Chapter Summaries

The Second Young Master grew resentful as Wu Xian favored his Eldest Young Master and encouraged him to bond with Qin Li. During a hunt near Chaoli Pass, Wu Xian’s party was ambushed, and the chapter ended with Shen Tang and Qin Li realizing something terrible had happened.

• The Second Young Master resented Qin Li’s growing closeness to the Eldest Young Master and recalled Qin Li warning him to respect the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate sons.
• Wu Xian gave the Second Young Master a tiger pelt for the Eldest Young Master’s birthday and urged the brothers to grow closer, while privately deciding to promote his eldest son as heir.
• Wu Xian’s hunting party discovered signs of hidden troops near Chaoli Pass, then came under attack from hundreds of archers as they tried to escape.
• Shen Tang received reports of Wu Xian’s Signal Arrow and rushed to gather her forces, while Gongxi Chou eagerly followed.
• Qin Li saw the distant Signal Arrow, hurried to his tent, and used his Way of the Scholar to form a sand table as he realized something terrible had happened.

Qin Li and Zhao Feng realized Huang Lie’s troops had secretly traveled underground to reach the Chaoli Pass mountains, while Shen Tang and Gongxi Chou rushed to pursue the forces attacking Wu Xian. Wu Xian split from his second son during their retreat, and Zhang He ordered his men to capture the youth and break his spirit.

• Qin Li suspected an enemy was exploiting the limits of his Way of the Scholar to conceal troops beneath the earth, and Zhao Feng recognized the danger to Wu Xian and their alliance.
• Shen Tang rode with Gongxi Chou toward the Signal Arrow, complained that Jiang Sheng’s prediction had been wrong, and ordered their forces to prepare for battle.
• Shen Tang and Gongxi Chou found the battle site, determined that Wu Xian’s party and the enemy had split in two directions, and pursued them separately.
• Zhang He recognized Wu Xian during the ambush and ordered his elite troops to capture him after Wu Xian’s men fired a Signal Arrow.
• Wu Xian split his group so one party could protect him and another could protect his second son, leaving the youth frightened and resentful.
• Zhang He ordered his men pursuing the Second Young Master to follow his instructions and crush the youth’s spirit.

Gongxi Chou rescued Wu Xian’s son from an ambush and learned that Shen Tang had gone to save Wu Xian. Wu Xian remained trapped by Zhang He’s forces at Chaoli Pass, where he faced a desperate fight.

• Wu Xian’s son and his guards were driven over a cliff by enemy pursuers, who attacked them as they fell.
• Gongxi Chou arrived on his giant python, defeated the enemy general, and rescued the survivors.
• Wu Xian’s son told Gongxi Chou that his father was in danger, and Gongxi Chou said Shen Tang had gone to help him.
• Wu Xian fought Zhang He and the enemy troops with only five men left beside him.
• Zhang He revealed that his forces would attack Chaoli Pass if it showed signs of sending reinforcements, while Wu Xian refused to leave his protective formation.

Shen Tang rescued Wu Xian from Zhang He and faced Zhang He’s army alone while her allies prepared to respond to a signal arrow. The chapter left Shen Tang fighting with a newly summoned Martial Gall Totem as Qin Li warned that someone had arrived at his camp.

• Wu Xian held out inside [Draw a Circle to Imprison] until Shen Tang arrived and drove back Zhang He’s troops with a rain of arrows.
• Shen Tang used [Steal the Peach] to send her Literary Qi Incarnation away with Wu Xian while she stayed behind to confront Zhang He.
• Zhang He trapped Shen Tang with [Heavenly Net and Earthly Snare] and attacked her with four morale giants.
• Shen Tang summoned her Martial Gall Totem, which absorbed a lightning arrow and replenished her energy as she fought the giants.
• Wu Xian’s generals mobilized after seeing the Wu clan’s Signal Arrow, while Qin Li spotted someone approaching through [Cloudy Sky and Foggy Land].

Huang Lie’s forces launched surprise attacks on Lord Wu’s camp and Chaoli Pass while Shen Tang battled Zhang He in the mountains. Zhao Feng fought to defend the camp, and Wei Shou and Chu Jie prepared to meet the enemy at the pass as Shen Tang kept attacking with seemingly unlimited energy.

