Chapter Summaries

Ning Yan’s forces repelled a Southwest Coalition ambush, then used Qin Li’s intelligence to identify an enemy fleet as Shen Tang confronted Luo Yuan on the river. After Shen Tang and Luo Sha switched opponents, Luo Sha fought Luo Yuan while Shen Tang and Gongxi Chou drove Gongyang Yongye into a mountain valley.

• Kang Shi exposed hundreds of hidden water ghosts with a Word Spirit, allowing Ning Yan’s soldiers to defeat the surprise attack and recover their dead and wounded.
• Ning Yan learned that fog and unfavorable winds made a direct naval assault difficult, so she ordered the vanguard to break the wind.
• Qin Li used his Way of the Scholar to map the Southwest Coalition’s ships and routes, revealing a tower ship and a force approaching Ning Yan.
• Shen Tang taunted Luo Yuan into attacking and lured him away from the center of the river while Jimò Qiu’s water pillars created openings for her.
• Gongxi Chou and Luo Sha intercepted Gongyang Yongye, and Shen Tang switched places with Luo Sha so he could face Luo Yuan.
• Shen Tang and Gongxi Chou fought Gongyang Yongye together, forcing him into a mountain valley as his blade developed a notch.

Shen Tang and Gongxi Chou let Gongyang Yongye leave after he gave up fighting, but a hidden plot killed his only descendant and threatened to turn him against Kang. Shen Tang chose not to pursue him immediately and turned her attention back to the battle as the naval fighting escalated.

• Gongyang Yongye explained that he had fought for the Southwest Allied Forces to repay the Cui Clan of Qi Country for finding his descendants, then declared that he was done fighting and left.
• Gongxi Chou earnestly suggested that Gongyang Yongye could have children of his own with Jimò Qiu's help, leaving Gongyang Yongye speechless and unsettled.
• Shen Tang and Gongxi Chou left Luo Sha with Jimò Qiu and planned to kill Luo Yuan, while Shen Tang worried about the battle involving the navy's main force.
• Shen Tang revealed that Gongyang Yongye's only descendant had been killed by stray arrows, apparently in a scheme meant to make Gongyang Yongye seek revenge against Kang.
• Shen Tang decided not to chase Gongyang Yongye, while a huge impact rocked Cui Mi's warship and a colossal beast appeared through the fog.

Kang Country trapped the Southwest Alliance fleet by ramming its tower ship, freezing the river, and boarding the immobilized vessels. Lü Jue fought the Spider Warlord aboard the Alliance ship, but as they battled across the mast, an unseen archer aimed at Lü Jue's back.

• Cui Mi and the Alliance fleet were battered when Kang Country's tower ship rammed their vessel and penned it in with surrounding ships.
• Shen Tang recognized that Kang Country had frozen the river and ordered her private soldiers to hold position while Kang troops boarded the trapped ships.
• Kang Country's martial soldiers stormed the Alliance tower ship, attacking its defenses and trying to disable its propulsion.
• Lü Jue attacked the Alliance commander, who transformed into the Spider Warlord and unleashed poisonous, corrosive spiders and airborne eggs.
• Lü Jue and the Spider Warlord fought from the deck to the mast as an unseen archer drew a bow and aimed at Lü Jue's back.

Lü Jue and Useless burned the Spider Warlord and his spider spawn aboard the tower ship, while Useless disguised herself as a defeated commander to join Mei Meng’s fleet. Shen Tang’s force ambushed the coalition navy from underwater, leaving Mei Meng to realize her tower ship was sinking.

• Lü Jue shot the Spider Warlord with a great arrow, igniting the spider eggs and setting the tower ship ablaze.
• Useless exposed the Spider Warlord’s attempt to fake his death, destroyed his offspring, and killed him as the ship burned.
• Useless joined Mei Meng’s fleet in disguise, and Mei Meng mistook her account of defeat for cowardice while planning to remove her from the army.
• Mei Meng learned that Kang’s navy had lost several tower ships and led the coalition fleet toward the presumed weakened force.
• Shen Tang’s soldiers trapped coalition swimmers with river weeds and built a wall on the riverbed, prompting Mei Meng to discover that her tower ship was sinking.

