Recaps

Shen Tang’s group escaped Xiaocheng after Gongxi Chou’s Rebel Army destroyed the city, then joined Gu Ren’s forces and gathered with a coalition preparing to retake it. Shen Tang secured a place in the alliance and agreed to face Gongxi Chou first in exchange for the credit if she won.

• Yan An’s old friend refused to help Zheng Qiao, left him information about Zheng Qiao’s subordinates, and set out for Sibao Prefecture as Shen Tang discovered that her literary energy had recovered.
• Shen Tang learned from Gongshu Wu that she had developed a Martial Spirit, then uncovered records showing that Yan Cheng’s grain had been embezzled and arranged for her companions to raid the wealthy families’ granaries.
• Gongxi Chou attacked Xiaocheng, defeated Captain Yang, and nearly killed Shen Tang before she intervened and unleashed a Word Spirit against the Rebel Army.
• The Rebel Army broke through Xiaocheng’s defenses and slaughtered civilians, while Shen Tang and her companions escaped with the injured Captain Yang and the unconscious Gu Chi.
• Shen Tang’s group reached Gu Ren’s camp, where Sixth Brother offered to treat Captain Yang and Shen Tang reunited with Lin Feng, Tu Rong, and Lili.
• Gu Chi urged Shen Tang to earn land and establish a domain by gaining battlefield merit, as allied forces gathered to reclaim Xiaocheng.
• At the coalition meeting, Shen Tang’s drunken challenge unsettled the leaders, but she returned to discuss troop deployments and reported that Gongxi Chou had advanced to the Fifteenth Rank Shao Shang Zao.
• Shen Tang agreed to fight Gongxi Chou first to exhaust him, and the alliance leader promised her the credit for the first victory if she won.

Shen Tang reunited with Chu Yao and gained Gongshu Wu’s allegiance before the Alliance Army met Gongxi Chou in battle. She fought Gongxi Chou to a standstill by shattering the enemy shield, then woke after the armies withdrew and discovered Qi Shan was secretly sharing her injuries.

• Shen Tang found Chu Yao with Kang Shi and the surviving Xiaocheng soldiers, then returned with them to the Alliance Army camp.
• Kang Shi confronted Qi Shan about his identity, and Qi Shan admitted he was Tan Qu and that Yuan Liang was dead.
• Gongshu Wu pledged himself to Shen Tang and gave her the Martial Gall Tiger Tally and National Seal.
• Gongxi Chou led ten thousand elite soldiers against the Alliance Army and defeated Zhao Feng, but Shen Tang intervened and challenged him.
• Gongxi Chou overpowered Shao Chong and then fought Shen Tang, who used her Literary Heart Word Spirit and summoned chess-piece soldiers to battle him.
• Qi Shan collapsed as Shen Tang and Gongxi Chou continued fighting, and Kang Shi and Gu Chi realized that Qi Shan shared Shen Tang’s wounds through his Way of the Scholar.
• Shen Tang and Gongxi Chou made one final exchange, and her sword images shattered the Rebel Army’s shield before she collapsed and vanished from the battlefield.
• Qin Li’s fog helped the armies fight for hours before both sides withdrew with heavy casualties, and Shen Tang later woke to find Qi Shan and Zhai Le eating roasted pork.

Shen Tang learned the truth about Qi Shan’s bond to her and helped Gu Ren confront Shao Chong’s Gu Worm before securing the governorship of Heyin. As she gathered refugees and recruits, she began breaking the power of Heyin’s clans, setting her forces against the Zhang Lineage’s bandits and armed men.

• Shen Tang learned that Qi Shan’s Way of the Scholar made him her second life, while Gongxi Chou revealed that Shao Chong carried a Gu Worm that was consuming his life.
• Shen Tang and Qi Shan told Gu Ren about Shao Chong’s condition, and Gu Ren agreed to consider a dangerous way to help him overcome the Gu Worm.
• Shen Tang secured River Yin from Wu Xian, then took in thousands of survivors from the Rebels’ destruction and set out for Heyin with Zhao Feng.
• Shen Tang learned Bai Su’s history and warnings about Heyin’s powerful families, then decided to target the abusive Zhang Clan and began recruiting bandits into her force.
• Gu Ren and the other Alliance Army leaders recommended Shen Tang as governor of Heyin Commandery, and Zheng Qiao approved her appointment.
• Shen Tang’s allies captured bandit strongholds, while Kang Shi and Captain Yang uncovered the Zhang Lineage’s mountain mine and weapons workshop.
• Kang Shi and Captain Yang’s disguised caravan was attacked by a force led by a Fifth-Rank Grand Master, and Zhao Feng rushed ahead to join the battle.

Shen Tang seized the Zhang clan’s armory, settled in Fugu, and moved against the powerful families who had exploited the city’s commoners. After the raids and trials, she began planning repairs, paid work, and new ways to revive Fugu.

• Shen Tang’s group reached the Zhang clan’s armory, defeated its defenders, freed the miners, and seized its weapons, supplies, craftsmen, and apprentices.
• Lin Feng awakened the Way of the Scholar through Qi Min Yao Shu, while Shen Tang and her advisers gathered surviving fragments of the agricultural text to support her.
• Shen Tang arrived in impoverished Fugu and found its treasury empty, its records neglected, its buildings damaged, and its officials unpaid.
• Shen Tang investigated the Zhang clan’s abuses and planned coordinated raids on seven powerful families, using Bai Su’s scouting and Kang Shi’s citywide blockade.
• Shen Tang’s forces seized the families and their wealth, captured fugitives, and tried and punished the guilty while sparing innocent women and children from execution.
• Shen Tang began organizing confiscated land, population records, and relief, then recruited commoners and displaced people for paid construction work.
• Gongshu Wu and Zhao Feng demolished buildings to clear Fugu’s southwest corner, accidentally collapsing the administrative hall beneath Shen Tang.
• Shen Tang explored Fugu’s poor neighborhoods with Kang Shi and proposed a New Year sports meet to draw commoners and support a market.