Chapter Summaries

The herb-gatherer regained his fighting spirit after Jimò Qiu burned away his inner-devil Qi, then attacked Gongxi Chou and Jimò Qiu. Jimò Qiu survived a lethal-looking strike and helped Gongxi Chou trap and poison the herb-gatherer, but the herb-gatherer unleashed a powerful attack to slay the dragon.

• Jimò Qiu explained that the flames had temporarily burned away the herb-gatherer's inner-devil Qi, and the herb-gatherer returned to his former strength with the Hundred Ghosts Saber.
• The herb-gatherer challenged the Gongxi brothers, and Gongxi Chou transformed into a True Dragon while Jimò Qiu began a spell with his wooden staff.
• The herb-gatherer used a hidden cage of light to slice Jimò Qiu apart, but Jimò Qiu survived and summoned a repeating crossbow made of Qi.
• Gongxi Chou fired explosive light balls while Jimò Qiu helped him evade attacks, and their blasts carried Gu Worms that numbed the herb-gatherer's muscles.
• The herb-gatherer purged the poison and struck at Gongxi Chou with a powerful saber attack that formed a demonic mask around the dragon.

Gongxi Chou recovered from his wounds and learned that Jimò Qiu believed he could bear a child, while the herb-gatherer’s victory over him earned rewards from Qi Country. The herb-gatherer gave those rewards to his descendant, then grew disillusioned after hearing the young man pass the women on to soldiers.

• Jimò Qiu treated Gongxi Chou with Gu Worms, and Gongxi Chou explained that the herb-gatherer’s Death Qi made him a natural counter.
• Gongxi Chou asked whether he could have children, and Jimò Qiu said he could bear one himself if he wanted to.
• The adjutant warned Jimò Qiu that the court might exploit male Martial Gall Warriors for reproduction if it learned about the Gu Worms.
• Qi Cang reported the victory over You Country and Gongxi Chou’s injury to the Sovereign of Qi Country, who rewarded the herb-gatherer with a carriage of women.
• The herb-gatherer gave the rewards to his descendant, who passed the women on to soldiers, and the herb-gatherer lamented that the world had not changed.

The herb-gatherer stopped the young man from treating female captives as rewards, while Qi Country’s Sovereign pressed ahead with her plans against Kang Country. Shen Tang revealed that You Country’s princess had survived, and the princess begged her to avenge the royal house.

• The officer claimed the young man wanted to arrange marriages for the female captives, and the herb-gatherer approved while reminding the young man not to shame his ancestor.
• The herb-gatherer recalled the washerwoman’s hardships and her descendants, while the young man sought Cui Zhi’s advice after the rebuke.
• Qi Country’s Sovereign ordered the captives handled by the old rules and discussed Mei Meng’s efforts to protect women with Qi Cang.
• Cui Zhi told the Sovereign that Gongyang Yongye could not be relied on, and she ordered You Country’s destruction proclaimed to test Shen Tang’s response.
• Shen Tang declared that You Country’s princess had survived, prompting Qi Country’s Sovereign to challenge her identity.
• The princess, enraged by the slaughter of her family, clutched Shen Tang’s robe and begged her to kill Qi Country’s Sovereign.

Shen Tang agreed to help the You Kingdom’s imperial-clan daughter seek revenge and warned her not to idealize the Sovereign of Qi Country. As Kang Country prepared to confront Qi Country, a Southwest alliance formed against Shen Tang, while Qi Cang visited her disguised identity and hinted at a familiar secret.

• Shen Tang let the You Kingdom’s imperial-clan daughter vent, then agreed to help her and explained that the Sovereign of Qi Country had used power to serve her own desires.
• The imperial-clan daughter stopped romanticizing the Sovereign of Qi Country but remained determined to kill her, and Shen Tang said she wanted the same.
• Shen Tang demanded that the Southwest countries return You Kingdom’s territory and compensate it or join Qi Country against Kang Country.
• Most small Southwest countries refused to support Qi Country, but an alliance called the Dragon Slaying Bureau formed to punish Kang Country.
• Qi Cang visited Shen Tang in her Zhongli Fu disguise, denied coming because of the Cui clan or Mei Meng, and asked whether the stone bird-and-fish ornaments at his waist looked familiar.

