Chapter Summaries

Zhao Feng’s reinforcements helped Shen Tang’s forces repel the night raid, and Zhao Wei revealed herself as his long-lost daughter. Shen Tang then joined Wu Xian and Gu Ren in threatening to leave the Dragon Slaying Bureau, forcing the alliance to respond as they set out to strike Chaoli Pass.

• Yang Ying and Zhao Wei fought an enemy general until Zhao Feng arrived with reinforcements and helped drive the attackers back.
• Zhao Feng failed to recognize Zhao Wei until she declared she was his daughter, then fled as she angrily chased him with her spear.
• Shen Tang thanked Zhao Feng and Chao Lian for helping, then went to confront the alliance over its failure to send reinforcements during the raid.
• Shen Tang drew her sword on Tao Yan and accused the alliance of abandoning her forces, while Wu Xian and Gu Ren announced they would withdraw from the Dragon Slaying Bureau.
• Gu Ren began preparing to leave, and the threat of the alliance’s collapse alarmed its members and reached the defenders at Chaoli Pass.
• Shen Tang’s group started marching away, and she declared that the Dragon Slaying Bureau would begin its counterattack by cutting off the dragon’s feet.

Shen Tang returned to the Dragon Slaying Bureau after Huang Lie persuaded Wu Xian and Gu Ren to rejoin the campaign, then learned that Yang Ying had accepted military punishment for a disastrous night patrol. Yang Ying revealed that she had awakened the rare Will of the Martial Artist, and the chapter left Shen Tang considering recruiting more officers from military families.

• Huang Lie's trusted aide asked Shen Tang to return, and she agreed to wait for news of Wu Xian before deciding.
• Wu Xian agreed to return after Huang Lie repeatedly invited him, and Gu Ren turned his troops around as well.
• Shen Tang found Yang Ying receiving fifty lashes for misjudging the enemy and losing nineteen soldiers, then ordered the punishment completed and summoned a physician.
• Yang Ying's old comrades praised her for upholding the Yang family's reputation, but she clarified that she meant she had awakened the Will of the Martial Artist during the night raid.
• Yang Ying explained that facing the aftermath of the nineteen deaths helped her comprehend her martial path, and her old comrades celebrated her rare talent.
• Shen Tang praised Yang Ying's resolve and wondered whether she should recruit more Martial Gall Warriors from military families.

Shen Tang sought to recruit talented women from the Yonggu Pass generals’ families and then turned her attention to the fortified Chaoli Pass, where Wei Shou refused to leave his defenses. Chu Yao recognized Wei Shou as an old acquaintance and sent him a letter, which left Wei Shou astonished to learn that Chu Liangliang was still alive.

• Shen Tang asked Old General Jiang about unmarried daughters and granddaughters, and learned that the generals of Yonggu Pass were already training women in their families.
• At Chaoli Pass, Wei Shou rejected calls to march out and ordered his forces to hold the pass, even threatening to kill the supervisory official if he interfered again.
• Huang Lie told the Alliance Army that Wei Shou was a renowned defensive commander, prompting Shen Tang to suggest provoking him into leaving the pass.
• Chu Yao recognized Wei Shou from their youth and explained that Wei had once been a street thug who surrendered after his sworn father was killed.
• Chu Yao sent Wei Shou a letter, and Wei reacted with astonishment when he recognized the name Chu Liangliang and realized he was still alive.

Chu Yao visited Wei Shou at Chaoli Pass and reunited with his old friend Rui Ji, whose affection for him made Wei Shou jealous. The chapter ended with Rui Ji sending Wei Shou outside so she could speak with Chu Yao alone.

• Wei Shou prepared a feast for Chu Yao after learning he was coming, while his aide heard stories about their old rivalry and shared history with Rui Ji.
• Shen Tang worried about Chu Yao meeting Wei Shou alone, but Chu Yao rode to Chaoli Pass without her and played his flute as he approached.
• Wei Shou greeted Chu Yao with an attempted embrace, then shared a meal with him and asked whether he had come to persuade him to surrender.
• Chu Yao said he had come to see Rui Ji, and Wei Shou angrily challenged him to break through Chaoli Pass if he wanted to take her away.
• Rui Ji welcomed Chu Yao with tears, and when Wei Shou followed them, she ordered Yuanyuan outside.

