Chapter Summaries

Wang Yue launched a campaign against Southern Xiao in Xiao Yan’s name, rapidly seizing territory and destroying its navy before surrounding and entering Jiankang. Xiao Yan prepared to take charge of the capital as Wang Yue considered withdrawing north after handing it over.

• Wang Yue told Cui Guang about his plans and learned that the Empress Dowager had issued a decree ordering him and Cui Shiyi to divorce.
• Wang Yue persuaded Xiao Yan to lead a southern campaign in his name, and his forces seized territory north of the Huai River and Northern Yan Prefecture.
• Muskrat’s fleet destroyed Southern Xiao’s navy, and Wang Yue’s troops captured Southern Xu Prefecture with little resistance.
• After Zhou Shengchen refused to take the throne and moved to place the Empress Dowager under house arrest, Wang Yue and Xiao Yan decided to take Jiankang rather than negotiate.
• Wang Yue sent a hundred thousand troops across the Yangtze and surrounded Jiankang, then entered the city when its gates opened amid internal chaos.
• Xiao Yan spoke with the generals who had opened the gates, while Wang Yue prepared to hand over the imperial city and withdraw north.

After securing Xiao Yan’s alliance and receiving Northern Xu Prefecture, Wang Yue learned that Jin Rong had marched on Central Prefecture while Zhou Shengchen remained there. To protect Cui Shiyi’s master and the endangered party, Wang Yue planned to disguise himself as Zhou Shengchen and mobilize troops from Xizhou, with Carefree Valley as a backup.

• Xiao Yan promised lasting brotherhood with Wang Yue, placed two hundred thousand troops in Xu Prefecture, and later gave Wang Yue Northern Xu Prefecture.
• Wang Yue returned to Qingzhou and learned that Cui Shiyi was pregnant.
• Mole reported that Jin Rong had led a hundred thousand troops into Central Prefecture, and Wang Yue ordered forces to prepare to rescue Zhou Shengchen.
• Wang Yue revealed that he could disguise himself as Zhou Shengchen and planned to go to Xizhou to mobilize troops.
• Wang Yue offered to call on Carefree Valley forces to pose as Xizhou troops if Xizhou could not send enough soldiers.

Wang Yue reached Central Prefecture with reinforcements disguised as Zhou Shengchen and helped drive Jin Rong’s forces from the Imperial City. After Wang Yue accidentally shot the real Zhou Shengchen while aiming at Liu Zixing, he returned to find Zhou Shengchen wounded and his identity still confusing the defenders.

• Wang Yue joined his Qingzhou cavalry with troops from Xizhou and led them toward Central Prefecture.
• Liu Zixing’s poisoned provisions weakened Zhou Shengchen’s defenders, allowing Jin Rong’s forces to breach the city.
• Wang Yue entered Central Prefecture, sent Zhou Tianxing to announce the relief army, and led his cavalry toward the Imperial Palace.
• Jin Rong killed the captured Imperial Family members, while Zhou Shengchen hesitated over what to do with Liu Zixing.
• Wang Yue shot three arrows at Liu Zixing, but Zhou Shengchen shielded him and was struck; Wang Yue then rallied his troops and forced Jin Rong’s army to withdraw.
• Wang Yue returned to the Imperial City, where Hamster recognized him and Feng Qiao remained unsure which Zhou Shengchen was her master.

After rescuing Zhou Shengchen, Wang Yue decided to declare him emperor in his name while he recovered, despite Zhou Shengchen’s objections. Wang Yue began gathering troops and officials to secure the succession, leaving Chancellor Liu to support his plan.

• Feng Qiao and Wang Yue reunited with Zhou Shengchen, who questioned Wang Yue about killing Liu Zixing and the political situation.
• Wang Yue said he would proclaim Zhou Shengchen emperor in his name, but Zhou Shengchen’s reopened wound made him faint before he could object further.
• Feng Qiao arranged to secure the palace while Wang Yue ordered Hong Xiaoyu and Zhou Tianxing to summon a hundred thousand troops from Xizhou.
• Wang Yue summoned Central Prefecture’s officials and explained to Chancellor Liu that he intended to establish Zhou Shengchen on the throne while he recovered.
• Chancellor Liu agreed to support Wang Yue’s plan after learning that Wang Yue intended to hand the throne to Zhou Shengchen rather than rule himself.

