Recaps

Shen Tang prepared to expand Kang Country’s power while a vision of her former life revealed the long devotion and destruction surrounding her past. After Gongxi Chou and Jimò Qiu fought to defend You Country, Shen Tang challenged Qi Country and the Dragon Slaying Bureau formed against her, leaving its forces under a mysterious night attack.

• Shen Tang learned that her current body bore traces of a former life, then saw the story of a devoted High Priest whose Divine Temple was destroyed after the clan’s faith failed.
• Shen Tang received a new body made to resemble Gongxi Chou, shared the New Year with her companions, and heard rumors that Qi Shan had poisoned censors with pastries.
• Shen Tang accepted a vassal state’s request for protection and sent forces toward You Country as Qi Country prepared to destroy its royal house.
• Gongxi Chou crossed into You Country, encountered the powerful herb gatherer Gongyang Yongye, and arrived in time to fight Qi Cang after You Country’s Sovereign was killed.
• Jimò Qiu joined Gongxi Chou against Gongyang Yongye, and the two defeated him with coordinated attacks, though Gongxi Chou was injured.
• Shen Tang sheltered You Country’s surviving princess, demanded the return of its territory, and opposed Qi Country’s Sovereign as the Dragon Slaying Bureau formed against Kang.
• Qi Cang tested Shen Tang in her Zhongli Fu disguise, while Shen Tang and Liao Jia stirred conflict among the allied forces and an unexplained night raid struck their camp.

Shen Tang’s forces used deception, raids, and a carefully controlled flood to fracture the allied armies and drive the Southwest Alliance from the pass. As the enemy’s main forces approached, Shen Tang turned to building a fleet and planning new ways to fight on the river.

• Shen Tang and Qi Cang watched Kang’s fog-covered feints escalate into attacks by swimmers, fire bulls, and Ice Dragons, while Shen Tang joined Gongyang Yongye, Gongxi Chou, and Yun Ce in battle.
• Kang’s forces used fire oil and a marsh-making attack to threaten the allied camp and granaries, but Shen Tang revealed that the grain had sprouted after she flooded it and recognized that the raid aimed to divide the alliance.
• Shen Tang learned that Gongxi Chou and Yun Ce had been poisoned, tracked Luo Yuan’s plans through a contact inside the Eternal Life Cult, and prepared for a coordinated strike with Gongyang Yongye.
• Wu Xian ambushed the Southwest Alliance’s scouts and camp, while Shen Tang persuaded Lord Yang to return to service and lead veteran troops against the invaders.
• Shen Tang sent Qian Yong to intercept a larger force using a reservoir flood, and Kang’s troops routed the defenders after Ning Yan exposed a mole and the flood swept through the camp.
• The allied forces ordered a retreat after Kang attacked their homeland, while Qian Yong’s victory on the river left the banks strewn with corpses and prompted Shen Tang to seek warships.
• Bei Jiu and Yun Ce studied warship designs and prepared shipbuilding plans, while Shen Tang discussed their relationship and marriage with them and her officials.
• Shen Tang ordered the generals to plan naval formations and Word Spirit tactics, including a barrier that could unleash a flood and Zhou Kou’s submarines attacking from the riverbed.

Shen Tang secured Qu Country’s alliance while the Eternal Life Cult uprising spread and Lin Feng uncovered her brother Lin Su’s dream attack. Cui Zhi’s family reckoning deepened the crisis, and the arc ended with war breaking out as a young merfolk arrived to oppose Luo Yuan.

• Shen Tang and Zhai Le negotiated a pact to divide the Central Continent, swearing their alliance by Luoshui while leaving open the possibility of betraying each other.
• Cui Xiao and the Saint Child helped the Eternal Life Cult rebellion spread as believers seized a county town and the Southwest Coalition faced unrest and strained supplies.
• Lin Feng discovered that her brother Lin Su had entered her dreams to turn her against Kang, and she and Lin Su fought through visions of their past lives before she escaped near death.
• Shen Tang ordered an investigation into Lin Su as he fled toward Kang, while Cui Zhi left the campaign to reach Cui Hui amid an epidemic and his mother-in-law’s death.
• Cui Xiao arrived at the convent too late to see his wife, then captured Cui Zhi and used his authority to help the Eternal Life Cult rebellion grow.
• Lin Su sought Qi Shan’s help reviving his dead friend, revealed a pendant tied to Tan Qu, and learned that Qi Shan’s cloning research could not restore the dead person’s memories.
• Mei Meng tried to disrupt Kang’s weather strategy, but Shen Tang exposed the allied spies and sent a volley of heads into the enemy camp, prompting the Sovereign of Qi to rally his officials against Kang.
• Luo Yuan’s arrow began the war, and Shen Tang learned that more than forty Luo family ships had joined Kang before meeting a young merfolk who had come to oppose Luo Yuan.

Shen Tang broke the Southwest Alliance’s naval and land forces, then recruited new warriors as Kang prepared to pursue the remaining enemy. Mei Meng survived the final battle and left with Qi Cang, while the Sovereign of Qi Country was killed by Miao Ne.

• Luo Sha confronted Luo Yuan to avenge his clan, while Shen Tang and her allies fought Luo Yuan and Gongyang Yongye before Gongyang Yongye withdrew.
• Shen Tang’s forces crippled the Southwest Alliance fleet, captured Cui Mi, and drove Mei Meng’s remaining army into retreat.
• After Kang harried the retreating forces, Gongyang Yongye returned for his junior’s remains, and Jimò Qiu gave him a Gu Worm before he left.
• Shen Tang recruited Martial Gall Warriors by using the fundoshi they had forfeited in duels, then declared her ambition to claim the Central Continent.
• Mei Meng stayed behind to resist Kang while the Sovereign of Qi Country escaped disguised among deserters, and Mei Meng played her flute before the final battle.
• Shen Tang’s forces fought Mei Meng’s stone giants, and Ning Yan rescued Mei Meng after she cut her throat and triggered explosions in a mountain cave.
• Fang Yan stabilized Mei Meng, and Shen Tang freed her under a false identity, and Mei Meng left with Qi Cang and refused Lü Jue’s money and offer of marriage.
• The Sovereign of Qi Country staged Mei Meng’s funeral, while Miao Ne disguised herself as You Bao and strangled the Sovereign with a Word Spirit.