeping the force stable and strengthening it.

• Meng Zhao summoned Cao Zhan to Hu Mountain and told him he would leave the Divine Might Army in Cao Zhan’s care.
• Meng Zhao recounted how he had gained the Dan Chi Clan’s support, incorporated their warriors into the army, and secured supplies through the Lifeng Trading Company.
• Meng Zhao explained which Divine Might Army officers Cao Zhan could trust, befriend, or should watch closely.
• Meng Zhao identified the Ji Clan branch, Widow Xie, and Tang Ling’er of Fire Dragon Cave as potential allies and sources of assistance.
• Cao Zhan memorized Meng Zhao’s instructions and felt confident he could manage and develop the Divine Might Army.

Mo Li met with Li Ao and Shen Zhihang to warn them that Meng Zhao’s trusted newcomers from Lingwu City would oversee the Guard Generals and likely be favored over them. He urged the three to unite, leaving Li Ao and Shen Zhihang weighing his warning and motives.

• Mo Li invited Li Ao and Shen Zhihang to his tent for wine and food, then told them Meng Zhao’s subordinates from Lingwu City would watch the army and hold authority over them.
• Li Ao challenged Mo Li, asking whether he was trying to turn them against the newcomers and incur Meng Zhao’s displeasure.
• Mo Li explained that Meng Zhao had retained the six Guard Generals’ military authority to keep the army stable, while the newcomers would serve as military overseers above them.
• Mo Li argued that Meng Zhao would likely trust Ji Rulin and Hong Tianzheng more than the three of them, citing his ties to Commander Bai and Li Ao and Shen Zhihang’s past mistakes.
• Mo Li urged Li Ao and Shen Zhihang to band together so the newcomers would not bully them.

Mo Li tried to recruit Li Ao and Shen Zhihang into an alliance, but they rejected his overtures and warned him that opposing Meng Zhao would be dangerous. Mo Li then claimed he had killed a man who tried to recruit him for Commander Bai, leaving Li Ao and Shen Zhihang unable to tell whether his loyalty was genuine.

• Mo Li asked Shen Zhihang whether he trusted Meng Zhao despite his Demonic Path background and his subordinate’s role in the assassination attempt.
• Li Ao accused Mo Li of trying to drive a wedge between them and Meng Zhao on Commander Bai’s behalf.
• Shen Zhihang warned Mo Li that the Divine Might Army’s members favored Meng Zhao’s leadership and that Mo Li’s ambitions could get him killed.
• Mo Li claimed an agent had approached him to pledge loyalty to Commander Bai, then revealed the agent’s severed head as proof that he had killed him.
• Li Ao and Shen Zhihang found Mo Li’s story difficult to verify and saw that the head made it harder to accuse him of disloyalty.

After rejecting Mo Li’s proposal, Li Ao and Shen Zhihang discussed whether Mo Li might be secretly aligned with Commander Bai and decided to report their meeting to Meng Zhao. They headed for Meng Zhao’s tent, leaving him to judge Mo Li’s intentions.

• Shen Zhihang suggested that Li Ao placate Mo Li and keep an alliance with Commander Bai as another option, but Li Ao refused to hedge his allegiance to Meng Zhao.
• Li Ao explained that Meng Zhao and the Meng Family offered him a better chance to fulfill his family’s ambitions than Commander Bai could.
• Shen Zhihang and Li Ao agreed that Mo Li might have divided loyalties because of his close ties to Commander Bai and his distrust of Meng Zhao.
• The two decided to tell Meng Zhao about Mo Li’s invitation and their conversation without adding their own judgments.
• Shen Zhihang and Li Ao went to Meng Zhao’s tent to report what had happened.

Mo Li met with a messenger from Commander Bai, who demanded that he help seize or destroy the Divine Might Army despite the risks. The messenger threatened him with poison and urged him to act when Meng Zhao left camp, leaving Mo Li furious and trapped between Commander Bai’s orders and his own survival.

• A disguised soldier entered Mo Li’s tent and asked whether Li Ao and Shen Zhihang had agreed to return to Commander Bai’s side.
• Mo Li said the two commanders were committed to Meng Zhao and warned that trying to recruit more officers could expose him.
• Mo Li urged the messenger to tell Commander Bai to wait, arguing that he could serve as a hidden threat beside Meng Zhao until a better moment arose.
• The messenger revealed that Commander Bai had poisoned them both and threatened to withhold Mo Li’s antidote if he refused to act.
• The messenger told Mo Li to attack when Meng Zhao left camp, then departed.
• Mo Li smashed the table and its dishes in anger.

Meng Zhao introduced Cao Zhan to Shen Zhihang and Li Ao as the future leader of the Divine Might Army, then heard their account of Mo Li’s meeting with them. He rejected Cao Zhan’s suggestion to punish Mo Li and decided to wait for him to make his next move.