Wang Yue restored order in Northern Chen while impersonating Zhou Shengchen, then returned to Qingzhou and was enfeoffed as King of Qi. As Zhou Shengchen became bogged down in wars against Jin Rong and the northern tribes, Wang Yue completed sweeping reforms and built a massive army in the Kingdom of Qi.

• Wang Yue declared Jin Rong a rebel, stabilized Northern Chen, and returned to Qingzhou after Zhou Shengchen recovered.
• Zhou Shengchen enfeoffed Wang Yue as King of Qi, granting him Qingzhou and Xuzhou, and later named Wang Yue and Cui Shiyi’s newborn twins his godchildren.
• Wang Yue returned home as Cui Shiyi gave birth to Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, while he questioned Zhou Shengchen’s intentions toward the children.
• Zhou Shengchen led an expedition against Jin Rong and the Six Northern Garrisons as other regional powers began expanding and refugees fled westward.
• Wang Yue enacted reforms in the Kingdom of Qi with Cui Guang and the Cui Clan’s support; after Cui Guang died, the reforms continued and Wang Yue’s army grew to seven or eight hundred thousand.

Cui Feng and Hong Xiaoyu secured Wang Yue’s agreement to campaign against the northern threats, and his forces helped Zhou Shengchen defeat the rebellions and Jin Rong’s allies over several years. Wang Yue returned to Qi to find Cui Shiyi disciplining Tuan Tuan, and he caught his son as the boy ran outside.

• Cui Feng and Hong Xiaoyu asked Wang Yue to aid the realm, and he agreed to lead a northern campaign if it had just cause.
• Cui Feng and Hong Xiaoyu met Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, and Cui Feng said he would marry Hong Xiaoyu after the war.
• After an imperial edict and Zhou Shengchen’s secret letter arrived, Wang Yue accepted the order and sent his troops north.
• Wang Yue’s army defeated Gao Clan and the northern Mohe and Khitan forces, then joined Zhou Shengchen to crush the Six Garrisons after Jin Rong fled north with Liu Zizhen, who died on the journey.
• After years of fighting, Wang Yue urged Zhou Shengchen to strengthen Great Chen through reforms, then rode back to Qi while Zhou Shengchen considered his position.
• Cui Shiyi scolded Tuan Tuan for taking Yuan Yuan onto the roof, and Wang Yue caught Tuan Tuan as he ran outside.

Wang Yue returned home after the northern rebellion was suppressed and reassured Cui Shiyi that he would stay, while they discussed their children’s future. Zhou Shengchen visited the Kingdom of Qi, saw how its people prospered compared with those in Northern Chen, and returned to Qinghe questioning his own standing.

• Xiao Tuantuan greeted Wang Yue and asked him to have more children so they could outnumber Cui Shiyi’s senior brothers and sisters.
• Wang Yue told Cui Shiyi that the rebellion was over and he did not expect to leave again, then comforted her about sending the children to Central Prefecture.
• Zhou Shengchen and his party saw civilians following the Qingzhou Army toward the Kingdom of Qi, and an old traveler explained that its laws and land redistribution benefited ordinary people.
• Zhou Shengchen chose to travel to Qinghe and hold Hong Xiaoyu and Cui Feng’s wedding before returning to Central Prefecture.
• Zhou Shengchen’s party toured the Kingdom of Qi and Northern Chen, saw the stark difference in people’s living conditions, and returned to Qinghe in silence.
• Wang Yue declined to make special arrangements for Zhou Shengchen’s visit, trusting that the children would be safe with him.

Wang Yue accepted Zhou Shengchen’s transfer of the northern regions to Qi and quickly carried out reforms, while Zhou Shengchen’s own reforms stalled. Years later, Zhou Shengchen abdicated in Wang Yue’s favor, and after Wang Yue agreed to rule, the system returned him to his original world.

