Chapter Summaries

The Tenglong Naval Force overwhelmed the Star Moon Sect fleet with superior ships, crossbows, and martial artists, then surrounded its leaders during a boarding battle. Yu Tonghai called for the fighting to stop after Wang Mingjian and Li Chengzhang were trapped by Tenglong soldiers.

• Yu Tonghai sent the Vanguard Camp to attack, and its crossbows and larger ships smashed through the Star Moon Sect's small boats.
• Li Chengzhang ordered a retreat, but Yu Tonghai pursued while the Tenglong Naval Force's other camps encircled the Star Moon Sect fleet.
• Wang Mingjian ordered a desperate charge at the Right Battalion, and Yu Tonghai's forces closed in to begin boarding combat.
• Yu Tonghai boarded the enemy ship and fought Wang Mingjian and Li Chengzhang while Xue Ping took command and ordered the Tenglong fleet to attack.
• Tenglong soldiers routed the Star Moon Sect sailors, and Yu Tonghai and his guards kept Wang Mingjian and Li Chengzhang pinned down.
• Yu Tonghai called for a halt after the enemy leaders and their remaining attendants were surrounded.

Yu Tonghai defeated the New Moon Army and First Quarter Army, while Wang Mingjian and Li Chengzhang surrendered to Da Rong. As Yang Zhengshan received the captives and considered how to use them, the Star Moon Sect learned of its defeat and debated how to respond.

• Yu Tonghai persuaded Wang Mingjian and Li Chengzhang to surrender, then returned to Zhaowu Guard with over three thousand prisoners and more than a hundred captured vessels.
• Xue Ping negotiated with Zhu Ming for Tenglong Vanguard to rest at Dongyang Island and discussed future maritime trade cooperation.
• Yang Zhengshan arranged for the captives and captured warships, then met Wang Mingjian and Li Chengzhang and treated them amiably.
• Luo Jinsong spent several days gathering information on Star Moon Island, delivered letters to Yue Hongyi, Nan Haiyan, Qu Fusheng, and others, then went into hiding.
• Yue Hongyi told the Star Moon Sect leaders that the New Moon Army and First Quarter Army had been destroyed, and challenged Si Yulou on how to prepare for war.

Yue Hongyi suspected Si Yulou of betraying Star Moon Sect after forged letters implicated him, while Luo Jinsong persuaded Deng Yuehe to defect to Da Rong for her family’s sake. At Zhaowu Guard, Yang Zhengshan received the Jiujiang Naval Force and five renowned Innate Martial Artists, strengthening Da Rong’s preparations to attack Star Moon Sect.

• Yue Hongyi showed Si Yulou a forged letter implicating him in colluding with Da Rong, and Si Yulou was confined to the dungeon despite denying the accusation.
• Deng Yuehe met Luo Jinsong in her ancestral hall, and he urged her to defect by promising a safe future for her family in Da Rong.
• Deng Yuehe agreed to let Lv Xinghe accompany Luo Jinsong to meet the Marquis of Jing'an and discuss their defection.
• Bai Yuanxi led the Jiujiang Naval Force to Zhaowu Guard, where Yang Zhengshan arranged training for the arriving troops.
• An Yuxing arrived with five renowned Innate Martial Artists from the Venerable Hall, bringing Yang Zhengshan’s force to seven Innate Martial Artists.

Yang Zhengshan prepared Zhaowu Guard for war while pressuring Lv Xinghe to persuade his mother to surrender, and backed Sun Yunfeng’s sweeping corruption investigations. After cultivating through the night, Yang Zhengshan demonstrated his growing mastery of spear techniques and the mysterious mechanism to An Yuxing.

• Yang Zhengshan told Lv Xinghe that Da Rong’s troops could defeat Star Moon Island and urged him to persuade his mother to surrender.
• Yang Zhengshan helped Sun Yunfeng shoulder the political fallout from investigating and punishing officials across the Fuhai Regional Military Commission.
• Emperor Yanping ordered Zhang Mingzhong to send Yang Zhengshan five hundred thousand taels from the Inner Treasury to fund the Four Seas Naval Force.
• Yang Zhengshan cultivated in the Spirit Spring Space, refining Jade Bone Ice Heart Pills from the ripened Ice Heart Fruits.
• Yang Zhengshan demonstrated his spear’s transformations to An Yuxing, who recognized his progress in Subtle Insight and the mysterious mechanism.

Yang Zhengshan prepared the Four Seas Naval Force for war against the Star Moon Sect, training to fight in the water before assigning his commanders a plan to defeat the sect’s forces. As the fleet sailed for Star Moon Island, Dihuo Island’s Zhu Changxing decided to seek cooperation with Yang Zhengshan after the campaign.

