Chapter Summaries

Lin Feng welcomed Bei Jiu into the Household Administration and gave her access to tools and books that inspired her to join the government and pursue cultivation. After discovering that Lin Feng and Shen Zhi were women, Bei Jiu decided to become a true Mohist, and Lin Feng agreed to help her.

• Lin Feng housed Bei Jiu, praised the cotton gin’s potential to help the common people, and prepared a workshop, tools, and books for her.
• Bei Jiu eagerly studied Mo Jing and Tian Gong Kai Wu for three days before asking Lin Feng if she could accept her offer.
• Lin Feng introduced Bei Jiu to Qi Shan and Shen Zhi, and Bei Jiu accepted work improving farm tools for the Household Administration.
• Shen Zhi and Lin Feng’s gender surprised Bei Jiu, who resolved the next day to cultivate and become a true Mohist.
• Lin Feng agreed to help Bei Jiu begin cultivating.

Zhai Huan summoned Zhai Le back to the capital and revealed that his health was failing and he intended to make Zhai Le his successor. He also suggested that Zhai Le’s infant daughter might inherit her father’s mantle, while Zhai Le learned that Zhai Huan had vomited blood and was running out of time.

• Zhai Le returned to the capital after receiving a secret summons from Zhai Huan and went home before visiting the palace.
• Zhai Huan told Zhai Le that his old injury had flared up and that their cousins had concealed his illness amid a succession struggle.
• Zhai Huan declared that he intended to choose Zhai Le as his successor, but Zhai Le resisted because he did not want to rule.
• Zhai Huan said Zhai Le’s younger daughter had cultivation aptitude and might inherit her father’s mantle, then slipped back into the palace to avoid alerting his enemies.
• Madam Zhao told Zhai Le that Zhai Huan had vomited a basin of blood, and three nights later Zhai Le received another secret summons to the palace.

Zhai Le returned to the palace during a coup and found Zhai Huan alive but near death. After refusing to execute their captured relatives, Zhai Le accepted Zhai Huan’s final decree and the National Seal, and Zhai Huan died after entrusting his unfinished plans to Zhai Le and his allies.

• Zhai Le entered the bloodstained palace and discovered that Zhai Huan’s brothers had launched a coup and been captured.
• Zhai Huan revealed that he had summoned Zhai Le as his successor, while the captured brothers argued that they were more entitled to the throne than Zhai Xiaofang.
• Zhai Huan pressed Zhai Le to decide whether to execute the conspirators and their families, but Zhai Le refused and begged his elder brother to live.
• Zhai Huan issued his final decree, entrusted the State of Qu and the National Seal to Zhai Le, and asked the young scholar and generals to support him.
• Zhai Huan spoke to the empty space where he believed A Jing was waiting, then died as Zhai Le cried out beside him.

After Zhai Huan died, Zhai Le mourned him, took the throne, and began consolidating power while keeping his cousins under control. The story then shifted to Wu Xian’s group in the northwest, where Zhao Feng was absent from a tense gathering.

• Zhai Le mourned Zhai Huan and chose the heaviest mourning garments, then threatened his half-brothers before ordering them to keep vigil.
• Zhai Le visited Zhai Huan’s father, who told him that Zhai Huan had passed the throne to him because he was the only one capable of keeping the cousins alive.
• Zhai Le took power, managed the government with help from Zhai Huan’s officials, and later confined his cousins while promoting other members of the Zhai clan.
• Wu Xian noticed Zhao Feng’s empty seat at a gathering, and Qin Li said Zhao Feng had taken leave because he was unwell.
• Someone questioned whether Zhao Feng was truly ill or simply resentful and unwilling to attend.

Qin Li sided with Zhao Feng after Zhao Feng vowed to avenge his subordinate, agreeing that they would act against the man responsible despite the danger to their ties with Wu Xian. Elsewhere, Gu Ren mourned two sworn brothers killed in battle and faced calls to restrain his revenge against Huang Xiguang.