Qi Country struggled to hold its fractious Dragon Slaying Bureau alliance together as Shen Tang and Liao Jia secretly exploited the chaos. The allied forces were abruptly hit by a night raid, though the chapter left the attackers unidentified.

• Qi Cang tested Zhongli Fu, suspected she was Shen Tang, and later greeted Cui Zhi with unusual warmth.
• Cui Zhi learned Qi Cang had spoken with Zhongli Fu but refused to spy on them while war was imminent.
• Miao Ne, disguised as You Bao, tried to persuade the Sovereign of Qi Country to plead for Mei Jinghe, but he refused to press her before she was ready.
• Rival allied forces fought after discovering that troops upstream had contaminated their drinking water, and Cui Zhi intervened after more than ten people died.
• Shen Tang and Liao Jia secretly stirred up trouble among the allied forces while Liao Qian and Cui Mi discussed Cui Zhi's troubles.
• The Dragon Slaying Bureau Plus forces faced an unexplained night raid on their camp.

Shen Tang, Qi Cang, and Cui Mi watched an unnatural fog and rain gather while the allied army prepared for a suspected Kang night raid. The attackers struck underwater, but the allies had anticipated them and trapped their force in a barrage of arrows and explosions.

• Shen Tang endured three nights of fishing with Qi Cang, who stubbornly baited the river despite catching no fish.
• Cui Mi noticed the fog thickening over the river as rain began, and Qi Cang suspected the weather would cover a night raid.
• Kang attackers used the fog to ambush an allied patrol, prompting the ruler of Qi Country to alert the army.
• Qi Cang and the allied generals suspected the enemy would attack underwater, while Shen Tang questioned whether Kang could manage a river assault.
• The allied army ambushed the underwater attackers with explosions and flaming arrows, then sealed off their escape routes.

Shen Tang and Qi Cang watched the allied forces discover that the river ambush was a ruse, while Bai Su’s orca Martial Gall Totem attacked their swimmers and held off a general. Shen Tang then followed Qi Cang toward the allied camp, where fire bulls charged through the defenses as another feint.

• The allied swimmers found driftwood and straw dummies instead of Kang soldiers, and their general ordered a retreat.
• Bai Su’s orca Martial Gall Totem attacked the swimmers, killed many, and fought an allied general until the forces withdrew.
• The orca kept another general from reaching shore, while Shen Tang and Qi Cang watched from the fog with Cui Mi.
• Shen Tang persuaded Qi Cang to head toward camp after hearing signs of another attack, then carried Cui Mi after him.
• Fire bulls burst through the allied camp’s defenses before cavalry scattered and brought them down.
• Qi Cang recognized the fire-bull attack as another feint, while Shen Tang whistled and sang to a charging bull.

Shen Tang and Qi Cang watched Kang’s deceptive Fire Bull Formation devastate the allied army’s defenses with hidden bombs, while Kang’s provocations kept the enemy on edge. As freezing rain and snow turned into blades, Gongyang Yongye rose into the sky to confront a white figure riding an ice dragon.

• Shen Tang enraged Qi Cang by singing badly, and he questioned why she lost her composure over his insult.
• Kang’s fake and genuine fire bulls charged the allied cavalry, then exploded when struck apart, killing and injuring more than a thousand soldiers.
• Qi Cang destroyed the remaining fire bulls in fury, scattering foul, waste-soaked shrapnel across the battlefield.
• The allied generals adapted by corralling the fire bulls, but the blasts damaged their defenses while Kang launched further distractions across the battlefield.
• Shen Tang summoned freezing rain and snow, and Gongyang Yongye flew into the sky as a white figure descended on an ice dragon and sent spear-shadows toward him.

Yun Ce fought Gongyang Yongye across the Allied Army camp while Ice Dragons and the soldiers’ Word Spirits turned the battlefield chaotic. Gongxi Chou joined Yun Ce to hold Gongyang Yongye off, while Shen Tang and Qi Cang watched the other attacks and suspected a traitor was helping the enemy evade the Allied Army.