• At Cui Feng and Hong Xiaoyu’s wedding, Zhou Shengchen asked Wang Yue to help reform the northern regions and declared that Youzhou and other areas would be incorporated into Qi.
• Wang Yue took control of the regions and implemented reforms, while Zhou Shengchen struggled to reform Guanzhong and the Six Garrisons.
• Years later, Zhou Shengchen summoned Wang Yue and his wife to the capital with a hundred thousand troops, then abdicated and left for Western Province.
• Wang Yue refused the throne, but Li Qilang urged him to accept it for Tuan Tuan’s sake, and Wang Yue relented.
• After Wang Yue accepted, the system announced that its return conditions were met and transported him back to his original world.

Wang Yue investigated Liang Lu’s suspicion that someone was following her and caught a man spying on her office. He realized the watcher might be bait in a larger setup and pressed him for information about whoever hired him.

• Luo Youyou asked Wang Yue to look into Liang Lu’s report that someone had been following her.
• Wang Yue searched for the watcher, identified possible vantage points near Liang Lu’s company, and found a man with a telescope on a rooftop.
• Wang Yue spotted someone watching the rooftop from a distant building and suspected the man was being used to frame him.
• When the watcher tried to seize Wang Yue’s phone, Wang Yue lured him into a blind spot, restrained him, and used the Bone Marrow Separation Hand to make him talk.
• The man said a client had paid him to watch Liang Lu but claimed he knew nothing else; Wang Yue asked what the client looked like and how they had contacted or paid him.

Wang Yue uncovered evidence that someone had arranged for Xu Zheng to spy on Liang Lu, while suspecting the surveillance was part of a trap aimed at Luo Peng. He and Liang Lu brought the evidence to the Police Station, where Luo Peng explained that the scheme could undermine his chance to become acting chief.

• Wang Yue forced the private detective to reveal that security footage of Xu Zheng was stored at his shop, then retrieved it and let the detective go.
• Wang Yue found the rooftop surveillance site abandoned and warned Luo Youyou that the operation might be a trap targeting him, Luo Youyou, or Luo Peng.
• Wang Yue picked up Liang Lu and explained that he had sent the footage to both their email accounts so they could report the surveillance through official channels.
• Liang Lu realized the surveillance might have been planned alongside the earlier hacking of her family's company, and she and Wang Yue went to the Police Station.
• Luo Peng thanked Wang Yue and explained that the incident could have cost him the chance to serve as acting chief after Director Hu's planned early retirement.

After Liang Lu received compensation for the scheme against her, she asked Wang Yue to buy several floors of office space and revealed her plans for a cosmetics company. Wang Yue offered her his Imperial Secret Recipes as part of a business deal, and Liang Lu left with them to begin checking whether they could be used.

• Wang Yue told Luo Youyou that Old Master Luo would handle the plot against Luo Peng, and that Luo Peng might emerge with a stronger claim to the acting police chief position.
• Liang Lu called Wang Yue and offered to sell him several floors of office space her ex-boyfriend had given her as compensation.
• Liang Lu explained that she wanted to bid on Imperial Secret Recipes to launch a cosmetics company, so Wang Yue offered her his own recipes in exchange for a stake in her business.
• Wang Yue met Liang Lu at the Police Station and handed her a document envelope containing recipes and production processes.
• Luo Youyou joined them, and Liang Lu said she would make samples and pursue patents if the recipes proved genuine.

Wang Yue signed a deal with Liang Lu to take majority ownership of her personal-care company, while keeping his game company’s expansion in motion. The companies competed over office space, and Liang Lu learned that Wang Yue’s management method was to hire a capable professional manager and leave them to run things.

• Luo Youyou advised Wang Yue that Liang Lu’s family salon chain could help establish the new products, but Wang Yue declined her offer to connect him with investors through the Luo family.
• Liang Lu brought Wang Yue a contract after completing and testing product samples, and Wang Yue signed to acquire the upper floors of his game-company building and a majority stake in her personal-care company.
• Wang Yue rejected Liang Lu’s plan to move production into the building and arranged to rent Uncle Luo’s building for the expanding game company.
• Xiang Dong and Liang Lu argued over the building’s upper floors, and Wang Yue told them to divide the rented space among themselves.
• Liang Lu asked Xiang Dong how Wang Yue managed his companies, and Xiang Dong explained that Wang Yue hired a good professional manager, handed over the company, and left them to run it.

