Chapter Summaries

During the siege of Linshan County, Shen Tang faced Xun Ding, who had been hired to defend the city, and Xun Zhen realized that the young warrior was his long-lost son. Qiu Cheng retreated as Shen Tang’s forces breached the defenses, leaving Xun Zhen to confront Xun Ding.

• Xun Zhen failed to recognize Xun Ding at first, and Shen Tang struck Xun Ding back onto the battlements.
• Xun Ding revealed his identity to Xun Zhen, while Shen Tang fought through the enemy ranks to reach him.
• Shen Tang heard someone call out to their lord and hurled her sword toward Qiu Cheng, who then retreated under guard.
• Shen Tang ordered Xun Ding to move aside, but he refused because he had accepted payment to defend the city.
• Xun Zhen stepped in to fight Xun Ding and said someone else would cover the cost of teaching his son a lesson.

Xun Zhen used [One Leaf Obscures the Eye] against Xun Ding, then Shen Tang’s forces captured Linshan County before dawn. As the city woke, soldiers bought flatbreads from an old couple and began clearing the damaged streets.

• Xun Zhen trapped Xun Ding in an illusion and scolded him for failing to act against the enemy strategist.
• Xun Ding escaped the illusion, refused to return home, and prepared to fight his father.
• After Qiu Cheng withdrew, Shen Tang’s forces swept through Linshan County and raised the [Shen] flag over the city.
• The old couple found the streets damaged but went ahead with their plan to sell flatbreads.
• A group of soldiers bought the old couple’s food and helped sweep the streets and fill potholes.

Xun Zhen captured his son Xun Ding after their battle and brought him to Shen Tang to work off the money he had spent fighting him. Shen Tang accepted the arrangement, while Xun Ding protested that he served under Gongxi Chou, whom Shen Tang believed would lend him out.

• Soldiers gossiped about Xun Ding being captured by the Literary Scholar Xun Zhen, while an old couple brought water to the workers repairing the ruins and road.
• Xun Ding recalled how Xun Zhen defeated him and demanded that he pay for the money spent on the Word Spirit.
• When Xun Ding admitted he had no money, Xun Zhen tied him up and brought him to Shen Tang as payment for the debt.
• Xun Ding objected to being made to work for Shen Tang, then revealed that he served under Gongxi Chou.
• Shen Tang said Gongxi Chou would probably agree to lend Xun Ding to her.

After Shen Tang took Linshan County, she reassured its residents by keeping her troops from looting and continued pursuing Qiu Wenyan's army. The story left Shen Tang expecting a decisive battle at Xiaocheng because Gongxi Chou was there.

• Xun Ding refused to work for Shen Tang, and Xun Zhen threatened to discipline him until Shen Tang intervened.
• Xun Ding watched Linshan County's residents flee in fear, but the guards let them leave and Shen Tang's troops did not plunder the city.
• Shen Tang arranged for Linshan County to be governed and then pursued Qiu Wenyan's retreating army into another county, which surrendered with little resistance.
• Lord Yang concluded that Qiu Wenyan had withdrawn his scattered forces to lure Shen Tang into a head-on battle.
• Xun Ding said the decisive battle would take place at Xiaocheng because Gongxi Chou was there, and Shen Tang reacted with interest.

After Shen Tang defeated Qiu Cheng at Linshan County, Qiu Cheng regrouped and withdrew to Xiaocheng, where Gongxi Chou waited to fight her. The chapter ended with Qiu Cheng’s army returning to the city as the familiar battlefield’s sides were reversed.

• Shen Tang learned that Gongxi Chou was guarding Xiaocheng for Qiu Wenyan and welcomed the prospect of facing him again.
• After losing Linshan County and much of his army, Qiu Cheng’s officers urged him to regroup for a final showdown against Shen Tang.
• Miao Shu persuaded Qiu Cheng to ask their Dragon Slaying Bureau allies to probe Shen Tang’s defenses in Longwu Commandery.
• Gongxi Chou heard that Qiu Cheng had been routed and that Xun Ding had been captured, then looked forward to fighting Shen Tang.
• Qiu Cheng led his forces back into Xiaocheng, where the attackers and defenders had switched sides.

Kang Shi’s group finally discovered unfamiliar troops heading toward Longwu Commandery and set out to intercept them for military merit. Outside Xiaocheng, Shen Tang’s army remained unable to draw the defenders into battle while Gongxi Chou explained Qiu Wenyan’s plan to wait for reinforcements to disrupt them.

