Recaps

Shen Tang’s commanders learned that the Eternal Life Cult uncle and nephew could reverse civil and military forces, turning scholars into Martial Gall Warriors and soldiers into Literary Scholars. The chapter ended with Gongxi Chou warning that their enemies would be prepared for the effect, despite both sides being affected.

• Qian Yong questioned Gongxi Chou and Xun Ding about their knowledge of the Eternal Life Cult pair, and Shen Tang redirected the meeting before their argument escalated.
• Jimò Qiu asked Lin Feng to consider becoming the next High Priest because the god approved of her appearance, and she said she would think about it.
• Jimò Qiu and Lin Feng returned to camp late after nearly encountering Gao Country’s scouts, while Kang’s leaders discussed how Gao Country might attack Heyin.
• Jimò Qiu joined Shen Tang’s meeting and explained that the uncle-and-nephew pair’s Literary Scholar could reverse civil and military forces on the battlefield.
• Qian Yong and the other commanders worried about losing their martial abilities, but Gongxi Chou warned that the enemy would prepare for the reversal too.

Shen Tang’s forces prepared for a battle that could reverse the literary and martial paths, studying each other’s Word Spirits while learning Wu Zhaode had gathered several unusual talents. When Luan Xin arrived, Shen Tang gave him an urgent mission, but he said he could bring back no more than two Ways of the Scholar.

• Gongxi Chou traded insults with Qian Yong, while Xun Zhen revealed that Gongxi Chou’s salary had been collected by his sister, Gongxi Lai.
• Jimò Qiu explained that the enemy’s Way of the Scholar would overturn each person’s stronger path, leaving Shen Tang unable to fight as a Martial Gall Warrior on the battlefield.
• Shen Tang ordered Lin Feng’s introductory Word Spirit notes copied for the camp, and Jimò Qiu silenced Gongxi Chou when he questioned whether the civil officials should study the Six Arts of the Gentleman.
• The White-eyed Girl told Shen Tang that Wu Zhaode had an Eternal Life Cult Attendant and that she had sensed four other unusual auras among his people.
• Luan Xin arrived after receiving repeated messages from Shen Tang, who privately assigned him an urgent mission; he said he could bring back no more than two Ways of the Scholar.

Shen Tang sent Luan Xin, Qi Shan, and Cui Xiao to infiltrate Wu Xian’s territory and investigate the enemy’s perfected Way of the Scholar. Disguised as a refugee family, they got close to a newly recruited Literary Scholar, while Luan Xin continued analyzing his ability.

• Shen Tang abandoned her idea of having Luan Xin copy and reverse Luan Yi’s Way of the Scholar after Luan Xin explained that his own ability was imperfect.
• Shen Tang arranged for Qi Shan and Cui Xiao to accompany Luan Xin, and a Tenth Rank Left Shu Chang secretly followed them.
• The three disguised themselves as a refugee girl, her elderly grandfather, and her mentally disabled younger brother, then joined villagers heading toward Yiru Commandery.
• Luan Xin listened to enemy scouts’ thoughts and learned that Wu Zhaode’s main camp was nearby, so the group planned to capture the identities of isolated soldiers.
• A guarded carriage party interrupted their plan, but its master let the disguised refugees follow overnight and provided them with food, firewood, and clothes.
• Luan Xin identified the man in the carriage as a newly recruited Literary Scholar with a perfected Way of the Scholar, and the trio decided to wait until midnight before acting.

Qi Yuanliang and his companions infiltrated He Shu’s convoy by posing as refugees, then entered Gao Country’s military camp. Luan Xin secretly used his Way of the Scholar on a new target, but the effort left him unconscious and He Shu examined him.

• The young woman learned that the convoy’s master was surnamed He, and she and the old man wondered whether he was connected to Qi Zhongshu.
• The young woman staged an assault to attract He Shu’s attention, and He Shu took the three disguised refugees into his convoy after a guard killed the culprit.
• The young woman recognized the master as He Shu, and the convoy passed into Gao Country’s military camp after a routine inspection.
• Luan Xin acted strangely near He Shu’s tent, then suddenly vomited blood and collapsed.
• He Shu examined Luan Xin while the young woman claimed that bandits had left him mentally impaired, and he said the condition was not serious.

He Shu treated the disguised Luan Xin and his companions as refugees while trying to understand the young woman's familiar manner. After the National Teacher's aide searched He Shu's tent for a supposed intruder, Luan Xin woke and said his Way of the Scholar might reach perfection, though the chance was slim.