• Qin Li defended Zhao Feng against a Tianhai man, and Wu Xian stopped their confrontation before ordering Qin Li to check on Zhao Feng.
• Zhao Feng told Qin Li that Wu Xian’s promise of an explanation would likely be forgotten and vowed to kill the man whose delay had caused his subordinate’s death.
• Qin Li agreed to help Zhao Feng pursue revenge later, warning that he would sever ties with Wu Xian if the matter remained unresolved.
• Zhao Feng pledged his loyalty to Qin Li, who said Wu Xian could not stop them once they acted.
• Gu Ren grieved over two dead sworn brothers, while Chao Lian vowed to kill Huang Xiguang and his sixth brother urged him not to charge into battle.

After Third Brother and Seventh Brother died, Gu Ren entrusted his family to Chao Lian, then led his remaining sworn brothers and their army out of the mountains to confront Huang Lie. Chao Lian woke to find Thirteen beside him and two fresh graves nearby, with Gu Ren and the others gone.

• Chao Lian grieved over Third Brother and Seventh Brother, while Gu Ren told him to care for their family and Thirteen before knocking him unconscious.
• Gu Ren and the others buried Third Brother and Seventh Brother, honored them with wine, and decided to fight Huang Xiguang rather than surrender.
• Gu Ren led the army out of the mountains carrying nine coffins, and Huang Lie saw their white banners and understood they had refused to submit.
• Gu Ren and Huang Lie confronted each other as their opposing martial auras took the shape of dragons.
• Chao Lian woke beside Thirteen, who asked where Gu Ren and the others were, and saw the two fresh graves nearby.

Chao Lian discovered that Shao Chong had yielded control to the blood-eyed Gu Worm and joined him in rushing to save their brothers. Meanwhile, Shen Tang confronted a white-clad double who claimed to embody her evil thoughts, while Qian Yong and the others watched in shock.

• Chao Lian mourned Qi Chen and Zhu Wen, but Shao Chong insisted on accompanying him to the battlefield.
• Shao Chong revealed that he had awakened the Gu Worm by surrendering his body to its blood-eyed manifestation, which then flew with Chao Lian toward the battle.
• Qian Yong recovered from his injuries and encountered Shen Tang dressed in flowing white clothes among the refugees.
• A second, rough-clothed Shen Tang arrived, and she and her companions recognized the white-clad woman as an impostor.
• The white-clad Shen Tang summoned a copy of the Kind Mother Sword and declared that she was Shen Tang’s adult self and the embodiment of her evil thoughts.

Shen Tang learned that her evil-thought incarnation would eventually have to fight her, then crossed into Yanzhou amid news of an epidemic caused by a disastrous flood. Meanwhile, Luan Xin learned that Huang Lie’s forces had defeated Gu Ren’s troops, though three of Gu Ren’s group had survived.

• Shen Tang agreed to prepare for a future fight with her evil-thought incarnation and let the incarnation return to her dantian.
• Shen Tang’s group learned that refugees were fleeing an epidemic in Yanzhou, which had followed a flood caused by the Alliance Army’s botched river crossing.
• Qian Yong told Shen Tang that Kang Jishou and Gu Ziyi had warned against the crossing, while Huang Xiguang and Zhang Yongqing had suffered comparatively little damage.
• Shen Tang and her group crossed the river at night and sent scouts to learn what had happened in Yanzhou and Ganzhou.
• Luan Cheng told Luan Xin that the Luan family matriarch was safe and would reach Yanzhou, then reported that Huang Lie’s troops had defeated Gu Ren’s forces.
• Chu Yao reacted to news of Gu Ren’s defeat and learned that Huang Lie had a Sixteenth Rank Grand Shang Zao under his command.

Shen Tang learned that Huang Lie had killed Gu Ren, whose forces had fought a desperate battle to avenge their fallen brothers. Yun Ce left Chu Yao’s camp and sought news of the battle, where a refugee recounted Gu Ren’s final stand against Huang Lie’s forces.