• Lord Wu’s trusted aide sent elite troops to rescue him despite advisers warning that the enemy might be an ally, while rumors of Lord Wu’s death spread through the camp.
• Zhao Feng reassured Lord Wu’s eldest young master, sent warnings to Chaoli Pass and Lord Wu’s troops, then armed himself to fight.
• Huang Lie’s forces surprised Lord Wu’s weakened camp, broke through its defenses, and set its tents ablaze.
• Zhao Feng charged into the attackers with his bronze mace and rallied the defense of Lord Wu’s camp.
• Ning Yan ordered Chaoli Pass’s army to prepare for battle, and Wei Shou and Chu Jie went out to confront the approaching enemy.
• Shen Tang continued attacking Zhang He with replenished literary and martial energy, while Zhang He pursued her in fury.

Shen Tang and Gongxi Chou fought together against Zhang He’s encirclement after Gongxi Chou reached her in response to her call for help. Their battle turned in their favor when the Gongxi Clan’s High Priest empowered Gongxi Chou and drove off Huang Lie’s mysterious scholar.

• Shen Tang taunted Zhang He while holding off his Four-Sided Formation, then learned that Huang Lie had attacked Chaoli Pass while Wu Xian was in danger.
• Shen Tang called for Gongxi Chou, who left Wu Xian and his son to make their way back to camp and flew to her on his Martial Gall Totem.
• Gongxi Chou broke through the formation to join Shen Tang, and the Gongxi Clan’s High Priest awakened his clan crest and covered him in earth-blessed armor.
• Zhang He asked Huang Lie’s mysterious Literary Qi Incarnation to intervene, but the High Priest struck it with a dark-green needle and made it vanish.
• Gongxi Chou explained that the scholar had tried to control his Gu Worms as he and Shen Tang continued defending one another against the formation.

Shen Tang fought through Zhang He's army and pursued him toward Chaoli Pass, using her Literary Scholar abilities to trap him in an illusion. Zhang He recognized his own face in a mutilated soldier and heard Shen Tang ask where his legs were, leaving his fate uncertain.

• Shen Tang and Gongxi Chou attacked Zhang He's forces, with Shen Tang charging through the ranks to behead him while Gongxi Chou held back the military formation.
• Zhang He used a substitute and fleeing troops to escape Shen Tang's attack, then sent decoys in different directions as he raced toward Chaoli Pass.
• Shen Tang broke through the formation and pursued Zhang He, trapping him with [Scattered Like Stars and Chess Pieces] and forcing him to evade with [The Plum Replaces the Peach].
• Shen Tang placed [One Leaf Obscures the Eye] on the board, and Zhang He and his aides continued toward Chaoli Pass, unaware of the illusion surrounding them.
• Zhang He encountered a mutilated soldier who called him Zhang Yongqing and searched for his missing legs; his Literary Scholar failed to dispel the illusion.
• Zhang He recognized that the soldier had his own face, and Shen Tang whispered, "Zhang Yongqing, where are your legs?"

Shen Tang defeated Zhang He, who died warning her that they were all tools in someone else’s hands, while Wu Xian’s forces faced attacks at both his camp and Chaoli Pass. As Wei Shou and Chu Jie defended the pass, Chu Yao realized Huang Lie was missing from the attacking army and could not sense his National Seal.

• Shen Tang killed Zhang He’s Literary Scholar, and Zhang He admitted defeat before slitting his own throat and warning that they were all Gu Worms controlled by others.
• Shen Tang found a strange three-part emblem and an address on a piece of silk hidden on Zhang He, then hurried toward Chaoli Pass with his head.
• Wu Xian reunited with his Second Young Master and mourned his dead trusted aides before learning that thirty thousand attackers had overrun his main camp.
• Qin Li used his Way of the Scholar to stabilize Wu Xian’s camp, but the enemy Literary Scholar abruptly withdrew from their clash.
• Wei Shou and Chu Jie joined forces to defend Chaoli Pass as Chu Wu Hui noted that Huang Lie was absent from the enemy army.
• Chu Yao sensed no National Seal beneath the pass and questioned where Huang Lie and his seal were.

Ning Yan and Chu Yao discovered that Huang Lie was directing the attack from the central camp, then raised Chaoli Pass’s National Border Barrier as his army advanced. Huang Lie’s Heavy Shield Warriors overwhelmed the defenders’ Heroic Spirits and pressed toward the wall, while Yun Ce and Yang Ying fought back; Yun Ce spotted a tattoo on an enemy corpse that matched her own, leaving her wondering whether he had been a fellow disciple.