• Gongyang Yongye and Yun Ce clashed, with Yun Ce using rain, fog, and Ice Dragons to withstand the older warrior’s stronger Saber Domain.
• The Allied Army’s scholars rallied their soldiers with Word Spirits, allowing them to organize and destroy some of the rampaging Ice Dragons.
• Gongyang Yongye blasted Yun Ce through the battlefield, but Gongxi Chou arrived and helped him recover his broken spear.
• Gongxi Chou unleashed his venomous martial aura and attacked Gongyang Yongye alongside Yun Ce, despite their poor coordination.
• Shen Tang teased Qi Cang as they observed the scattered assaults, and the Allied Army suspected a traitor was helping enemy attackers slip through their encirclements.
• Gao Country had been divided into the four provinces of Shen, Wu, Tang, and Di at Tang Mei’s suggestion, despite Wu Xian’s objections.

Qin Li directed Kang’s forces from a concealed passage, using deception to disrupt the allied army and prepare an ambush. As the attack began, Tan Ting prepared to confront a newly discovered Nineteenth Rank opponent, while fire-oil dragons set the enemy camp ablaze and the chapter ended with the general under attack.

• Qin Li used feints and his Way of the Scholar to confuse the allied forces and guide Kang’s troops into position for a rear ambush.
• Qin Li detected another powerful opponent resembling Gongyang Yongye, and Tan Ting volunteered to confront him with only one chance to strike.
• Luan Xin concealed himself in Qin Li’s fog and used [Silent Nurturing] and [Masterful Painting and Calligraphy] to support the ambushers, despite the strain slowing his reactions.
• Gu Chi and the elite ambushers reached the enemy’s rear and launched fire oil over the allied camp in the form of black dragons.
• An allied general recognized the fire oil and tried to warn his troops, but Kang’s arrows and fighters attacked him before he could finish.

Zhao Wei and Yang Ying helped set the allied encampment ablaze with fierce fire oil, while Shen Tang and Qi Cang realized the granary was also under attack. A sword wielder whose identity surprised Qi Cang appeared near the granary, leaving the raid’s outcome unresolved.

• Zhao Wei killed an allied martial officer with her heavy axes after he was distracted by the bronze-mace wielder, then explained to Zhao Feng that she had taken up axes after learning from Zhi Zong’s earlier attack.
• Yang Ying and Zhao Wei set fierce fire oil alight, and Zhao Wei broke through the allied shield formation to ignite the area closest to the enemy forces.
• Shen Tang told Qi Cang and Cui Mi that rain would spread the fierce fire oil rather than extinguish it, while Qi Cang reasoned that the raid might target the allied army’s granary.
• Qi Cang spotted a growing glow near the granary and suspected Kang Country was attacking it, but he believed its defenses would be too strong for the raiders.
• A powerful Sword Qi rose near the granary, and Qi Cang realized its wielder could not be Shen Tang, who stood beside him.

Shen Tang disguised as Zhongli Fu joined Gongyang Yongye, Gongxi Chou, and Yun Ce in battle, stealing the spotlight while secretly helping the fire spread. Gongxi Chou and Yun Ce escaped after breaking Gongyang Yongye’s resolve, while the fire remained a threat to the granary.

• Qi Cang left Shen Tang to inspect the granary, and Shen Tang ordered Liao Qian and her people to stay behind the front lines under Cui Mi’s command.
• Shen Tang donned her armor and mask, transformed her folding fan into a sword, and joined Gongyang Yongye, Gongxi Chou, and Yun Ce in battle.
• Gongyang Yongye rejected Shen Tang’s help, but he eventually allowed her to fight alongside them as she performed flashy techniques while doing little damage.
• When earth walls rose to contain the fire, Shen Tang pretended Gongxi Chou had sent her crashing into them, opening a gap that let the flames surge out.
• Gongxi Chou shattered the earth walls and broke Gongyang Yongye’s resolve, allowing Yun Ce to carry him away while Shen Tang pursued before being forced to stop.
• The Sovereign of Qi Country learned that the fire had only reached the granary’s outer edges, while the Black Baboon still lay at the guard’s entrance after fighting for two hours.