• Shen Tang confirmed that Huang Lie had killed Gu Ren, and Jiang Sheng reported that Gu Ren had brought nine coffins and fought to the death.
• Luan Cheng and Luan Xin discussed the threat Huang Lie posed and planned to move grain to Chaoli Pass while waiting for Shen Tang to return.
• Yun Ce overheard Luan Cheng worry that refugees might be used as food, then said goodbye to Chu Yao and left with provisions.
• Yun Ce entered a city occupied by Huang Lie’s forces and heard a refugee describe Gu Ren’s battle.
• Gu Ren challenged Huang Lie’s forces, and his sworn brothers burned their Martial Spirits to attack the Black-clothed Martial Artist.

Gu Ren’s outnumbered army fought Huang Lie’s forces as the six-armed War God weakened and the sworn brothers fell. Chao Lian and Shao Chong joined the battle, and Gu Ren led a final charge toward Huang Lie after the giant collapsed.

• Gu Ren’s Word Spirit formed a giant that struck Huang Lie’s vanguard, while Gu Ren’s Sixth Brother exhausted himself drawing out the soldiers’ potential.
• The Black-clothed Martial Artist killed Gu Ren’s brothers, and Huang Lie ordered his forces to overwhelm the fading giant.
• Chao Lian and Shao Chong arrived; Shao Chong attacked the Black-clothed Martial Artist in the grip of evil thoughts.
• The giant collapsed under the assault, and Gu Ren charged Huang Lie with his remaining soldiers as arrows struck him.
• Huang Lie offered a thousand taels for Gu Ren’s head, and Gu Ren roared a challenge as he prepared to fight to the death.

Gu Ren summoned heavenly lightning by self-destructing, while Shao Chong’s tribulation lightning fused with it and created a vast destructive sphere that swallowed the battlefield. Huang Lie survived but suffered heavy losses, and the chapter ended with Shaobai finding a body that still had a thread of life.

• Gu Ren charged Huang Lie’s forces and summoned heavenly lightning, while another bolt targeted the savage Shao Chong and the Black-clothed Martial Artist.
• The two lightning strikes fused into a black sphere that annihilated everything in its path, leaving a giant crater and destroying Gu Ren and many soldiers.
• The Black-clothed Martial Artist survived Shao Chong’s poisoned claws but needed to enter seclusion, while Huang Lie mourned his losses and reconsidered his plans against Wu Zhaode and Shen Youli.
• Yun Ce left a teahouse after hearing the storyteller claim that Gu Ren and his brothers had ascended, then decided to meet Huang Lie.
• Far away, Shaobai dug a burial pit for corpses that had fallen through a rift, then brought his teacher a body with a pulse; the old man sensed a thread of life in its Heart Meridian.

Shao Bai and Lin Si Shu rescued Chao Lian, Chao Qing Zhi, and Shao Chong from a field of corpses after Shao Bai’s blessings restored their Heart Meridians. Chao Lian woke in the central region, learned that the others from his group had died, and asked Lin Si Shu to take him to gather their remains.

• Shao Bai used his blessing to stabilize one survivor’s Heart Meridian, then searched the corpses and found Chao Lian and Shao Chong, whom he recognized from an earlier encounter.
• Shao Bai healed Chao Lian and Shao Chong, and the old man told him to keep the three survivors alive while Lin Si Shu carried them to their cave.
• Lin Si Shu prepared medicine and food for the injured men, while Shao Bai searched for more survivors and found none.
• Chao Lian woke, identified himself as Chao Qing Zhi, and learned from Lin Si Shu that he and his brothers had been transported to the central region and that only three of them survived.
• Chao Lian learned that his big brother had died and that Shao Chong had taken the brunt of the lightning, then asked Lin Si Shu to take him to collect and bury the remains.

Chao Lian recovered enough to bury his brothers and care for Sixth Brother, while Shao Chong remained unconscious and was revealed to be at risk of becoming a murderous menace after failing a cultivation trial. When Shao Chong showed signs of recognizing his brothers, the old man agreed to reconsider saving him, and Chao Lian left to check on Gu Ren’s family and visit Lin Si Shu’s ancestral home.