• Ning Yan rejected the idea that Huang Lie would hold back, but Gu Chi’s report confirmed that Huang Lie was in the central camp.
• Chu Yao raised the National Border Barrier, and Wei Shou and Chu Jie fought Huang Lie’s Black-clothed Martial Artist beneath it.
• Four thousand Heroic Spirit heavy cavalry charged Huang Lie’s Heavy Shield Warriors, but the shield troops routed them and advanced toward the pass.
• Huang Lie ordered his army to attack the city, and the defenders fought off the Heavy Shield Warriors climbing the walls.
• Yang Ying killed an enemy general after Yun Ce froze his weapon, then joined the fight against the Heavy Shield Warriors.
• Yun Ce found a tattoo on a fallen enemy that matched her sect’s mark and wondered whether he had been one of her fellow disciples.

At Chaoli Pass, Kang Shi and Chu Yao unleashed their abilities against Huang Lie’s besieging army, turning the battle into a desperate contest of supernatural tactics. The defenders struck back hard, but Huang Lie’s forces remained numerous as the fight continued.

• As Huang Lie’s soldiers climbed the walls, Kang Shi invoked his Way of the Scholar and transformed sixteen fallen Heavy Shield Warriors into giants that tore apart siege ladders and enemy troops.
• Kang Shi used [Five Virtues of the General] to heal and strengthen Qian Yong, who protected him from incoming attacks while he played tiles.
• Kang Shi unleashed [Volley of Arrows] against a large Heavy Shield Warrior unit, then used [Turn Enemy into Friend] to turn the unit’s defensive barrier against it.
• Chu Yao attacked the enemy with his Word Spirit, ordering the soldiers to turn on one another and spread chaos through Huang Lie’s army.
• Lin Feng ordered soldiers to wrap blood-fed vines around arrows, which then pierced a wounded Heavy Shield Warrior and began draining it.

Lin Feng used the man-eating Corpse Man Vine she had cultivated to repel enemies climbing the walls of Chaoli Pass, while Chu Yao reinforced the city’s defenses and Xun Zhen poured National Fortune into the battle. Yu Zi fought until her Literary Qi was exhausted, leaving her stranded amid the fighting.

• Lin Feng recalled how Gongxi Chou had explained that plants could feed on Qi and blood, then accepted man-eating plant seeds and a cultivation booklet from him.
• Lin Feng cultivated Corpse Man Vine, discovered that it recognized her as its mother, and learned to command its spores to grow through corpses.
• Lin Feng shot an enemy soldier with an arrow carrying Corpse Man Vine, whose spreading descendants covered the walls of Chaoli Pass and stopped the climbers.
• Chu Yao reinforced Chaoli Pass against the enemy’s massive catapult stones while Xun Zhen spent heavily from the National Fortune to strengthen the defenses.
• Yu Zi supported the soldiers with Word Spirits until her Literary Qi ran out; Lu Ji rescued her from an attacker and then charged to aid Tu Rong.

Yu Zi overcame a trial rooted in her past and awakened the Way of the Scholar [Evil Purple Seizes Vermilion], helping hold Chaoli Pass’s defenses despite its troubling cost. As Yun Ce and Xianyu Jian fought below the walls, Shen Tang rushed toward the battle carrying Zhang He’s severed head, then lost control of her body while remaining conscious.

• Yu Zi confronted the monstrous voices of her grandparents and her own insecurities, then awakened her Way of the Scholar and replenished her literary energy.
• Yu Zi used [Evil Purple Seizes Vermilion] to drive back attackers and help stabilize the defense of Chaoli Pass.
• Luan Xin recognized that Yu Zi’s new Way of the Scholar could exchange the Qi Yun of allies or enemies for returns on her side, and privately added it to his blacklist.
• Yun Ce and Xianyu Jian fought together below the city wall, while Yun Ce wondered why martial artists bearing his school’s marks had joined Huang Lie’s camp without acknowledging him.
• Shen Tang hurried toward Chaoli Pass carrying Zhang He’s severed head, but birds approached and she suddenly lost control of her body despite staying awake.