• He Shu treated the unconscious Luan Xin, heard the young woman describe his fever and talk of fire, and prescribed medicine for him.
• After He Shu left, the young woman dropped her tearful act and asked whether Gongyi's backlash meant he had been discovered; the old man warned that a search of the tents could follow.
• The young woman explained that her face was modeled after He Shu's frail younger brother, He Haogu, and insisted that she and He Shu were friends.
• He Shu dismissed his guard's suspicions about the young woman but wondered why her mannerisms felt familiar.
• The National Teacher's aide questioned He Shu about a suspicious intruder, searched his unopened trunks, and left without finding anyone; He Shu learned there was no sign of a thief in the camp.
• Luan Xin woke up and told the young woman that his Way of the Scholar had a slim chance of reaching perfection.

Luan Xin explained the two demanding paths to completing his Way of the Scholar, while Qi Shan and the young woman considered how to help him. As Gao Country prepared for a decisive battle, Luan Xin copied the Eternal Life Cult member’s Way and overheard military intelligence; the chapter ended as a bluebird blocked Shen Tang’s path.

• Luan Xin told Qi Shan that he could complete his Way of the Scholar by using ninety-nine completed Ways or gathering nine perfected ones, and Qi Shan promised to help find candidates.
• Luan Xin revealed that he had already copied the Eternal Life Cult member’s Way of the Scholar despite the risk of backlash.
• He Shu ordered the military physician to treat the three exhausted refugees, then defended himself when an official accused him of killing He Xin and taking his wife.
• Wu Xian ended the argument and assigned He Shu to oversee a route as Gao Country prepared for a battle that could decide its survival.
• Luan Xin used Gu Chi’s Way of the Scholar to overhear and record Gao Country’s military intelligence, then discussed the rumors about He Shu with the young woman.
• Cui Xiao announced that the message had been sent, and a bluebird landed in front of Shen Tang and blocked her path.

Shen Tang received intelligence revealing Gao Country’s planned attack on Shang Nan and chose Chao Lian to lead reinforcements there with Fang Yan. As Chao Lian and Fang Yan departed, they identified the enemy commander as He Shu, whose completed Way of the Scholar could make him a dangerous threat.

• Shen Tang read Cui Shanxiao’s letter and learned that Gao Country planned a three-pronged attack, including a surprise strike on Shang Nan.
• Chao Lian volunteered to lead the reinforcements, and Shen Tang assigned Fang Yan to accompany him instead of Shao Chong.
• Chao Lian and Fang Yan persuaded Shao Chong to remain behind, reminding him that Shao Bai might be in danger.
• Chao Lian and Fang Yan set out overnight and discussed the enemy Literary Scholar, He Shu, whom Fang Yan knew from before.
• Fang Yan warned that He Shu’s completed Way of the Scholar could beguile people with lies and urged Chao Lian to clear out civilians and be ready to kill him.

Fang Yan warned Chao Lian that He Shu’s perfected Way of the Scholar might let him borrow the power of heavenly lightning, while Shen Tang sent Yun Ce and a small force to reinforce the army with orders to distrust potentially compromised intelligence. As Shen Tang monitored Mei Meng and worried about her absent allies, Qi Shan’s group faced an unexpected crisis: Qi Yuanliang was suffering severe menstrual bleeding, and the girl suddenly cursed Shen Tang.

• Fang Yan explained the Great Worthy Teacher’s forbidden Word Spirit legacy and warned Chao Lian that He Shu’s unusual Way of the Scholar could make him a dangerous opponent.
• Shen Tang warned Yun Ce that the battle report might have been tampered with and ordered him to lead three thousand troops, accompanied by Bei Jiu and Mohist craftsmen, toward the enemy’s rear.
• Yun Ce worried about Bei Jiu’s anger toward him, while his Martial Gall Warrior advised him to ask her directly and focus on earning military merit.
• Shen Tang ordered her people to keep watching Mei Meng and kill her if she tried to flee, while worrying that her intelligence network and allies might have been exposed.
• A military physician said Qi Yuanliang’s severe illness and heavy menstrual bleeding were beyond his ability to treat, and the girl cursed Shen Tang after he left.

Qi Shan and his companions deciphered Shen Tang’s blood-written warning that they had been exposed, then stayed with He Shu as his army marched toward Shang Nan. At Kang Country’s wounded soldiers’ camp, Shen Tang rushed to see a severely injured person whose identity was not revealed.