Wang Yue entered the police drama Rebirth Gate (Compilation) and took over the life of a police academy student from a family of officers. After years of excelling at school and helping solve a fraud case, he received the principal’s call to begin a dangerous mission.

• Xiang Dong explained to Liang Lu that Wang Yue’s technical expertise protected his game company from being easily stolen or ruined.
• Wang Yue watched Luo Youyou’s police-drama compilation, triggering the system to send him into Rebirth Gate (Compilation).
• Wang Yue absorbed the memories of a Jinggang City Police Academy student and met Liao Shuang and her roommates near Binhe Road.
• Wang Yue became a top student, gained a reputation after helping the Xiangyang Detachment solve an online fraud case, and kept his identity concealed at the principal’s request.
• Old Father Wang arranged for Wang Yue to be recommended for a dangerous mission, and the principal called him as it was about to begin.

Wang Yue agreed to infiltrate Chen Xi’s arms-trafficking gang by approaching Chen Xi’s sister, Chen Rui, but recognized her as Maimai and worried about their opposing sides. His attempt to charm her was interrupted by Peng Peng, so he switched tactics, provoked a pursuit, and headed for Xishan to draw Chen Xi out.

• Bureau Chief Zhou and Su Yong recruited Wang Yue for an undercover operation and proposed that he approach Chen Rui to get close to her brother, Chen Xi.
• Wang Yue recognized Chen Rui in Chen Xi’s file as Maimai and resolved to disrupt the arms supply while considering whether Chen Xi might cooperate with the police.
• Wang Yue scouted Chen Rui’s school and prepared to use his looks to attract her attention.
• Peng Peng spotted Wang Yue with his camera and ordered him to hand it over, prompting Wang Yue to flee instead of continuing his plan.
• Wang Yue collected his belongings, escaped Peng Peng’s men in a taxi, and set off for Xishan to draw Chen Xi after him.

After Chen Xi's men confronted Wang Yue at Polytechnic University, the school expelled him, and he met Su Yong to plan how to disrupt Chen Xi's firearms deal. Wang Yue found the bow and arrows Su Yong had hidden, stole a horse, and approached the illuminated abandoned factory where the deal was taking place.

• Chen Xi and his men surrounded Wang Yue outside Polytechnic University, but Wang Yue fought them off before security guards arrived.
• The school investigated Wang Yue's camera, found no indecent photos, and expelled him for injuring several of Chen Xi's men.
• Su Yong asked Wang Yue to sabotage Chen Xi's firearms deal, and Wang Yue agreed on the condition that he receive a bow and arrows.
• Su Yong left the equipment beneath a sign at the Western Suburbs Horse Farm, and Wang Yue found it after searching the wrong stretch of woods.
• Wang Yue stole a horse from the farm without attracting attention, while Su Yong's officers staged a commotion to make the theft appear to have been reported.
• Wang Yue rode toward the lit abandoned factory where the deal was taking place, then left the horse farther away to avoid drawing attention.

Wang Yue exposed Chen Xi’s gun deal, helped the police arrest the buyers, and then negotiated a cautious arrangement with Su Yong to get closer to Chen Xi’s group. When Chen Xi later offered him money and a job, Wang Yue refused to join him.

• Wang Yue photographed Chen Xi trading guns, escaped the factory on horseback, and shot pursuing gun buyers with his bow.
• Wang Yue stalled Chen Xi until Su Yong arrived, and the police arrested the gun-buying gang.
• Wang Yue gave Su Yong the photos and proposed working alongside Chen Xi to learn when he would restock his guns.
• Wang Yue discovered Chen Xi’s men had entered his hotel room, then claimed a photo would be sent automatically unless he canceled it.
• Chen Xi offered Wang Yue 200,000 yuan and a job, but Wang Yue refused to work for him.

Wang Yue infiltrated Chen Xi’s gun-running operation while secretly coordinating with Su Yong, then traveled to Shuozhou for a deal that turned into a standoff. He helped Chen Xi escape the roadblock with precise archery, and Su Yong began tracing the opposing gang’s leader from the X-shaped cuts on his face.