Shen Tang learned from Evil Intent and Good Intent that the Assembly of Gods had sabotaged past attempts to unite the land and might target her. At Chaoli Pass, Good Intent fought the Black-clothed Martial Artist, who revealed the faction’s name, and Shen Tang ordered him killed.

• Evil Intent awoke within Shen Tang and warned her to secure every National Seal, explaining that a hidden organization manipulated wars and obstructed unification.
• Good Intent described memories of an ancient, chaotic power that had caused crops to regress and populations to suffer before the Calamity Star descended.
• Good Intent arrived at Chaoli Pass, where Wei Shou and Chu Jie were fighting the Black-clothed Martial Artist, and took over the battle while Shen Tang continued speaking aloud.
• Chu Yao’s cry that destiny had returned spread through the army, raising morale as Good Intent drove the injured Black-clothed Martial Artist back.
• The Black-clothed Martial Artist revealed that he knew of the Assembly of Gods, and Shen Tang recognized the name and ordered Good Intent to kill him.

Shen Tang and Shen Youli argued over whether to kill the Black-clothed Martial Artist while Chu Jie destroyed enemy siege engines at Chaoli Pass. Chu Jie and Chu Yao recalled the Assembly of Gods’ role in Chu State’s destruction, leaving them worried that Shen Tang had attracted its attention.

• Shen Youli toyed with the wounded Black-clothed Martial Artist, while Shen Tang cursed the Assembly of Gods and urged her to kill him.
• Chu Jie unleashed his accumulated martial qi to destroy enemy siege stones and damage two trebuchets, then landed safely with Chu Yao’s aid.
• Chu Jie and Chu Yao discussed Shen Tang’s mention of the Assembly of Gods and recalled Chu Yao’s invitation to join it when he was young.
• Chu Yao rejected the Assembly after seeing its members treat political upheaval and war as entertainment, and Chu Jie agreed with him.
• Chu Jie remembered that members of the Assembly based in Xin Country had helped destroy Chu State, while the narration explained that the group profited from keeping the continent divided.

Gu Chi explained the Assembly of Gods to Ning Yan, revealing its factions, opposition to unified rule, and Qi Shan’s many aliases, while warning that it could threaten Shen Tang’s camp. On the battlefield, Shen Tang killed the Black-clothed Martial Artist after he mentioned the Assembly of Gods, then taunted Huang Lie’s army and urged it to retreat.

• Gu Chi told Ning Yan that Yan Xingning had rejected an invitation to the Assembly of Gods and described the group as a talent network rife with factions and opposition to stable government.
• Gu Chi revealed that he and most of Shen Tang’s associates had withdrawn from the Assembly of Gods, while Qi Shan remained and used more than twenty aliases.
• Three-year-old Goodness repeatedly sliced the Black-clothed Martial Artist, hoping to make a skeleton as a gift, but Shen Tang took control before she could finish.
• Shen Tang used Ji Shou to block Word Spirits, severed the Black-clothed Martial Artist’s head, and heard him mention the Assembly of Gods before killing him.
• Kang Shi’s [Steal the Peach] returned Shen Tang to the battlefield, where she displayed the enemy warrior’s head and challenged Huang Lie’s army to retreat, mocking its failure to break Chaoli Pass.

Shen Tang taunted Huang Lie over the missing National Seal while his forces attacked Chaoli Pass, and an assassin nearly struck her before Gongxi Chou and the High Priest arrived. The High Priest used divine power to put the Heavy Shield Warriors’ Gu Worms to sleep, turning the tide of the battle, while Lin Feng sensed the falling motes contained pure life energy.

• Shen Tang accused Huang Lie of sacrificing his soldiers because he had hidden the National Seal, and Huang Lie ordered his forces to kill her at any cost.
• A concealed Martial Gall Warrior launched an assassination arrow at Shen Tang, but Gongxi Chou and the High Priest appeared and blasted it aside.
• Shen Tang showed Gongxi Chou Zhang Yongqing’s severed head and asked whether the High Priest could stop the Heavy Shield Warriors.
• The High Priest sent green motes across the battlefield, putting the Heavy Shield Warriors’ Gu Worms to sleep and leaving their hosts vulnerable to attack.
• Kang Jishou directed the remaining giants to disrupt the weakened enemy formation, while Lin Feng sensed fear from the Corpse Man Vines and discovered that the motes carried pure life energy.