Cui Zhi learned that a mysterious force had turned the allied forces’ granary into a marsh, and Luo Yuan identified the attackers as a living skeleton and a chatterbox monkey. In a flashback, Luo Yuan fought Gongshu Half Step and recognized that the skeleton general knew his former name, leaving Luo Yuan intent on killing him.

• A foot soldier reported that the granary had been turned into a marsh, and Cui Zhi went to investigate while the Sovereign of Qi Country suppressed her anger.
• Cui Zhi found Luo Yuan, who explained that a living skeleton and a chatterbox monkey had attacked and that the living skeleton might be connected to Wei Cheng and the Eternal Life Cult.
• Luo Yuan gave Cui Zhi a report on the attackers and said the allied forces would need to eliminate the scholar behind the marsh.
• Luo Yuan recalled that an allied general had encountered Gongshu Half Step during the raid, and Luo Yuan had intervened before the skeleton general could kill him.
• Gongshu Half Step recognized Luo Yuan as Luo Benfu, and Luo Yuan’s killing intent rose.

Shen Tang and Gongshu Wu fought Luo Yuan, whose past scandal and former enemies Gongshu Wu had learned about from Wei Cheng. Shen Tang and an archer arrived to support Gongshu Wu and set fire to the granary, leaving Luo Yuan facing their coordinated attack and the spreading flames.

• Wei Cheng had told Gongshu Wu that Luo Yuan was a powerful former opponent who had fled for years after exposing his affair with his teacher and that the Assembly of Gods' Inner Society had once backed Luo Yuan's enemies.
• Luo Yuan exploited Gongshu Wu's weaknesses and badly damaged his bones, but Gongshu Wu rattled him by revealing knowledge of his enemies and taunting him about his past.
• Shen Tang arrived and used her Word Spirits to strengthen Gongshu Wu and attack Luo Yuan with swordlight.
• An archer fired silver-white arrows at Luo Yuan while Gongshu Wu supported the attack, and flames spread near the granary.
• The Silver Armored Swordsman taunted Luo Yuan about the fire as Luo Yuan continued facing their assault.

Shen Tang used manipulated rain to wound Luo Yuan and ruin the allied army’s provisions, then exploited the resulting distrust to fracture the coalition. As the allied nations prepared to attack Kang on four routes, Shen Tang received their intelligence and planned to act despite knowing some of it was false.

• Luo Yuan unleashed water dragons against Shen Tang, but she disrupted his control, wounded him, and revealed that her prepared clouds had flooded the allied granaries and accelerated the grain’s germination.
• Cui Zhi discovered that every granary’s provisions had sprouted, and the allied leaders argued over whether a traitor had revealed their locations before agreeing to manage supplies separately.
• Shen Tang recognized that the disaster was meant to undermine trust in Qi Country and split the allied forces, while Luo Yuan drank Gongyang Yongye’s tonic and vowed revenge.
• The allied army moved up its attack plan and divided into four routes, but Liao Jia and Shen Tang’s other contacts obtained intelligence about their movements.
• Shen Tang showed the reports to Kang’s ministers and explained that the intelligence was a mixture of truth and bait, then said half-truths would be enough to pursue her objective.

Shen Tang’s army discovered that Gongxi Chou and Yun Ce had been unknowingly poisoned, prompting her to order precautions and consider a cheaper way to retaliate. Meanwhile, Lin Feng sought Tan Ting’s guidance about his unusual Word Spirit, and Gongshu Wu explained that it had given an enemy martial energy with an opposing attribute.

• Shen Tang learned that Gongxi Chou and Yun Ce had been poisoned by a toxin that could pass unnoticed and spread through ordinary soldiers, so she ordered the army to watch for symptoms.
• Jimò Qiu explained that a lethal poison would be too costly, then offered to make inexpensive incense that could induce hallucinations under the right conditions.
• Gongxi Chou found Lin Feng at Tan Ting’s tent and learned she had asked him to teach her the Word Spirit he had used against Luo Yuan.
• Lin Feng explained that Tan Ting’s Word Spirit relied on his family’s Way of the Scholar and could not be replicated by her, even if he taught her its method.
• Gongxi Chou asked Gongshu Wu about Tan Ting’s power, and Gongshu Wu said it had made the previous opponent’s Dantian produce martial energy with an opposing attribute.