Shen Tang’s forces trapped the Southwest Allied Army’s tower ships by draining the river, then fought a brutal battle in the fog as both sides adapted their tactics. Zhongli Fu’s defection broke Mei Meng’s position, and the chapter left her retreating while Zhongli Fu and Cui Mi pursued.

• Kang’s forces drained the river and attacked the trapped tower ships, while Wu You explained ways to lift or jack the ships out of the riverbed.
• Two-thirds of the Southwest Allied Army’s tower ships sank or were abandoned, and the surviving troops fought Kang’s forces amid thick fog.
• Mei Meng ordered her soldiers underwater, and Jimò Qiu used Gu Worms to help them distinguish friend from foe.
• Wu You switched sides, and news that Zhongli Fu’s troops had defected reached Mei Meng after the battlefield had already descended into chaos.
• Mei Meng ordered a retreat, but Zhongli Fu and Cui Mi intercepted her escape route as she was being rescued.

Mei Meng rejected the incarnation of Wu You and was rescued by Qi Cang, while Shen Tang recovered Cui Mi and returned to the battlefield. After the battle, Cui Mi sensed that Jimò Qiu had no discernible future, and Qi Cang explained that he had saved Mei Meng to see whether she and her Sovereign would eventually turn against each other.

• Mei Meng refused to surrender to the incarnation of Wu You, who attacked her until Qi Cang intervened and carried her away.
• Shen Tang rescued Cui Mi from the river, but told him she had lost track of Qi Cang and Mei Meng.
• Shen Tang returned to the battlefield, thanked Jimò Qiu for his help, and introduced him to Cui Mi.
• Cui Mi touched Jimò Qiu and said his future was blank, prompting Gongxi Chou to confront him before Shen Tang intervened.
• The incarnation of Wu You returned without catching Qi Cang, while Qi Cang hid with Mei Meng and said he had saved her to see whether she and her Sovereign would fall out.

Mei Meng learned that the allied forces had been routed by Kang Country’s brutal tactics and returned to find their army devastated, their supplies lost, and their remaining allies close to collapse. She reported that Zhongli Fu had defected, while the Sovereign of Qi Country revealed further losses, including Luo Benfu’s death and Gongyang Yongye’s disappearance.

• Mei Meng told Qi Cang she expected the Sovereign of Qi Country to sacrifice her or Cui Zhi to protect her own position, and Qi Cang challenged her stubborn loyalty.
• A surviving guard told Mei Meng that her navy had been wiped out, and she set out to find the main army.
• Mei Meng captured a deserter, who described Kang Country’s underwater warships and how its attacks and illusions had shattered the allied forces.
• Mei Meng learned that the allied main force had fled in a rout, then reunited with it and reported that Zhongli Fu had defected during the battle.
• The Sovereign of Qi Country told Mei Meng that Luo Benfu had died, Gongyang Yongye had disappeared after attacking people, and the allied forces had suffered devastating losses.

Mei Meng reconciled with the Sovereign of Qi after the defeat, while Kang Country relentlessly pursued the scattered Southwest Alliance and its allies withheld reinforcements. Gongyang Yongye arrived at Shen Tang’s camp to retrieve his junior’s body, then departed after Shen Tang invited him to watch her future campaign south.

• The Sovereign of Qi eased Mei Meng’s anger by warning that the Cui clan might provoke a mutiny, and Mei Meng agreed to remain her confidante.
• Qi Cang mocked Mei Meng’s loyalty and recalled Zheng Qiao’s views on ministers who endured their rulers’ mistreatment.
• Kang Country harried the retreating Southwest Alliance for days as rebellions and mutual suspicion kept its allies from sending reinforcements.
• Gongyang Yongye came to Shen Tang’s camp and asked for the remains of his junior, which Shen Tang returned in a coffin.
• Shen Tang invited Gongyang Yongye to watch her future campaign south, and he dismissed her ambitions until she reached the Southwest.

Jimò Qiu gave Gongyang Yongye a Gu Worm that could help him have an heir, while making clear it would also tie him to Kang. Gongxi Chou then discovered that the little red flower on Jimò Qiu’s staff was a Gu Worm, sparking a false rumor that Jimò Qiu had given birth and leaving Gongxi Chou bedridden after his brother punished him.