• Yu Zi complained that Kang Shi’s group had not encountered enemies, and Old General Jiang criticized Kang Shi for letting her tease him.
• Yu Zi told Lin Feng she hoped to awaken a Way of the Scholar capable of countering Kang Shi and helping her earn military merit.
• Xianyu Jian reported unfamiliar troops marching toward Longwu Commandery, and Kang Shi decided to follow and attack them.
• Shen Tang wondered why Xiaocheng’s defenders kept refusing battle and displaying a truce sign.
• Gongxi Chou told Gongxi Lai that Qiu Wenyan was waiting for reinforcements to disrupt the Ma Ma army and create an opening for a surprise attack.

Shen Tang harassed Qiu Cheng’s forces while her strategists prepared for a possible attack on Longwu Commandery and secretly dug a tunnel into Xiaocheng. Meanwhile, Kang Shi’s hidden troops planned to drug Qiu Cheng’s reinforcements, leaving the coming battle poised to strike from multiple directions.

• Gongxi Lai worried that Shen Tang was in danger, but Gongxi Chou refused to warn her and said he would take the head of anyone who beat her to it.
• Liao Jia and Shen Tang’s strategists reasoned that Qiu Cheng might call in allies or target Longwu Commandery, while Shen Tang worried about the commandery’s defenses.
• Shen Tang’s forces challenged Qiu Cheng’s troops six times a day and night, then Shen Tang beat and stripped an envoy who delivered chamber pots and buckets as an insult.
• Shen Tang revealed that her troops were quietly digging a tunnel into Xiaocheng so they could attack Qiu Cheng’s army from behind during the battle.
• Yu Zi proposed drugging Qiu Cheng’s reinforcements with a herb from the Ten Crows’ lands, and Kang Shi considered the plan.

Yu Zi revealed that the herb she brought could help develop a pain-numbing medicine for wounded soldiers, while Lin Feng could grow more from the seeds. Kang Shi then devised a plan to secretly drug the enemy army’s water supply as it rested outside Nanyu County.

• Kang Shi doubted that Yu Zi’s small supply of herbs could affect an enemy force numbering over ten thousand, until Lin Feng confirmed she could grow more from Yu Zi’s seeds.
• Kang Shi accidentally inhaled some of the herb and found that it numbed part of his face.
• Yu Zi explained that she had obtained the herb to help Elder Physician Dong develop Mao Fei San, a painkiller that could save wounded soldiers.
• Kang Shi learned that the enemy army had stopped outside Nanyu County and decided to take advantage of its fixed water supply.
• Kang Shi proposed watching the underground streams and adding the medicine when the enemy drew water, then waiting for it to take effect.

Kang Shi learned that Qian Yong, a former ally of Zhang He, was leading the enemy forces and arranged to drug their water before a night raid. As his soldiers slipped into the camp, Kang Shi saw the campfires flare unexpectedly and wondered who had attacked early.

• Kang Shi explained that Qian Yong had sought refuge with Zhang He after Xin Country fell, and suspected Zhang He had helped direct him against Longwu Commandery to rid himself of a rival.
• Kang Shi's scouts mixed Yu Zi's medicine into the enemy's water supply to weaken the soldiers before a planned night raid.
• The medicine left many enemy soldiers unusually sleepy, while the guards at the camp gate became sluggish and slow to react.
• A patrol led by the Patrol Leader convinced the gate guards to let them inside, but one guard noticed blood on the Patrol Leader and stopped them.
• The Patrol Leader's group killed the guards and rushed into the camp, while Kang Shi noticed the campfires glowing and asked who had acted ahead of schedule.

Shen Tang’s forces launched a night raid on Qian Yong’s camp, where Old General Jiang joined the unexpected fight and cut down an enemy general. The raid continued as Qian Yong confronted Old General Jiang on the battlefield.

• Kang Shi realized Tan Qu, also known as Clerk Qi, had likely arranged the fire that started in Qian Yong’s camp, and Old General Jiang charged in to claim military merit.
• Xianyu Jian and Lin Feng saw Old General Jiang attack and moved to support him according to their original plan.
• The Patrol Leader and two other groups advanced through the camp, setting fires and killing enemy soldiers while the sleeping troops struggled to respond.
• Qian Yong’s general challenged the Patrol Leader and was knocked back by General Gongshu, who took over the fight.
• Old General Jiang killed the enemy general threatening Zhao Wei, then drew Qian Yong’s attention and invited him to fight.

Qian Yong’s forces clashed with Old General Jiang’s army as Lin Feng, Kang Shi, and Ning Yan helped turn the battlefield with fire and literary techniques. Yu Zi led a small group toward the enemy’s supply area to set it ablaze, while the main battle remained unresolved.

• Old General Jiang recognized Qian Yong and tried to attack him, but the Youth Warlord intervened and kept him occupied.
• Lin Feng surveyed the battlefield as Kang Shi and Ning Yan’s fire dragons spread flames through the enemy camps.
• Qian Yong joined the fight against Old General Jiang, but Ning Yan sent an incarnation to aid the general and prolong the duel.
• Yu Zi and a scout led twenty men toward Qian Yong’s rear supply area, where she prepared to start a fire.