• Meng Zhao introduced Cao Zhan to Shen Zhihang and Li Ao and instructed them to cooperate with him in managing the Divine Might Army.
• Cao Zhan considered how to win the support of the army’s powerful officers and weighed Meng Zhao’s assessments of Shen Zhihang and Li Ao.
• Shen Zhihang and Li Ao told Meng Zhao about Mo Li’s invitation and their meeting, and Meng Zhao rewarded their candor with an extra month of cultivation allowance.
• After Shen Zhihang and Li Ao left, Cao Zhan urged Meng Zhao to remove Mo Li, but Meng Zhao said Mo Li had severed contact with Commander Bai and should not be punished yet.
• Cao Zhan worried that Mo Li could divide the army, and Meng Zhao said they should wait because Mo Li would likely come to see them soon.

Mo Li presented Meng Zhao with a severed head and a carefully constructed account to prove his loyalty, but Meng Zhao remained certain he had betrayed him. Meng Zhao waited for Mo Li to make another move and summoned Hong Tianzheng and Ji Rulin as he prepared to act against the Divine Might Army’s upper ranks.

• Mo Li visited Meng Zhao and claimed he had killed Commander Bai’s agent, then invited Shen Zhihang and Li Ao to test whether they had betrayed Meng Zhao.
• Meng Zhao questioned Mo Li under intense pressure, then said he believed his account and praised his work in Yongjian Commandery City.
• After Mo Li left, Meng Zhao told Cao Zhan that Mo Li had betrayed him and must be eliminated, but ordered Cao Zhan not to act yet.
• Meng Zhao instructed Cao Zhan to summon Hong Tianzheng and Ji Rulin, then took up Evil Calamity and considered striking the Divine Might Army’s upper ranks.

Meng Zhao brought Ji Rushuang back to Lingwu City while Cao Zhan and the other Innate Masters began helping manage the Divine Might Army. After Meng Zhao left, Mo Li and Commander Bai’s envoy plotted a rebellion, and they waited for their orders to spark chaos in the camp.

• Meng Zhao left the Dan Chi tribal lands with Ji Rushuang and thirty disguised elite soldiers after Ji Zhenyun and Ji Rulin insisted she return with him to Lingwu City.
• After Meng Zhao departed, Cao Zhan and the other Innate Masters began drilling troops, handling logistics, and assisting the Divine Might Army’s commanders.
• Mo Li and Commander Bai’s envoy decided to use Mo Li’s five thousand soldiers to attack the other camps and set fires, hoping to cripple the Divine Might Army and earn favor with Commander Bai.
• Mo Li divided his officers into trusted former bandits assigned to attack and other officers ordered to set fires under the cover of military exercises.
• Mo Li secretly issued his orders, but the camp remained quiet, leaving Commander Bai’s envoy uneasy as they waited for the rebellion to begin.

Mo Li’s plan to attack the other Divine Might Army camps failed when Hong Tianzheng’s forces ambushed the conspirators with help from soldiers who had already defected. Hong Tianzheng and Si Peng then advanced toward Mo Li’s main camp.

• Mo Li sent Chu Gan Hong and other commanders to lead elite troops in surprise attacks on neighboring camps, while planning to flee before the fighting ended.
• Hong Tianzheng and Si Peng surrounded Chu Gan Hong’s thirteen hundred soldiers with five thousand troops and heavy weapons.
• Chu Gan Hong’s trusted officers turned against him and revealed that they had surrendered to Hong Tianzheng, whose men had learned of Mo Li’s plan through Meng Zhao’s guidance.
• Chu Gan Hong prepared to attack the defectors, but Hong Tianzheng shot him dead with an arrow.
• Hong Tianzheng and Si Peng led their troops toward Mo Li’s main camp.

Mo Li and Commander Bai's envoy tried to escape after realizing their plan had failed, but Divine Might Army officers surrounded them. Cao Zhan invoked Meng Zhao's command, and Evil Calamity killed Mo Li.

• Mo Li suspected that his men had been stopped and urged Commander Bai's envoy to flee with him.
• Mo Li blamed the envoy for exposing a flaw in his disguise when he had tested Shen Zhihang and Li Ao.
• Mo Li and the envoy found He Wuji, Si Peng, Cao Zhan, and other Divine Might Army officers waiting outside the tent with troops surrounding them.
• Mo Li tried to feign ignorance and shift the blame to his subordinates, but the officers refused to support him.
• Cao Zhan declared Mo Li guilty of colluding with Commander Bai and ordered Evil Calamity to kill him.
• Evil Calamity beheaded Mo Li and fed on his blood.

Evil Calamity killed Mo Li before the Divine Might Army’s leaders, demonstrating Meng Zhao’s power and warning them against defying him. Cao Zhan said Meng Zhao had left Yongjian Commandery and that Ji Rulin was carrying the weapon to him, while the leaders suspected it might be bait for Commander Bai.

• Evil Calamity drained Mo Li’s blood and crushed his corpse after killing him with a single strike.
• Cao Zhan recalled Evil Calamity to the Heavenly Evil Battle Casket and handed it to Ji Rulin to take to Meng Zhao.
• Si Peng asked whether Meng Zhao was nearby, and Cao Zhan said he had left Yongjian Commandery and was traveling ahead of Ji Rulin.
• Cao Zhan assured Si Peng that Meng Zhao had planned for anyone who tried to seize Evil Calamity, leading the others to suspect it was bait for Commander Bai.
• The Divine Might Army’s leaders ordered Commander Bai’s envoy interrogated, mutilated, and released with a message that Meng Zhao had spared him by choice.