• Jimò Qiu gave Gongyang Yongye a Gu Worm and explained that having a child could bind him to Kang; Gongyang Yongye accepted the gift and left.
• Gongxi Chou teased Jimò Qiu about the little red flower on his staff, then realized its aura showed that it was a Gu Worm.
• Gongxi Chou told Shen Tang that Jimò Qiu was going to give birth, and the rumor spread through camp until Fang Yan asked Jimò Qiu about his supposed confinement.
• Fang Yan traced the rumor to Gongxi Chou, and Jimò Qiu went to confront him.
• Shen Tang visited the wounded camp and found Gongxi Chou recovering from his brother’s punishment, hiding under a cloak and claiming he was hibernating.

Jimò Qiu explained to Gongxi Chou that the little red flower was their adoptive daughter and that they had to keep her origins secret until the time was right. Meanwhile, Kang’s psychological warfare battered the starving southwestern allied army, and Mei Meng chose to let more soldiers escape at dawn.

• Jimò Qiu told Gongxi Chou that Her Highness had given them the flower, which carried an opportunity tied to their world, and warned him not to reveal the matter to Mama.
• Gongxi Chou accepted Jimò Qiu’s promise that he would learn the full truth when the time came.
• Mei Meng argued with an allied commander who accused her of relying on a former lover in the Kang camp, while the Sovereign of Qi stopped their dispute.
• Lü Jue received a secret message from Mei Meng through his trusted aide, then left camp; afterward, the aide hanged himself.
• Kang’s soldiers harassed the allied army with homesick songs and the smell of cooking food, worsening the hunger and sorrow of its troops.
• Mei Meng ordered her forces to let more soldiers escape at dawn, deciding to turn Kang’s effort to break their morale to her advantage.

Zhai Le pushed Qu Country toward war with the Central Continent states, while Qu Country’s campaign advanced with help from a mysterious force led by Shen-Zixu-Tang. The chapter ended with Shen-Zixu-Tang revealing that two chests of men’s fundoshi, each marked with its owner’s name and a Martial Gall Tiger Tally seal, would serve as leverage.

• The Central Continent states abandoned plans to intervene in the Northwest and Southwest wars after Qu Country sent troops, but their envoys failed to secure a ceasefire.
• Zhai Le learned that unfamiliar people were approaching the Yue Clan, dismissed Yu Hai’s concerns, and said he would explain Qu Country’s plans once the Northwest situation became clear.
• Zhai Le fabricated an outrage involving the Queen’s cousin, killed an envoy, and committed Qu Country to war; Yu Hai told the protesting officials that fighting was now unavoidable.
• Qu Country advanced against a poorly prepared enemy, aided by a rapidly growing blank-flag force led by an unidentified woman and made up largely of Quqing Academy associates.
• Shen-Zixu-Tang received He Shu and opened two chests, revealing men’s fundoshi marked with their owners’ names and Martial Gall Tiger Tally seals, which she called leverage.

Shen Tang used the fundoshi Gongxi Chou and Jimò Qiu had taken in duels as tokens to recruit capable Martial Gall Warriors and strengthen Kang’s military. After defeating a neighboring County Marquis, she continued visiting the named owners and quickly filled gaps in her roster.

• Shen Tang explained that the fundoshi were trophies from Gongxi Chou and Jimò Qiu’s duels and considered adapting the Central Continent’s fundoshi-forfeit custom to regulate wandering-knight fights.
• Xiahou Yu helped compile the fundoshi owners’ names, and Shen Tang set out to recruit them by presenting their tokens.
• The neighboring County Marquis refused to honor the token without a fight, but Shen Tang defeated him and recruited him along with his resources.
• Shen Tang returned the County Marquis’s three fundoshi, gave him ten days to prepare, and learned he hoped to one day defeat Gongxi Chou.
• Shen Tang visited the other listed warriors, persuading some to serve and silencing others with the threat of publicly displaying their fundoshi.
• Shen Tang recruited enough strong warriors to fill gaps in Kang’s roster, though some named owners had died, disappeared, or moved away.