• Qi Shan’s colleagues misread Shen Tang’s message carved into his thighs as news about her monthly flow before they deciphered her warning that they had been exposed and should wait calmly for rescue.
• Qi Shan decided the three would act as though they knew nothing and let Wu Zhaode keep them as valuable captives.
• Qi Shan disguised himself as a frail young woman and visited He Shu, who later offered to send him and the other two to safety.
• Qi Shan and the others declined He Shu’s offer and accompanied his army toward Shang Nan, while the brainless younger brother worried about the Tenth Rank Left Shu Chang guarding him.
• Two Martial Gall Warriors rushed a gravely injured person into Kang Country’s wounded soldiers’ camp, and Shen Tang hurried to the treatment tent with a murderous expression.

Shen Tang learned that the gravely wounded Tenth Rank Left Shu Chang had survived, though he remained unconscious with severe injuries. Jimò Qiu entered the warrior’s dream to guide him out, where the man believed he had been reborn and began planning whom he could still save.

• Wu soldiers found the wounded warrior transformed into a four-legged fish, recognized him as a retainer of Minister of Personnel Luan Gongyi, and brought him to the wounded soldiers’ camp.
• Three Xinglin Physicians stabilized the warrior, but warned Shen Tang that his neck and brain injuries left only a three-in-ten chance he would wake on his own.
• Jimò Qiu appeared and explained that the warrior’s consciousness was trapped in a land of chaos, then agreed to guide him out.
• In the dream, the warrior believed he had been reborn after the Battle of Xiaocheng and considered saving Lady Miao, advising Lord Luan, and helping the people he cared about.
• The warrior realized he had many tasks ahead, abandoned thoughts of confronting the stronger enemy who had injured him, and began making a plan.

The Tenth Rank Left Shu Chang woke from a dream after breaking through in cultivation, while Shen Tang learned that Qi Shan and the others had been exposed and prepared to target Yiru. Meanwhile, He Buzuo’s disguised force crossed into Luxia Prefecture with three captive Literary Scholars, and Chao Lian’s reinforcements reunited with Fang Yan and the defenders of Shang Nan.

• Jimò Qiu told the Tenth Rank Left Shu Chang that he was trapped in a dream, and Shu Chang woke after a breakthrough in cultivation.
• Shen Tang learned that He Shu was the likely source of the attack on Shu Chang and resolved to move against Yiru while assuring him that Gongyi and the others would return safely.
• He Buzuo’s army entered desolate Luxia Prefecture in disguise, and he lamented the abandoned fields and the suffering of its people.
• The young woman recognized that He Buzuo had drugged the food meant for her group and accused him of dropping his pretense; He Shu accepted them as sacrifices regardless of whether they fled.
• Chao Lian and Fang Yan reunited with the commander of Shang Nan, who welcomed them emotionally before Fang Yan ordered preparations to defend the pass.

Chao Lian and Fang Yan discovered that Shang Nan Commandery was dangerously short of troops because Zhechong Mansion soldiers had deserted, while local clans refused to help Kang. Fang Yan seized soldiers from the clans and began isolating them, as one old friend wondered how Shen Tang had learned of the plot so quickly.

• Chao Lian advised the commander to treat his soldiers with respect as they entered the prosperous, expanded city of Shang Nan.
• Chao Lian and Fang Yan found that the actual garrison was much smaller than the records claimed, and the commander revealed that many Zhechong Mansion soldiers had deserted.
• The commander explained that Shang Nan's prominent families resented Kang's rules and would not provide troops, though he doubted they had caused the desertions.
• Fang Yan declared that anyone with treasonous intent could be executed, then took Chao Lian with him to gather troops from the local families.
• Fang Yan took nearly all seven hundred men from an old friend's estate and warned that a stable world mattered more than the clans' short-term profit.
• Fang Yan's troops took positions throughout the city to prevent the families from coordinating, and the old friend wondered how Shen Tang had found out and sent Fang Yan.

Fang Yan discovered that forged military orders had secretly transferred Shang Nan's defenders, just as unnatural thunderclouds gathered over the commandery. He Shu sacrificed three captives to invoke his power, but realized they had escaped, and turned his attention to taking Shang Nan.