The High Priest of the Martial Gall Totem disabled Huang Lie’s Heavy Shield Warriors, and Shen Tang’s forces turned the battle at Chaoli Pass in their favor. With Zhang He and the Sixteenth Rank Grand Shang Zao dead, Shen Tang set out to kill Huang Lie, while Qi Shan received a letter at the government office.

• The High Priest of the Martial Gall Totem caused the Heavy Shield Warriors to lose their unnatural abilities, and panic and disorder spread through Huang Lie’s vanguard.
• Shen Tang urged Huang Lie to surrender and save his men, while Huang Lie recalled how his ambition had turned the Heavy Shield Warriors from a desperate choice into his weapon.
• Shen Tang displayed Zhang He’s head alongside the Sixteenth Rank Grand Shang Zao’s head, and Lü Jue led troops out of Chaoli Pass to attack the disorganized Heavy Shield Warriors.
• Chu Yao and Jiang Sheng saw the battle turn in Shen Tang’s favor as the defenders launched an attack.
• After coughing and being struck by Gongxi Chou, Shen Tang decided to pursue Huang Lie herself and go for a third kill.
• At the government office in Sibao Prefecture, Qi Shan received a letter from the front lines and another with a black background and yellow writing.

Qi Shan read Shen Tang’s letter and realized that Cui Shanxiao had joined her, forcing him to plan how to handle an old enemy who could threaten her. Liao Jia then discovered Qi Shan’s senior position in the Assembly of Gods, but Qi Shan explained that he had risen through its ranks to monitor it for Shen Tang.

• Qi Shan read Shen Tang’s letter, learned that Qin Li was coming, and recognized Cui Shanxiao from her clues about his name and Knife Fan.
• Qi Shan feared Cui Shanxiao’s dangerous Way of the Scholar and considered killing him, hiding his identity, or making peace with him; he chose to avoid killing him for Shen Tang’s sake.
• Liao Jia arrived and spotted an Assembly of Gods letter, then accused Qi Shan of being an infiltrator after seeing his high-ranking insignia.
• Qi Shan explained that the letter announced a regional conference and said he had become a deputy in the Assembly of Gods to keep watch on it for Shen Tang.

Qi Shan explained how he infiltrated the Assembly of Gods and recruited his supposed enemies as members, while Liao Jia warned him to tell Shen Tang the truth. Shen Tang returned from the battle after Huang Lie had been captured and killed, then confronted Kang Shi and learned that Xun Hanzhang had spent a fortune in gold.

• Liao Jia questioned Qi Shan about his rapid rise in the Assembly of Gods, and Qi Shan revealed that the Assembly believed he was plotting to sideline Shen Tang by recruiting his own people.
• Qi Shan admitted that he had secretly recruited Liao Jia and other supposed enemies into the Assembly, and Liao Jia urged him to tell Shen Tang everything before she discovered the secret herself.
• Qi Shan asked Liao Jia to help him become a full member so they could take over the Assembly's influence in the Northwest, and Liao Jia told him to get Shen Tang's permission first.
• Shen Tang returned to Chaoli Pass and confronted Kang Shi for using his Way of the Scholar to make her lose track of Huang Lie during the pursuit.
• Gongxi Chou told Shen Tang that Huang Lie had been caught and killed without revealing the National Seal's whereabouts, and Shen Tang wondered who had claimed the credit for capturing him.
• Kang Shi told Shen Tang that Xun Hanzhang had spent at least a hundred or two hundred thousand gold during the battle.

Shen Tang learned that the battle’s emergency aid had left her owing one or two hundred thousand gold, but Chu Yao comforted her before she prepared to negotiate for Qin Li and Da Yi to leave Wu Xian’s service. The chapter ended with Qin Li revealing that Xu Xie had already helped secure their families’ safety.

• Kang Shi told Shen Tang that the cost of the aid was estimated at one or two hundred thousand gold, and Shen Tang fainted from the debt.
• Chu Yao comforted Shen Tang by letting her rest on his lap, then reassured her that the nearby subordinates could no longer overhear them.
• Shen Tang learned that Wu Xian was injured but not in danger, and decided to ask him to release Qin Li, Da Yi, and the others from his service.
• Chu Yao advised Shen Tang to raise the matter at the victory banquet, and she asked him to sound out Qin Li and the others beforehand.
• Qin Li agreed to Shen Tang’s plan and revealed that Xu Xie had already helped ensure their families were settled safely.