Chu Yao met with his cousin Rui Ji and tried to persuade her to help make Wei Shou abandon Chaoli Pass, arguing that Zheng Qiao would force a disastrous battle either way. Rui Ji agreed with Chu Yao’s assessment but asked for more time to consider, while Wei Shou remained determined to defend the pass; Shen Tang then arrived and spotted Rui Ji riding with Chu Yao.

• Wei Shou reluctantly waited outside while Rui Ji and Chu Yao spoke privately about their past and his unmarried life.
• Chu Yao revealed that he served Shen Tang and asked Rui Ji to help persuade Wei Shou to leave Chaoli Pass, warning that Zheng Qiao would force him into a losing choice.
• Rui Ji rejected Chu Yao’s request at first, but reconsidered after he compared the current conflict to the Northern Desert campaign and explained the danger to the Alliance Army.
• Chu Yao disclosed that he was only a Literary Qi Incarnation and vanished when Wei Shou struck him, leaving Rui Ji to tell Wei Shou what he had asked.
• Wei Shou vowed to hold Chaoli Pass, while Rui Ji said she agreed that Zheng Qiao was a bad ruler; Shen Tang arrived and noticed Rui Ji on Chu Yao’s horse.

Chu Yao brought Rui Ji, Wei Shou’s wife and his childhood friend, back from Chaoli Pass, provoking Wei Shou to rage outside Shen Tang’s camp without forcing him to attack. At an alliance meeting, Zhang He recognized Shen Tang’s hidden identity, and she learned Gongxi Chou had confirmed it for him; the chapter ended as Chaoli Pass delivered a bombshell that Chu Yao said he had only helped bring about.

• Chu Yao returned with Rui Ji, whom he called his elder sister, and told Shen Tang that Wei Shou would not attack until the right moment came.
• Wei Shou discovered Rui Ji was gone, cursed at Shen Tang’s camp, and withdrew after Chu Yao challenged him to come take her back himself.
• Shen Tang rebuked Tao Yan for suggesting they use Rui Ji to humiliate Wei Shou, and she later met Zhang He at the alliance meeting.
• Zhang He pointed out Shen Tang’s resemblance to her former retainer and emphasized that she had fought Gongxi Chou at a remarkably young age; Gu Ren deflected the scrutiny by praising Shao Chong.
• Gu Chi told Shen Tang that Zhang He was certain of her identity because Gongxi Chou had gone to confirm it, and Shen Tang said she would explain her secrets when the time was right.
• Chaoli Pass delivered a bombshell, and Chu Yao told Shen Tang he had merely used their strength against them.

Chu Yao’s forged betrayal letter led Zheng Qiao to replace Wei Shou with Jiang Ao at Chaoli Pass, while Chu Yao predicted that the change would provoke an attack. Jiang Ao then led one hundred thousand troops against the Dragon Slaying Bureau’s Alliance Army, which prepared to meet them.

• Chu Yao explained that Rui Ji had helped him arrange for a forged letter implicating Wei Shou in treason to reach Zheng Qiao.
• Zheng Qiao appointed Jiang Ao to take command at Chaoli Pass, and Jiang Ao antagonized Wei Shou by mocking him and Rui Ji.
• After hearing Jiang Ao’s insults, Wei Shou suppressed his anger and waited for the new commander to bring disaster upon himself.
• A messenger reported that one hundred thousand troops were advancing, and Shen Tang rallied the Alliance Army.
• The Alliance Army formed its battle lines, while Shen Tang ate flatbread and milk with Wu Xian and Shao Chong as the armies faced each other.

Shen Tang and Shao Chong prepared for a battle against Jiang Ao, whose taunts about Huang Lie’s murdered family enraged the Alliance Army. Chu Yao exposed Jiang Ao’s past and silenced him as Huang Lie ordered the armies to attack.

• Shen Tang shared flatbreads with Shao Chong and learned that the approaching enemy commander was a dangerous Sixteenth Rank Grand Shang Zao.
• Jiang Ao challenged the Alliance Army, and Huang Lie refused an eager martial commander’s request to fight him alone.
• Jiang Ao recounted the massacre of Huang Lie’s family and mocked their deaths, provoking the Alliance Army’s commanders.
• Huang Lie declared that anyone could claim the throne except Zheng Qiao and prepared to beat the war drums.
• Chu Yao revealed that Jiang Ao had once abandoned his wife and daughters while fleeing defeat, then cast [Silence and Seize the Voice] on him.
• Huang Lie ordered all three armies to attack.