• Fang Yan seized guards from the great clans and uncovered evidence that soldiers had been secretly transferred under forged orders bearing the defender's seal.
• Fang Yan questioned Ding Dazhong's family and learned that several soldiers had been summoned away for a secret mission, while the defender and other officials denied knowing about it.
• Black thunderclouds gathered over Shang Nan, lightning struck the city's barrier, and Fang Yan ordered the army onto alert as the streets fell into chaos.
• He Shu brought the girl and two companions to a sacrificial altar and, after she refused to reveal her identity, shot her with a flaming arrow to ignite the sacrifice.
• He Shu's power activated and the thunderclouds moved toward Shang Nan, but he realized the three captives had escaped and said that taking the commandery was what mattered.

Qi Shan and his companions learned that He Shu and He Xin were two brothers sharing one body, and they hurried toward Shang Nan as He Xin warned of hidden forces backing the attack. The city’s defenses came under increasingly powerful lightning strikes, and Chao Lian shattered one bolt before a morale-forged arrow flew toward the next.

• Qi Shan confirmed that He Shu was his friend, then led Cui Xiao, Luan Xin, and a mysterious young man onward.
• The young man revealed himself as He Shu, courtesy name Buzuo, and Qi Shan explained that He Shu and He Xin were brothers who shared one body.
• He Xin described He Shu’s hatred of aristocratic clans and explained that Qi Shan had enabled the brothers to act separately.
• He Xin warned that the Assembly of Gods’ Southwest Branch and other forces were interfering in the battle for Shang Nan.
• Thunderclouds gathered over Shang Nan, and lightning strikes battered the city’s defenses as the four companions rushed toward it.
• Chao Lian shattered a descending bolt with his spear, dodged the next strike, and a morale-forged arrow shot upward.

Fang Yan organized Shang Nan’s defenses against a growing lightning assault, then drew the powerful families into the fight by poisoning their estates. Qi Shan, He Xin, and Cui Shanxiao arrived as reinforcements, and Cui Xiao prepared to confound the attackers’ aim.

• Fang Yan coordinated ballista crews and Chao Lian to break the lightning bolts, while one Martial Gall Warrior intercepted a strike that slipped through.
• The enemy increased the number and spread of its attacks, leaving the defenders short of soldiers and ballistae as the city barrier weakened.
• Fang Yan’s old friend found poisonous mushrooms in his courtyard and sent most of his family’s able-bodied youths to defend Third Pass City, urging other families to do the same.
• Fang Yan’s old friend reached the wall, helped strengthen Fang Yan with a Word Spirit, and discussed the threat posed by the enemy and Shen Youli.
• Qi Shan, He Xin, and Cui Shanxiao arrived on the wall, and Cui Xiao asked Qi Shan to lend him literary energy before using a Word Spirit to hide himself from the attackers.

Cui Xiao used the Way of the Scholar to halt the lightning, but the backlash left him badly hurt until Yun Ce arrived and froze the falling bolt. Qi Shan learned that Yun Ce had been ambushed by soldiers from Shang Nan Commandery, and He Xin raised the possibility that Qi Shan himself could have devised the disguise behind the scheme.

• Cui Xiao stopped the lightning with the Way of the Scholar, then staggered and spat blood as the thunderclouds resumed their attack.
• Qi Yuanliang and the others blocked the blast, while Yun Ce arrived and froze the lightning and its shock wave in a massive ice sculpture.
• Cui Xiao accused Qi Yuanliang of letting him suffer backlash, and Yun Ce explained that disguised enemy soldiers had ambushed him on the way to Shang Nan.
• Qi Shan and the others realized the ambush had caused Yun Ce's troops and Shang Nan's forces to kill one another, a trap that would benefit Gao Country.
• He Xin ruled out He Shu as the plotter and suggested that the convincing disguise might have been one Qi Shan could create.

Qi Shan investigated the forged military order and suspected Mei Jinghe of involvement, while Yun Ce received reinforcements at the city. Mei Meng tried to escape, but Lü Jue and Wu You blocked her, and Cui Hui woke under Ning Yan’s care.

• Qi Shan concluded that the scheme likely came from the Southwest Branch and told Luan Xin to investigate Mei Jinghe, whom He Xin recognized as Mei Meng.
• Yun Ce welcomed the arriving army led by the Master Craftsman of the Directorate of Imperial Manufactures and ordered the city gates opened.
• Cui Hui confronted Mei Meng, who knocked her unconscious and left Fugu to meet her people.
• Lü Jue ambushed Mei Meng’s convoy, but she escaped using an illusion and continued onward.
• Wu You stopped Mei Meng’s carriage and refused to let her pass.
• Ning Yan woke Cui Hui, who mistook her for a beautiful dream figure before learning she was awake.