• Wang Yue accepted Chen Xi’s offer to work as an archer for 50,000 yuan per deal and contacted Su Yong to report his concerns about the guns reaching criminals.
• Over more than half a year, Wang Yue completed deals with Chen Xi and rescued him during an ambush; when Chen Xi summoned him to Shuozhou, Wang Yue suspected a trap and warned Su Yong.
• Wang Yue noticed Shuozhou’s bars and nightclubs were unusually quiet, while Chen Xi learned of the danger and tried to withdraw before more than a dozen cars blocked his convoy.
• Wang Yue hacked into Su Yong’s phone, shared his suspicions, and refused to abandon Chen Xi; Su Yong promised to report the threat and seek reinforcements.
• Wang Yue reached the roadblock and shot two arrows that crossed the opposing leader’s face, convincing him that Chen Xi had a powerful archer protecting him.
• After the opposing gang withdrew when police began mobilizing, Wang Yue rode away and told Chen Xi to pay him and deal with the stolen motorcycle; Su Yong then asked Wang Yue to help identify the rival leader.

Wang Yue negotiated with Chen Xi for a sniper rifle, tutoring work, and extra pay for bodyguarding, then joined A Hai on a secret arms-buying trip. After they purchased guns at a mobile assembly site on the Mongolian grassland, a convoy surrounded them and red laser sights appeared on everyone.

• Wang Yue told Su Yong that his tampered arrows had likely left a permanent scar, then ignored Su Yong's doubts and hung up.
• Chen Xi tried to recruit Wang Yue with the promise of a sniper rifle, and Wang Yue proposed a decoy gun purchase to make Chen Xi's trip to Tianjin Port safer.
• Chen Xi agreed to pay Wang Yue to tutor his sister and guard her, while Wang Yue insisted on separate fees for each job.
• Chen Xi sent A Hai and Wang Yue to buy guns while he traveled to Jingu City with Gao Jilai, and Wang Yue suspected Gao Jilai might be hiding something.
• A Hai led Wang Yue's group across the grassland to a guarded assembly site, where they bought a sniper rifle and other guns.
• As the convoy headed back, bright headlights surrounded it and red laser sights appeared on everyone.

Wang Yue helped police seize a firearms assembly plant in Mengbian, then learned that Chen Xi had been caught in a deadly shootout in Jingang. After earning major merit, Wang Yue became head of the Xiguan Criminal Investigation Detachment and arrived to find himself among unfamiliar colleagues.

• Wang Yue persuaded Chen Xi's men to surrender and helped police arrest the convoy's bandits.
• Wang Yue guided the police to the yurt camp, where they seized hundreds of firearms and arrested the assembly plant's people.
• Chen Xi called Wang Yue during a shootout in Jingang, asked him to protect his sister, and warned him there was a traitor among his men.
• Su Yong alerted Bureau Chief Zhou about the fighting in Jingang, where three officers died and Chen Xi's group suffered heavy losses.
• Wang Yue requested a post in Jingang to investigate the July 14 case and was appointed head of the Xiguan Criminal Investigation Detachment.
• Wang Yue arrived for his new post and found the detachment's mobilization meeting underway in an underground garage, with no familiar colleagues around him.

Wang Yue took up his post as Xiguan Detachment leader and began pursuing the truth behind the 714 warehouse case. He told Chen Rui that he was a police officer investigating the gun source, offered her a home and tutoring, and left her at school under instructions to stay safe.

• Wang Yue introduced himself as the new Xiguan Detachment leader, revealed his undercover work in Mengbian, and vowed to uncover who had orchestrated the conflict between police and gangs.
• Qin Chi received his promotion and deputy leader appointment, then left the ceremony without speaking; Director Liang explained that Qin Chi was still recovering from the mission in which three officers died and two were crippled.
• Wang Yue learned that Hu Yibiao had remained as temporary deputy detachment leader and decided to seek information about Case 714 from Zhao Xincheng before stopping at Chen Rui's school.
• Wang Yue met Chen Rui, explained that he had gone undercover to trace her brother Chen Xi's firearms, and played her Chen Xi's final phone recording.
• Chen Rui accepted Wang Yue's offer to live with him and receive tutoring after he assured her he was investigating the conspiracy behind her brother's death.
• Wang Yue told Chen Rui to return to class, promised to pick her up after work, and warned her not to leave school with anyone else.