Shen Tang recruited Martial Gall Warriors in the Central Continent through force and spirit wine, then revealed her ambition to take the region while concealing her plans from aristocratic clans. She later explained that Mei Meng’s army had genuinely staged a last stand, but the Sovereign of Qi Country had escaped among the deserters, leaving Kang Country ready to pursue the weakened alliance.

• Zhai Le learned that Shen Tang had recruited numerous Martial Gall Warriors by bringing them Fundoshi and compelling them to join, and he was stunned by her methods.
• Shen Tang hosted a victory banquet for her new followers and served them spirit wine, easing the strained atmosphere enough for a white-haired general to ask about her ambitions.
• Shen Tang declared that she wanted the Central Continent and recited Huang Chao’s verse, prompting the assembled officials to consider her hostility toward the great clans.
• He Shu warned Shen Tang that her words about Huang Chao had made her intentions clear, and she explained that she had vetted the recruits and wanted them to recognize one another despite their embarrassment.
• Shen Tang told He Xin that Mei Meng’s apparent last stand had been real, but the Sovereign of Qi Country had escaped disguised among the deserters with other leaders and elite troops.
• Shen Tang dismissed the escaped Sovereign as a timid, weakened foe and said it was time for Kang Country to catch the remaining forces.

Shen Tang discussed the Sovereign of Qi Country’s decision to flee while Mei Meng stayed behind, then learned that He Shu and He Xin had been arguing over rumors about her romantic life. The chapter ended with Mei Meng urging the Sovereign to fight to the death for the meaning her courage could give history, while the Sovereign struggled to understand her resolve.

• Shen Tang said she would fight rather than flee if Qi Shan and Chu Yao had to cover her retreat, and He Shu laughed at her double standard.
• He Shu and He Xin switched control of their shared body repeatedly, and He Xin revealed that they disagreed over whether Shen Tang should favor a minister.
• The mapmaker explained that He Shu opposed a consort who might disrupt the court, while He Xin thought favoring an unattached minister could strengthen political bonds; Shen Tang rejected the idea and called herself a pure-love fan.
• Qin Li reported that Mei Meng and the remaining Qi forces were trapped in a perilous valley, and Shen Tang asked whether Mei Meng regretted refusing Lü Jue’s offer to surrender.
• The Sovereign of Qi Country confronted Mei Meng after learning she planned to stay behind and die, while Mei Meng insisted that resistance would give the ruler a heroic place in history.

The Sovereign confronted Mei Meng over her plans to make her a martyr, rejected the sacrifice, and left the battlefield disguised as a deserter. Mei Meng let her go and prepared for the final battle, where she played her flute as Shen Tang’s forces readied themselves for the enemy’s last stand.

• The Sovereign held Mei Meng at knifepoint and accused her of treating her as a sacrifice for her principles rather than as her liege.
• Mei Meng recalled how she had once found kinship with the Sovereign, while the Sovereign insisted she wanted to live and refused to die for later praise.
• After the Sovereign challenged Mei Meng to kill herself, Qi Cang arrived and found Mei Meng alone; Mei Meng told him to escort the Sovereign away and then retire if he wished.
• The Sovereign left among the deserters, while Mei Meng kept her departure secret by having a trusted aide impersonate her.
• On the eve of the final battle, Mei Meng played her purple bamboo flute as the enemy sang, and Shen Tang recognized that they were preparing to fight to the death.

Shen Tang led Kang’s army against the allied remnants, who used stone giants to break into her ranks and disguise their soldiers as falling fragments. The battle descended into close combat, and Shen Tang rode off alone to meet a new threat.

• Shen Tang sent Wei Shou, Yun Ce, Bai Su, Xianyu Jian, and Luo Sha to pursue the enemy, while Luo Sha declined to work alongside Bai Su because their Martial Gall Totems were enemies.
• Mei Meng unleashed more than a dozen stone giants against Kang’s vanguard, and Gongxi Chou recognized Qi Cang atop one and fought him.
• Jimò Qiu joined the battle, while Shen Tang searched for the allied soldiers hidden among the stone giants.
• Shen Tang’s arrow struck a stone giant, causing the giants to explode and their fragments to transform into shield-bearing enemy soldiers marked with strips of plain cloth.
• Shen Tang fought among the mixed ranks, wrapped a strip of cloth around her sword hilt, and rode Motorcycle toward danger.