• Lin Si Shu gave Chao Lian a Gu Worm raised by Shao Bai, which restored his strength and helped his internal injuries heal.
• Chao Lian learned that Shao Bai was the young man he and his brothers had once fought, then found and buried his brothers’ remains with Shao Bai’s help.
• Sixth Brother woke, and he and Chao Lian grieved for their brothers before turning their attention to the still-unconscious Shao Chong.
• The old man said Shao Chong might never wake and would become a danger after failing to overcome his evil thoughts, but Shao Chong recognized Sixth Brother when awakened and showed affection, prompting the old man to reconsider.
• Chao Lian prepared to return to Gu Ren’s widow and children, while Sixth Brother stayed behind to care for Shao Chong.
• Lin Si Shu asked Chao Lian to seek news at his ancestral home in Lingzhou, and Chao Lian left the mountain vowing to bring his brothers home.

Kang Shi captured Chaoli Pass and his forces secured several grain convoys, but Chu Yao’s group failed to arrive with the final shipment. Shen Tang reached the area disguised as a refugee, learned her allies held the pass, and noticed something was wrong as her troops approached.

• Kang Shi captured Chaoli Pass and organized its defenses while worrying about Yanzhou’s flooding, epidemic, and shortages.
• Gongxi Chou ambushed a grain convoy, recognized Xun Ding and Xun Zhen, and learned they were allies bringing supplies.
• Kang Shi received several grain shipments, but Chu Yao’s group failed to arrive, so he sent troops to search their route.
• Shen Tang and her companions, disguised as refugees, were stopped by a patrol near Chaoli Pass, where Shen Tang learned Kang Shi had taken it.
• Qian Yong sensed something was wrong and warned Shen Tang as they approached the pass.

Shen Tang learned that Chu Yao was missing and led two thousand troops toward his last known location. She found enemy forces closing in on Chu Yao’s group, which was preparing to abandon the National Seal, but Luan Xin remembered there might still be hope.

• Kang Shi returned a strengthened National Seal to Shen Tang, who discovered through it that Chu Yao was far from Chaoli Pass and missing.
• Shen Tang mustered two thousand elite troops and set out to find Chu Yao, accompanied by Wei Shou and Gongxi Chou.
• After Shen Tang departed, Qian Yong learned from Old Cui that Shen Tang and Ning Yan were women.
• Shen Tang followed Chu Yao’s aura and found evidence that enemy forces were pursuing his group, while Gongxi Chou went ahead to scout.
• Chu Yao’s troops abandoned their provisions to escape pursuit, and Chu Yao considered abandoning the National Seal until Luan Xin remembered there was still hope.

Luan Xin used the Way of the Scholar Turning a Blind Eye to help Chu Yao's exhausted troops evade Zhang Yongqing's pursuit, while Gongxi Chou drew the enemy away carrying the National Seal. Shen Tang reunited with Chu Yao, and Zhang He learned that Gongxi Chou had the seal.

• Luan Xin explained that a scholar serving Wu Zhaode had the Way of the Scholar Turning a Blind Eye, which could make pursuers overlook Chu Yao's troops for a short time.
• Chu Yao agreed to use the ability intermittently to keep Zhang Yongqing's troops from catching them as they fled toward a river.
• Gongxi Chou emerged from the river, collected the National Seal from Chu Yao, and set off to lure Zhang Yongqing's troops away.
• Shen Tang rode to meet Chu Yao, but she and Wei Shou briefly mistook his approaching troops for enemies after Luan Xin's ability hid them from her sense.
• Luan Xin deactivated Turning a Blind Eye, restoring Shen Tang's connection to Chu Yao, and the reunited forces hurried toward Chaoli Pass.
• Zhang He discovered that his troops had been tricked and learned that Gongxi Chou was carrying the National Seal.

Gongxi Chou reunited with Shen Tang after escaping Zhang He, and told her how Lin Feng had saved his life and repaid an old debt. After celebrating their gains, Shen Tang tried to persuade Old Cui to stay and help her, then began to use Wu Xian as leverage.