Yu Zi and Old General Jiang’s forces raided Qian Yong’s camp, burned a third of its baggage, and withdrew after taking losses. Kang Shi and Ning Yan argued over the raid and its purpose until horns sounded outside the city, bringing both sides back to battle.

• Yu Zi used her Word Spirit and the martial artists with her to block Qian Yong’s troops while the baggage train burned, then withdrew.
• Old General Jiang escaped Qian Yong and the Youth Warlord by summoning Martial Qi Soldiers to cover his forces’ retreat.
• Qian Yong learned that eight hundred soldiers had died, more than a thousand were wounded, and a third of the baggage had burned.
• Kang Shi questioned Ning Yan about her presence, and she explained that Qi Yuanliang had arranged the raid to train the new recruits and help defend Nanyu County.
• Kang Shi confronted Qi Shan over the raid, but horns sounded outside the city and interrupted their fight.

Shen Tang considered revealing her National Seal to lead an assault on Xiaocheng, hoping to take the city quickly and return to aid her allies. Her strategists stopped her, warning that the risks outweighed the benefit, and Gu Chi proposed using Gongxi Chou’s search for his clan’s Sacred Object to provoke Qiu Cheng into fighting.

• Jiang Sheng warned Shen Tang that Kang Shi might have encountered the reinforcements Qiu Cheng had hired, and Shen Tang feared for Kang Shi and Longwu Commandery.
• Shen Tang learned the tunnel into Xiaocheng would be ready in three days and ordered that Qiu Cheng be challenged; if he still refused to fight, she would launch a direct assault.
• Shen Tang proposed using the National Seal’s Sovereign-leads-the-army domain to boost her troops’ morale during the assault.
• Liao Jia and the other strategists opposed Shen Tang’s plan, warning that revealing the National Seal could draw Zheng Qiao and the Dragon Slaying Bureau’s attention to her.
• Gu Chi reminded Shen Tang that Kang Shi’s gambling curse could not kill him before her Qi Yun ran out, then suggested provoking Gongxi Chou by targeting his search for his clan’s Sacred Object.

Gu Chi questioned Shen Tang’s memories and suggested she might be the Gongxi Clan’s Sacred Object, while Shen Tang challenged Gongxi Chou outside Xiaocheng and provoked him into a deadly fight. The chapter ended with Gongxi Chou declaring that he would take her head and Shen Tang answering that she wanted his body.

• Gu Chi argued that Shen Tang might be the original Sacred Object and questioned whether her memories of her former life were real; Shen Tang remained confused about who she was.
• After Qiu Wenyan refused to leave Xiaocheng, Shen Tang rode to the city walls and called for Gongxi Chou, who came out to meet her.
• Shen Tang told Gongxi Chou that she had found the Gongxi Clan’s Sacred Object and challenged him to a duel, promising to hand it over if he won.
• Shen Tang threatened to make the Sacred Object perform by standing on its head and washing its hair, causing Gongxi Chou to unleash a violent storm and attack her.
• Gongxi Chou came down from the wall, declared that he would kill Shen Tang, and she replied that she had coveted his body for a long time.

Shen Tang and Gongxi Chou fought in a duel, with both hiding their full strength until Gongxi Chou unleashed his enormous Martial Gall Totem. The chapter left Shen Tang facing Gongxi Chou and the giant serpent after narrowly escaping its attack.

• Gu Chi joked to Liao Jia that Shen Tang wanted to take over Gongxi Chou's body, while their companions overheard.
• Gongxi Chou summoned his snake-headed whip, put on his full martial armor, and attacked Shen Tang with deadly force.
• Shen Tang blocked and evaded Gongxi Chou's blows, then transformed the Kind Mother Sword into a double-ended spear and counterattacked.
• Xun Ding told Xun Zhen that Gongxi Chou had not yet summoned his Martial Gall Totem and that Shen Tang had not used her full strength.
• Gongxi Chou unleashed his massive serpent-like Martial Gall Totem, and Shen Tang narrowly dodged its crashing attack.

Shen Tang confronted Gongxi Chou and learned that his gigantic Martial Gall Totem had changed after his clan deity granted him divine protection. She launched a thousand literary-qi giants against him, and the chapter ended as they formed a sword formation around him.