At the Sibao Prefecture government office, auditions for a theatrical troupe also spread knowledge of cotton, while Qi Shan endured injuries linked to Shen Tang’s battle. The chapter then returned to the battlefield, where Shen Tang and Shao Chong confronted Jiang Ao as the armies clashed.

• The Sibao Prefecture government office gave commoners consolation prizes of pork and cotton after assessing their expressions for a planned theatrical troupe, and word of cotton spread through Xiaocheng.
• Liao Jia organized the acting auditions and struggled to find commoners suited to perform the storybook characters.
• Qi Shan suffered multiple injuries through his connection to Shen Tang, and Elder Physician Dong treated him while Liao Jia replenished his literary qi.
• After Qi Shan fell asleep and stopped sustaining new wounds, Liao Jia and Elder Physician Dong concluded that Shen Tang’s battle had temporarily ended and worried about its outcome.
• Jiang Ao ordered his army to attack after Huang Lie rejected his expectation of duels, and the two armies’ vanguards clashed.
• Shen Tang and Shao Chong attacked Jiang Ao together, taunted him, and forced him to draw his weapon.

Shen Tang and Shao Chong fought Jiang Ao while the Alliance Army battled Chaoli Pass’s forces. Qin Li and Luan Xin deployed literary techniques that reshaped the battlefield, and Chu Yao entered the fight as Wei Shou faced a dangerous attack.

• Jiang Ao killed an Alliance Army general, then struck Shen Tang with saber qi that devastated nearby soldiers but failed to defeat her.
• Shen Tang and Shao Chong drew Jiang Ao away from their troops, while Wei Shou fought Huang Lie’s Youth Warlord and revealed his pink martial armor.
• Chaoli Pass’s main force charged the Alliance Army, and Qin Li filled the battlefield with fog to disrupt the fighting.
• Luan Xin’s rain-linked literary qi helped Wu Xian’s troops move through the fog, though using his Way of the Scholar left him sluggish.
• Chu Yao left Luan Xin in Jiang Sheng’s care and headed toward the front, where he summoned a giant dragon to attack Wei Shou.

Wei Shou struggled to contain Chu Yao’s spreading battlefield Word Spirit and ordered his troops to fight with heightened morale. Meanwhile, Shen Tang and Shao Chong battled Jiang Ao, who proved difficult to injure even as Shen Tang cut through his Iron Pagoda soldiers.

• Wei Shou kicked the Youth Warlord aside and tried to block Chu Yao’s dragon, but Chu Yao dispersed it into ashen-black snow that spread between dying soldiers.
• Chu Yao summoned a white gibbon to blow the snow back onto the battlefield and revealed that the flakes could spread from corpses; Wei Shou ordered his troops to use “One Breath, One Go” to resist the influence.
• Jiang Ao fought Shen Tang and Shao Chong, finding Shao Chong savage and Shen Tang unnervingly cold and powerful.
• Jiang Ao summoned his heavily armored Iron Pagoda soldiers, but Shen Tang moved through their ranks and killed them by striking through gaps in their neck guards.
• Jiang Ao caught Shen Tang’s sword and counterattacked, then swung his greatsword against both her and Shao Chong; neither could get through his defenses, and Shao Chong said Jiang Ao’s armor was too tough to scratch.

Shen Tang was badly wounded protecting the Alliance Army’s command, prompting Xun Zhen to summon an army of Heroic Spirits. After the Gongxi Clan’s High Priest restored Shen Tang’s strength, she overpowered Jiang Ao and chased him back toward his ranks.

• Shen Tang and Shao Chong fought Jiang Ao, who charged through the Alliance Army and brought a giant sword shadow down on its central command.
• Xun Zhen invoked his Way of the Scholar to turn Jiang Ao’s attack against him, but Shen Tang intercepted the sword shadow and suffered a severe wound.
• Xun Zhen summoned the dead as Heroic Spirits, while Ning Yan’s [Zixu] reassured him that Shen Tang was still alive.
• Shen Tang regained consciousness in a childlike state, summoned the Gongxi Clan’s High Priest, and had her Scholar’s Palace and Martial Hall replenished.
• Shen Tang struck Jiang Ao hard enough to break his greatsword, challenged him to a deadly game of tag, and sent him fleeing when he sensed mortal danger.