Ning Yan learned that Mei Meng had escaped with Qi Cang and suspected Mei Meng had used Qi Shan’s Way of the Scholar. On the road, Mei Meng rejected the idea that Shen Youli had broken the shackles on women’s cultivation for her, insisting she would perfect her own Way of the Scholar and prove others could follow that path.

• Ning Yan helped Cui Hui recover, told her Mei Jinghe had escaped, and revealed that Qi Cang had protected her while Wuyou was struck at a vital point.
• Ning Yan kept Wuyou’s final message about Qi Yuanliang’s Way of the Scholar secret and concluded Mei Meng had used Qi Shan’s Way of the Scholar.
• Qi Cang told Mei Meng that a booklet suggested Shen Youli’s rise had broken the shackles on women’s cultivation and that Mei Meng might not need to risk perfecting her Way of the Scholar.
• Mei Meng argued that Shen Youli’s path could not be copied and vowed to become a Literary Scholar through her own efforts, so others could prove they could do the same.
• Qi Cang mused that Shen Youli was about to face two Eternal Life Cult figures and said he wanted to watch Mei Meng perfect her Way of the Scholar.

Mei Meng considered the danger of relying on her Sovereign while the burly man warned her to keep military power in her own hands. Shen Tang seized the chance to attack Tianhai, and Ning Yan returned with news that Mei Jinghe was preparing to perfect her Way of the Scholar in Gao Country by staging a successful usurpation.

• The burly man warned Mei Meng that military power, not personal loyalty, secured a ruler’s position, but Mei Meng said she had no choice but to trust her Sovereign.
• After Ning Yan reported that the intelligence about Tianhai was mostly true, Shen Tang attacked, captured several counties, and intercepted Wu Xian’s reinforcements.
• Shen Tang complained about the drawn-out campaign and worried over Gu Chi’s poor health as he trained and drank tonics.
• Ning Yan returned from Northern Province, said she had recovered, and revealed that she had a lead that gave her a ninety percent chance of perfecting her Way of the Scholar.
• Ning Yan told Shen Tang that Mei Jinghe had fled with Qi Yanqing and planned to perfect her Way in Gao Country by raising a traitor who would successfully steal a state and then executing him.
• Shen Tang realized that Mei Jinghe’s plan might involve her helping to overthrow Wu Xian.

Shen Tang and Ning Yan discussed how to thwart Mei Jinghe’s Perfection Ritual, while Ning Yan trained in heavy armor in preparation for a reversal that could force Literary Scholars into battle. Wu Xian, pressured by Gao Country’s Tianhai faction after Zhao Feng threatened their ancestral graves, sent Shen Tang a challenge, leaving the armies on the verge of a confrontation.

• Shen Tang decided to tell Wu Xian about Mei Jinghe’s plans only when his forces were collapsing, and Ning Yan explained that the ritual would fail if Wu Xian lawfully transferred the throne before Mei Jinghe could kill him.
• Ning Yan received heavy armor, a massive blade, and Shen Tang’s illustrated combat booklets, then trained under Bai Su for two days to prepare for fighting after the reversal.
• Wu Xian sent Shen Tang a challenge after Zhao Feng’s actions around Tianhai’s ancestral graves alarmed Gao Country’s officials and pressured them to demand an attack to retake the commandery.
• Wu Xian agreed to send out troops after the Tianhai faction confronted him, while an inconspicuous scholar dismissed the officials as rabble.

Wu Xian’s confrontation with his followers ended in murder, and he challenged Shen Tang to fight at Wei Gorge, where she learned the battlefield contained an ancient Mass Grave. Jimò Qiu and Gongxi Chou recognized the site from their clan’s history, and both armies prepared to battle there despite the danger and the terrain’s advantage to Gao Country.

• The National Teacher insulted Wu Xian’s followers, and Wu Xian rebuked a man who challenged him before the man walked away in anger.
• The man was found dead with a sword through his neck, but Wu Xian suppressed objections to the claim that he had committed suicide.
• The National Teacher played a supernatural chess game against an unseen opponent and lamented that Wu Country’s old enemies had taken over the human world.
• Shen Tang learned that Wu Xian had chosen Wei Gorge, an ancient battlefield whose history included a Mass Grave and reports of black mist and vengeful spirits.
• Jimò Qiu and Gongxi Chou recognized Wei Gorge as the place where their ancestor had found and filled in the Mass Grave, prompting Shen Tang to worry about what might emerge during the battle.
• Jimò Qiu explained that Wu Xian had chosen the site because many Wu Country troops were buried there, and Shen Tang said her side could summon other dead as reinforcements.