• Xun Zhen and his companions were stunned by the size of Gongxi Chou’s Martial Gall Totem, and Xun Ding explained that Gongxi Chou credited its transformation to divine protection from his clan deity.
• Gu Chi reassured Jiang Sheng that Shen Tang would not lose, while Qiu Cheng was relieved that Gongxi Chou could protect Xiaocheng.
• Gongxi Chou offered Shen Tang time to summon her Martial Gall Totem, but she explained that she had none and declared she would break through with her troops.
• Shen Tang invoked Scattered Like Stars and Chess Pieces and summoned exactly a thousand giants made of literary and martial qi.
• Gongxi Chou’s Martial Gall Totem broke apart the attacking giants and unleashed a roar that devastated nearby soldiers, but Shen Tang ordered a hundred greatsword-wielding giants to form a sword net around him.

Shen Tang and Gongxi Chou fought an exhausting duel while their summoned giants and martial totem battled around them. As Qiu Cheng prepared a hidden attack on Shen Tang, Gu Chi ordered a Deity Bow sent against Gongxi Chou, intending to eliminate a threat to their lord.

• Gongxi Chou destroyed the descending sword formation with arrows, then fought off Shen Tang’s literary-energy giants as they repeatedly repaired themselves.
• Shen Tang and Gongxi Chou traded taunts and blows, with Gongxi Chou knocking her from a giant’s shoulder before the two continued fighting across the battlefield.
• Jiang Sheng worried that a prolonged duel would drain their forces, while Gu Chi watched and wondered what Qi Shan must look like.
• Gongxi Chou noticed Shen Tang was holding back, but she kept her reason to herself as Qiu Cheng and Miao Shu concluded that Shen Tang had to die.
• Qiu Cheng signaled a bow-wielding general to intervene, and Gu Chi independently ordered Liao Jia to send a Deity Bow against Gongxi Chou.

Shen Tang and Gongxi Chou fought an exhausting duel while Shen Tang's allies prepared to use a tunnel in their siege of Xiaocheng. The duel's outcome was nearly settled when Qiu Cheng's forces launched surprise arrows, but both fighters intervened to save each other.

• Shen Tang and Gongxi Chou fought with an array of weapons and then mounted their animals, while Shen Tang kept the battle's force away from the tunnel.
• Xun Ding recognized that Gongxi Chou was conserving his martial energy, and Lü Jue prepared to shoot him as the duel neared its end.
• Gu Chi explained that Bai Su needed to remain at Shen Tang's side and that Gongxi Chou's death would burden Shen Tang, so Lü Jue would take the shot.
• Two archers fired concealed arrows at the exhausted fighters, and Gu Chi tried to use [Steal the Peach] to move Shen Tang to safety.
• Shen Tang rejected the transfer and knocked aside the arrow aimed at Gongxi Chou with her Kind Mother Sword, while Gongxi Chou caught the arrow aimed at her with his bare hand.

After Shen Tang narrowly defeated Gongxi Chou, Qiu Cheng’s forces tried to kill them with a surprise arrow, but Liao Jia rescued both with [Steal the Peach]. As the attack on Xiaocheng began, Shen Tang confronted Gu Chi for ordering the shot, and he explained that protecting her mattered more to him than his own reputation.

• Qiu Cheng ordered Lü Jue to shoot Gongxi Chou and Shen Tang after Gongxi Chou blocked the arrow meant for Shen Tang.
• Liao Jia used [Steal the Peach] to rescue Gongxi Chou and Shen Tang from the arrows, while Shen Tang’s army advanced on Xiaocheng.
• Gu Chi told Shen Tang that she had defeated Gongxi Chou because her remaining strength let her use Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers after his Martial Qi ran out.
• Shen Tang learned that Gu Chi had ordered Lü Jue to fire the cold arrow and rebuked him for risking his reputation.
• Gu Chi said Shen Tang mattered more to him than his own standing, and Gongxi Chou teased Liao Jia for interfering.

Shen Tang kept Gongxi Chou under guard while her army besieged Xiaocheng, and revealed that she had secretly sent 5,000 elite soldiers through a tunnel into the city. As Xiaocheng fell into chaos, Gongxi Chou asked about the Sacred Object, and Shen Tang agreed to explain after he swore not to force it to do anything against its will.

• Liao Jia sealed Gongxi Chou's Dantian with a Word Spirit, and Shen Tang agreed that he should remain their prisoner until Xiaocheng was taken.
• Gongxi Chou warned Shen Tang that Xiaocheng's walls and prepared defenses would make a direct assault costly.
• Shen Tang told Gongxi Chou that she had secretly sent 5,000 elite soldiers through a tunnel into Xiaocheng.
• The hidden soldiers attacked Qiu Cheng's forces from inside the city, throwing their formation into chaos as the siege continued outside.
• Gongxi Chou asked Shen Tang how she had found the Sacred Object, and she promised to tell him after he swore on his Martial Spirit not to force it to do anything against its will.