Shen Tang, in a childlike state, chased Jiang Ao across the battlefield and nearly killed him before a Literary Scholar rescued him. She later revealed that she had taken the head of one of Jiang Ao’s doubles and gave it to Chu Yao, leaving the Alliance Army stunned.

• Gu Ren told the Alliance Army that Shen Tang seemed too childlike to count, while Shen Tang pursued Jiang Ao with her powerful Literary Qi techniques.
• Shen Tang trapped Jiang Ao in a looping scroll, drained his confidence with a series of questions, and nearly severed his head before a middle-aged Literary Scholar intervened.
• Jiang Ao learned that his opponent was Shen Tang, the Longwu Commandery Governor, and vowed to take her head in a future battle.
• Chu Yao tried to lead Shen Tang away from the battlefield, but her original body arrived and told him to run as Martial Gall Warriors pursued them.
• Shen Tang showed Chu Yao the head of Jiang Ao’s double and gave it to him, while the Alliance Army realized she had taken a head after all.

Shen Tang recovered from her strange fever and learned she had killed Jiang Ao, but an enemy Sixteenth Rank Grand Shang Zao incarnation arrived to avenge him. As Shen Tang and Shao Chong struggled against its uncanny attacks, a golden axe flew in to help them.

• Gu Ren questioned Shen Tang about the phantom, but she claimed she knew nothing about where her Little Friend was.
• Huang Lie announced Jiang Ao's death and displayed his head, weakening Chaoli Pass's morale and strengthening the Alliance Army.
• Shen Tang woke from her fever, remembered her debt, and learned from Huang Lie that she had killed Jiang Ao.
• A powerful incarnation appeared and threatened Shen Tang, then attacked her with illusions that resembled ghosts and blades.
• Shao Chong joined Shen Tang, but they struggled to withstand the incarnation until a giant golden axe flew toward it.

Chu Jie arrived on the battlefield and killed Zheng Qiao’s Sixteenth Rank Grand Shang Zao avatar in four moves, helping the Alliance Army win its first battle at Chaoli Pass. Shen Tang collapsed from exhaustion and slept for three days, while the chapter ended with her waking inside her Literary Palace and objecting to something.

• Chu Jie arrived and blocked the avatar’s attack, then used his martial will to overpower and destroy it in four strikes.
• Chu Yao used [Five Virtues of the General] to strengthen Chu Jie while he and Wei Shou directed their opposing forces and spoke about their past.
• The Alliance Army advanced until dawn, then withdrew behind Chaoli Pass as Wei Shou covered the retreat.
• Ning Yan caught Shen Tang when she collapsed from exhaustion and carried her back to camp, where Shen Tang slept for three days and nights.
• Zhang He offered to examine Shen Tang, but Gu Ren arranged for his sixth brother to do it; the physician concluded that Shen Tang was asleep.
• Shen Tang slapped a table and leaped to her feet inside her Literary Palace, declaring that something made no sense.

After Chu Jie killed the Sixteenth Rank Grand Shang Zao's incarnation, the news of Jiang Ao's death reached Zheng Qiao, who began plotting against Shen Tang and reassessing his commanders. Shen Tang woke after three days of sleep, ate ravenously, and told her companions that her dream had involved the Hundred Schools of Thought.

• The Sixteenth Rank Grand Shang Zao learned that Jiang Ao had died and killed a subordinate who advised him to be cautious about the coming war.
• Zheng Qiao identified Shen Youli as the likely killer of Jiang Ao and agreed to secretly approach him with an offer to switch sides.
• Zheng Qiao decided to recall Wei Shou from Chaoli Pass and send another commander, as suspicion surrounding Wei Shou grew.
• Shen Tang woke after three days and nights, ate two buckets of rice and a pot of ribs, and told Chu Yao and the others about her dream involving the Hundred Schools of Thought.

Shen Tang recounted her dream of the Mountain Sea Sacred Land, where she met two other versions of herself and learned that the Hundred Schools of Thought had to return before she could become whole. She left determined to open the Sacred Land and kindle more schools’ sacred fires, especially the Medical School’s.