Shen Tang sent Qian Yong to taunt Gao Country’s forces, and Qian Yong exposed damaging gossip about Wu Xian before killing a general who challenged him. He humiliated Wu Xian by kicking the man’s head back toward the enemy army, and Wu Xian asked the National Teacher to take the field.

• Shen Tang agreed to let Qian Yong lead the verbal challenge after Gu Chi reminded her of the consequences of insulting Wu Xian herself.
• Qian Yong revealed scandalous stories about Wu Xian’s family and questioned the Tianhai Wu clan’s claimed ancestry, angering Wu Xian and his ministers.
• Wu Xian’s trusted general charged Qian Yong, who defeated him by revealing his concealed strength and killed him.
• Qian Yong kicked the dead general’s head back toward Gao Country’s army and said the act repaid old grievances against the Wu clan.
• Wu Xian smashed his armrest and asked the National Teacher to take the field, but the National Teacher suggested watching a little longer.

Qian Yong’s insults humiliated Gao Country’s officials, but his attack on the National Teacher failed, and the National Teacher unleashed a power that overturned heaven and earth. Shen Tang witnessed the transformation and heard several tearing sounds as time resumed.

• Wu Xian tried to persuade the National Teacher to act against Shen Tang, then felt a strange force pull at his soul when he looked at the National Teacher’s ring.
• Qian Yong exposed Gao officials’ scandals and provoked them, while Shen Tang and her companions reacted to his shameless insults.
• Qian Yong charged the white-haired National Teacher, but his Martial Qi Incarnation was hurled into the ground, so he retreated to his ranks.
• The National Teacher invoked “Invert Heaven and Earth” and “Life and Death Change Masters,” reversing the sky and earth and freezing time for everyone but Shen Tang.
• When time resumed, Shen Tang’s martial armor had vanished, and she heard several tearing sounds.

When the Eternal Life Cult’s Attendant reversed civil and military roles, the armies discovered that the Way of the Scholar and Will of the Martial Artist had switched as well. Both sides regained their footing, and the Gao Country camp challenged Kang to fight.

• Gu Chi realized everyone could hear his thoughts after he became a Martial Gall Warrior, and Shen Tang confronted him about his thoughts concerning Bai Su, whom he called Shaoxuan.
• Yu Zi accidentally unleashed a surge of martial aura that killed her horse, then summoned an armored steed and discovered her transformed ability could seize martial aura from colleagues and enemies.
• Ning Yan urged Yu Zi to control her new power, while Chu Yao used Martial Gall Word Spirits to steady the confused soldiers.
• Wei Shou lamented his changed physique and questioned Chu Yao about his Will of the Martial Artist, which Chu Yao said he could use.
• The Gao Country and Kang camps stabilized, and the Gao Country soldiers challenged Kang to battle.

Wu Xian’s forces began their planned battle against Shen Tang, but Gu Chi’s uncontrolled thoughts gave Yu Zi an advantage in her duel with a Gao general. When Wu Xian countered by signaling the general, Gu Chi abruptly changed his mental narration, leaving the duel’s outcome unresolved.

• Wu Xian worried that someone had leaked Gao Country’s plans, but the National Teacher urged him to press on and Wu Xian authorized a trusted subordinate to clear the way for him.
• Yu Weiheng rode out to challenge Gao Country’s transformed scholar, while Shen Tang and her commanders watched her struggle against his greater fighting experience.
• Chu Yao and Gu Chi devised a way to help Yu Zi, and Gu Chi’s detailed thoughts predicted the Gao general’s moves so she could exploit openings.
• Yu Zi abandoned technique and fought wildly, eventually cutting the Gao general’s neck; his suspiciously poor defense made Wu Xian’s men accuse him of betrayal.
• The National Teacher explained that Gu Chi’s thoughts ran a beat ahead of the duel, and Wu Xian used war drums to warn the Gao general to counter Yu Zi.
• Gu Chi changed his thoughts to a comic story about Lin Daiyu and Zhen Guanxi, interrupting his battle commentary as the duel continued.