Shen Tang fought through the battlefield to rescue Kang Shi and sent help to find Ning Yan, who tracked Mei Meng to a cave and interrupted her attempt to destroy the mountain by taking her own life. Ning Yan returned with Mei Meng’s body, but Liao Jia discovered that her Heart Meridian was still beating and brought Fang Yan to treat her.

• Shen Tang found Kang Shi fighting after enemy troops overran his position, put him on the Motorcycle, and sent a bluebird to Qin Li to help locate Ning Yan.
• Ning Yan rode toward a mountain cave, survived an ambush, and entered with guards to confront Mei Meng.
• Mei Meng cut her own throat and triggered explosions that threatened to collapse the mountain, but Ning Yan used a Word Spirit to escape and brought Mei Meng with her.
• Ning Yan returned to Shen Tang’s camp with Mei Meng, whom she believed dead, while Lü Jue reported back to Shen Tang.
• Liao Jia rushed in with Fang Yan and said Mei Meng’s Heart Meridian was still beating, and Shen Tang gave permission for Fang Yan to treat her.

Mei Meng survived her failed Perfection Ritual and was freed by Shen Tang after Lü Jue vouched for her, provided she abandoned her old identity and stayed off the battlefield. She left to live in the mountains, while the chapter also revealed a vision of her future as a teacher beside a wandering knight.

• A teacher at a private school welcomed a wandering knight who asked to stay and teach martial arts, and she revealed that her student’s mischievous nature came from him.
• The teacher later recognized a stranger at her door, then collapsed and woke amid the aftermath of Mei Meng’s battle injuries.
• Fang Yan stabilized Mei Meng, and Lü Jue decided to take responsibility for her after hearing Fang Yan’s advice about her fate.
• Mei Meng woke in Lü Jue’s tent, refused to become his wife, and asked him to let her die rather than place her in another cage.
• Shen Tang freed Mei Meng under the identity of a dead woman and warned her to stay away from the battlefield; Mei Meng accepted and left for the mountains.
• Mei Meng encountered the one-armed Qi Cang, who revealed that he had survived and was living as a boatman near Zheng Qiao’s grave.

Mei Meng considered how to support herself after leaving the jianghu, then accepted Lü Jue’s token but refused his money. She decided not to return to Qi Country, believing a state funeral was imminent, and set out to find a place for her private school.

• Qi Cang warned Mei Meng that earning a living would be difficult and suggested she could make money as a strategist or by robbing the rich to help the poor.
• At a teahouse, Mei Meng and Qi Cang overheard merchants explain how Kang regulated prices and why transporting grain there was unprofitable.
• A messenger sent by Lü Jue delivered a box of gold and silver and a bank token; Mei Meng kept the token but refused the money until Qi Cang claimed it.
• Mei Meng asked after Lü Jue’s injury and decided they would not meet or think of each other until a possible future encounter at her school.
• Mei Meng told Qi Cang that Qi Country would soon hold a state funeral, and they discussed how You Bao might bring about the sovereign’s death.
• Mei Meng refused to return to Qi Country, and Qi Cang suggested a scenic place where she could open her private school.

Mei Meng left for the final battle while Lü Jue chose to ride after Shen Tang rather than pursue her. As Qi Country reeled from defeat, Miao Ne revealed her true identity and strangled its Sovereign, leaving her fate unresolved.

• Mei Meng rode away with Qi Cang, and Lü Jue declined to follow her before riding after Shen Tang.
• The Sovereign of Qi Country learned that Mei Meng had died and staged a public funeral to counter accusations that she had abandoned her minister and troops.
• Cui Xiong arrived in place of his ill father and told You Bao that he had come because he cared for her and would take responsibility for his family.
• Miao Ne resolved to kill the Sovereign of Qi Country and, using strings and a Word Spirit that stole voices, strangled her while disguised as the trusted attendant You Bao.