Gongxi Chou proposed that Lin Feng might become a High Priest, while Jimò Qiu explained the limits on combining divine service with secular power and offered to find her rare Word Spirits. Shen Tang’s council planned for the allied invasion, and a bat-borne message revealed Qi Country’s plan to unite Luo Yuan and Gongyang Yongye for a lightning strike.

• Gongxi Chou dismissed Tan Ting’s Word Spirit and said he would retrieve Word Spirits from Mountain Sea Sacred Land, then went to persuade Jimò Qiu to help Lin Feng learn Gu Art.
• Jimò Qiu explained that Lin Feng could not cultivate Gu Art without divine power, and the brothers discussed her becoming High Priest after serving as a high-ranking official.
• Jimò Qiu agreed to search the old Clan Land for rare Word Spirits for Lin Feng, while Shen Tang warned an official to focus on the enemy rather than report on Gongxi Chou.
• Shen Tang and her officials mapped the allied forces’ possible routes but could not determine where Luo Yuan and Gongyang Yongye would appear.
• A bat delivered a message to Shen Tang, who revealed that Qi Country planned to have Luo Yuan join Gongyang Yongye and launch a lightning strike.

Shen Tang revealed that she had placed the white-eyed fortune-teller inside the Eternal Life Cult to gather intelligence, and Qin Li recruited an old acquaintance to help foment unrest among the southwestern armies. Meanwhile, Luo Yuan split off with elite troops while his abandoned third column took a dangerous mountain route, where a powerful traveler learned that scouts were nearby and that the southwestern alliance had invaded.

• Shen Tang explained that the white-eyed girl had entered the Eternal Life Cult using Wei Cheng’s token and was passing along Luo Yuan’s movements.
• Qin Li proposed stirring up an uprising among the southwestern countries’ Eternal Life Cult followers, then persuaded a reluctant scholar to assist the girl.
• The scholar accepted the assignment and set out, while Qin Li promised to buy him wine when Kang Country reached Qiulai River.
• Luo Yuan secretly left the third column with his elite troops and caught up with Gongyang Yongye, leaving inexperienced soldiers as a decoy.
• The third column took a perilous shortcut through the mountains, where a former scout spotted suspicious forces nearby.
• The bare-chested mace-wielding man learned that the southwestern countries had raised an army against Shen Tang and complained about the popular Shen-Wu sibling pairing and pirated illustrations.

Wu Xian discovered enemy scouts near the border and chose to attack them himself, hoping to earn Shen Youli’s favor while proving himself to his daughter. As his daughter secured reinforcements, General Yang recalled how Wu Xian had once saved his life, and his own buried longing to return to the battlefield stirred.

• Wu Xian debated whether to turn back after his scouts found enemy forces nearby, while his daughter worried over her inherited title and lack of cultivation aptitude.
• Wu Xian decided to send his children to alert the defenders and led several dozen Martial Gall Warriors down the mountain to attack the enemy scouts.
• Wu Xian’s daughter reached General Yang and asked him to send troops to reinforce her father, and he agreed.
• General Yang recognized Wu Xian as the man who had once saved him and remembered how his failing health had kept him from returning to battle.

Shen Tang persuaded the gravely ill Lord Yang to accept her offer, and the Medical Bureau restored his Dantian, meridians, and Martial Spirit. Recovered, Lord Yang led troops into battle while Wu Xian’s group ambushed enemy scouts, leaving the southwestern forces’ larger threat unresolved.

• Shen Tang visited Lord Yang, learned why he had refused to serve, and persuaded him to pledge his loyalty.
• Jimò Qiu and the Xinglin Physicians repaired Lord Yang’s meridians as National Fortune restored his Dantian, allowing him to rebuild his Martial Spirit.
• Lord Yang recovered and led veteran troops out to fight the approaching enemy, using a military formation Word Spirit to silence their advance.
• Wu Xian and his companions ambushed isolated southwestern scout units, while learning the enemy might have two Nineteenth Rank Marquises Within the Pass elsewhere.
• A former scout explained how he had learned rival factions’ combat techniques in public competitions, and Wu Xian marveled at Kang Country’s unusual training methods.