• Shen Tang described falling through visions of different eras before meeting a mysterious person beneath the enormous tree in her Literary Palace.
• The mysterious person led Shen Tang to a pavilion, where she met younger and older versions of herself, but both refused to merge with her.
• Shen Tang tried playing Dou Dizhu with her other selves, lost repeatedly, and asked the mysterious person how they could become one.
• The mysterious person explained that the Hundred Schools Sacred Hall would awaken ancient sages when successors kindled the sacred fire, and said the Hundred Schools’ return could make Shen Tang whole.
• Shen Tang told the others that the Mountain Sea Sacred Land could soon open and discussed kindling more schools’ sacred fires, especially the Medical School’s.

Shen Tang learned that opening the Medical School Sacred Hall would require far more National Fortune than she could currently spare, but she remained determined to uncover the truth about herself and save for the Mountain Sea Sacred Land. Meanwhile, Bai Su met Yun Ce, Xianyu Jian’s senior brother, and learned why he served Huang Lie.

• Shen Tang learned that opening the Mountain Sea Sacred Land consumed enormous National Fortune, and Chu Yao explained that small countries could seek access through great countries or alliances.
• Shen Tang accepted that she could not open the Sacred Hall yet, then told Gu Chi she would cut down anyone trying to control her, even if that meant confronting another version of herself.
• Shen Tang teased Gu Chi, who left in a fury and refused Bai Su’s reminder to take his medicine.
• Bai Su met Yun Ce, Xianyu Jian’s senior brother and a Cavalry Commander serving under Huang Lie, and tried to learn about their secluded teacher and sect.
• Yun Ce told Xianyu Jian that his teacher had recommended him to Huang Lie because their teachers had been old friends and he needed a lord who would accept him.

Yun Ce returned to Huang Lie after visiting Shen Tang’s camp, while the Dragon-Slaying Alliance Army waited for Zheng Qiao to act against Wei Shou. Li He arrived at Shen Tang’s camp under false pretenses, and Chu Yao recognized an opportunity to force Wei Shou to rebel.

• Yun Ce introduced himself to Shen Tang as Yun Yuanmou, and his name led to a conversation about Bei Zhoukou, whom he had met two years earlier.
• Yun Ce returned to Huang Lie and explained that Xianyu Jian had secretly left their master’s mountain; Huang Lie said he valued the master more than Yun Ce and lamented that he would not descend.
• After Wei Shou kept control of Chaoli Pass, Chu Yao urged the Alliance Army to wait for Zheng Qiao to summon Wei Shou and hold him accountable for Jiang Ao’s death.
• Yun Ce caught Li He sneaking toward Shen Tang’s camp and escorted him inside, where Ning Yan used the alias An Lü Shuang Kou and recognized him as an old acquaintance of her late husband, Yan An.
• Ning Yan told Shen Tang that Li He had a history of ruthless ambition, but Chu Yao insisted that they meet him because he was likely Zheng Qiao’s agent and could be used against Wei Shou.
• Li He told Shen Tang that he had brought her a splendid future, while Chu Yao told Ning Yan that their plan was to force Wei Shou to rebel.

Li He tried to persuade Shen Tang to abandon the Alliance Army by arguing that Zheng Qiao had supported her and that rebellion would bring more suffering to the people. Shen Tang pretended to consider his case, then met with Chu Yao and the others, who prepared to use Li He's next move to force Wei Shou into rebellion.

• Wei Shou worried that Chu Yao would seduce his wife and feared Chu Yao was repeating the tricks he had used before.
• Li He appealed to Shen Tang's reputation, concern for the people, and sense of justice to defend Zheng Qiao and argue against attacking him.
• Shen Tang challenged Li He's defense of Zheng Qiao but became uncertain as Li He warned that victory for Huang Lie and the other allies would lead to more war.
• Shen Tang asked Li He to stay in her camp while she considered his argument, then evaded his invitation to spend the night together.
• Shen Tang met Chu Yao, Gu Chi, and the others and revealed that she had resisted Li He's persuasion.
• Chu Yao volunteered to visit Chaoli Pass with Chu Jie and work with Wei Yuanyuan to take the pass, helping force Wei Shou to rebel.