• Zhang He decided the risks of pursuing Chu Yao or fighting Gongxi Chou outweighed the rewards and ordered his troops to withdraw.
• Gongxi Chou waited for Zhang He’s forces, then traveled toward Chaoli Pass and reunited with Chu Yao and Shen Tang, returning the National Seal.
• Gongxi Chou explained that Zhang He had blinded him during a breakthrough, and that Lin Feng had rescued him and helped him recover.
• Gongxi Chou told Shen Tang that Lin Feng had once been the person he rescued, so he still owed her a life despite having saved her again.
• Shen Tang welcomed her returning troops with a banquet, and Old Cui returned the National Seal he had kept safe.
• When Old Cui tried to leave, Shen Tang urged him to stay and serve her, then began to argue that Wu Xian had undervalued him.

Shen Tang persuaded Cui Xiao to join her, then learned that his Way of the Scholar could make either him or Wu Xian seem utterly unremarkable. The chapter ended as Shen Tang opened a victory banquet, where former Xin Country officials reacted with surprise to her appearance in women’s clothing.

• Shen Tang praised Cui Xiao, blamed Wu Xian for overlooking him, and persuaded him to serve under her.
• Gu Chi, Bai Su, and Yu Zi encountered one another, and Bai Su broke Gu Chi’s Silence and Seize Voice Word Spirit.
• Gu Chi told Shen Tang that Cui Xiao’s Way of the Scholar, Regarded as Invisible, could make either Cui Xiao or Shen Tang seem utterly unremarkable, and warned her of its consequences for Wu Xian’s allies.
• Shen Tang vowed to treat Cui Xiao well and considered bringing Qin Gongsu over from Wu Xian’s camp.
• At the victory banquet, Qian Yong reacted tensely to the women present, while former Xin Country officials were startled when Shen Tang arrived dressed in women’s clothing.

At the celebratory feast, Shen Tang learned about the former Xin officials and reaffirmed her commitment to aiding Yanzhou’s plague victims despite the wartime risks. When Wu Xian’s messenger arrived seeking help against Huang Lie and Zhang He, Shen Tang promised to support him.

• Luan Cheng nervously admitted to Luan Xin that he admired Lady Shen, while Xie Qi reassured former Xin officials that he would serve her and boasted of his gifted daughters.
• Shen Tang listened to the officials’ private conversations and learned about their families, while deciding not to rely too heavily on the great lineages.
• Shen Tang told Cui Xiao she would continue helping Yanzhou’s plague victims, and Cui Xiao praised her resolve to restore order.
• Cui Xiao cautioned Shen Tang that bargaining with the former Xin officials would create debts she would eventually have to repay.
• A battered delegation from the Tianhai Wu clan arrived at Chaoli Pass, and its messenger delivered Wu Xian’s letter asking Shen Tang for help against Huang Lie and Zhang He.
• Shen Tang declared that her bond with Wu Xian was deep and promised not to abandon him in his time of trouble.

Shen Tang sent Cui Xiao, Luan Xin, Gongxi Chou, Zhao Wei, and Xu Quan with five thousand soldiers to aid Wu Xian, and Cui Xiao’s concealment ability let them slip past Huang Lie’s defenses. At Wu Xian’s camp, Zhao Wei intervened when she saw her father Zhao Feng being punished, and Cui Xiao revealed their relationship, leaving Shen Tang ready to disclose that she was a woman.

• Shen Tang assigned Cui Xiao and Luan Xin to lead a relief force for Wu Xian, then added Zhao Wei, Xu Quan, and Gongxi Chou to the mission.
• Cui Xiao’s Way of the Scholar concealed the five thousand soldiers, who reached Wu Xian’s forces in three days and surprised Huang Lie.
• Zhao Wei arrived at Wu Xian’s camp and broke the cudgel when she saw Zhao Feng being beaten for delaying military orders and harming fellow officers.
• Wu Xian questioned Zhao Wei’s relationship to Zhao Feng, and Cui Xiao revealed that she was Zhao Feng’s daughter.
• Shen Tang decided to use the incident to reveal her identity as a woman.