• An Yuxing took Yang Zhengshan’s casual words about winds and clouds as an opportunity for new discoveries, then urged him to practice fighting in water.
• Yang Zhengshan trained at sea in heavy armor with his spear as the naval forces completed their preparations for battle.
• Yang Zhengshan summoned his officers, outlined a four-step campaign against the Star Moon Sect, and assigned Yu Tonghai and Bai Yuanxi to flank and intercept the enemy.
• Yang Zhengshan led more than a thousand warships toward Star Moon Island, and Xue Ping joined the fleet from Dongyang Island.
• Zhu Changxing watched the fleet depart and instructed Zhu Ming to prepare a gift so he could visit and seek cooperation with Yang Zhengshan after the Four Seas Naval Force returned victorious.

The Star Moon Sect prepared to fight the Four Seas Naval Force, relying on its venerable elders and sea bandit forces. Yang Zhengshan led his fleet toward Full Moon Island, where the two sides met and began maneuvering for battle.

• Yue Hongyi gathered the Star Moon Sect’s leaders, who agreed to fight, and ordered three million in silver offered as rewards to the sea bandits.
• Yue Hongyi recruited Yue Minghua and Qu Le to join the battle, while Deng Yuehe asked Luo Jinsong what they should do and prepared to act within the sect.
• Yang Zhengshan’s fleet reached a hundred li west of Full Moon Island, and he assigned the Star Moon Sect’s venerable elders to Daoist Xuan Zhen and Liang Shengze.
• Scouts reported enemy forces approaching from the east, south, and north, with thousands of ships attempting to surround the Four Seas Naval Force.
• Yang Zhengshan ordered his fleet northeast and tightened its formation, slipping between two disorganized enemy groups.
• Yan Wushang ordered the sea bandits to pursue the Four Seas Naval Force after their failed attempt to block its route.

Yang Zhengshan used a sudden storm to turn the Four Seas Naval Force against the Star Moon Sect and its sea-bandit allies, while Luo Jinsong and Deng Yuehe killed Yan Wushang. The battle escalated when five Innate Martial Artists attacked the fleet, and Yang Zhengshan appeared just in time to save Zhang Man from Qu Fusheng.

• Yang Zhengshan ordered the Four Seas Naval Force to split and counterattack as a storm made the Star Moon Sect's sea-bandit fleet lose formation.
• The Four Seas Naval Force rammed and boarded enemy ships, while Yan Wushang ordered his men to press forward and called for the sect master to join the battle.
• Luo Jinsong stabbed Yan Wushang, and Deng Yuehe killed him and ordered her followers to attack.
• Yue Minghua, Qu Le, Yue Hongyi, Nan Haiyan, and Qu Fusheng crossed the waves and inflicted heavy losses on the Four Seas Naval Force.
• Qu Fusheng boarded the Leizhou Guard's flagship and overwhelmed Zhang Man and his soldiers, but Yang Zhengshan arrived and deflected the saber aimed at Zhang Man.

Yang Zhengshan fought Qu Fusheng at sea while Daoist Xuan Zhen overwhelmed Yue Minghua and drove him to flee. When Yue Minghua charged toward Yang Zhengshan, Yang unleashed a lightning-fast spear strike that killed him, then named the technique Startling Thunder.

• Yang Zhengshan and Qu Fusheng traded blows across the waves, while An Yuxing, Daoist Xuan Zhen, and the others joined the battle.
• Daoist Xuan Zhen used his grasp of Dao intent and the wind to overpower Yue Minghua, who tried to escape.
• Daoist Xuan Zhen pursued Yue Minghua and pulled Qu Le back with his fly whisk, while Liang Shengze struggled to react.
• Yue Minghua and Qu Fusheng converged on Yang Zhengshan from opposite directions, and Yang chose to meet Yue Minghua head-on.
• Yang Zhengshan unleashed a thunderous spear thrust that pierced Yue Minghua's throat and killed him.
• Yang Zhengshan threw Yue Minghua's corpse into the sea and named his spear technique Startling Thunder.

Yang Zhengshan and the allied forces defeated the Star Moon Sect and its sea bandit allies in a violent naval battle, then occupied Full Moon Island to treat the wounded and assess casualties. He ordered captured Star Moon Sect disciples killed unless they were ordinary people, and had two captured army lords executed because he already held others.

• Xuan Zhen knocked Qu Fusheng away, while Yang Zhengshan joined the battle and slaughtered enemies as the Tenglong Vanguard entered the fight.
• After the storm and fighting subsided, Yang Zhengshan ordered the ships to regroup and patrol, then learned that Yue Minghua was dead and Yue Hongyi was presumed drowned.
• Bai Yuanxi occupied Full Moon Island, where Yang Zhengshan arranged shelter and Spirit Spring Water for the wounded and ordered ordinary islanders spared but Star Moon Sect disciples killed.
• Xue Chang'an reported over thirty thousand enemy dead, 10,830 prisoners, and heavy allied casualties, while the Tenglong Vanguard had only twenty-two killed and 368 wounded.
• Luo Jinsong and Deng Yuehe brought Cheng Wuji and Han Changshun before Yang Zhengshan, who ordered them killed because Wang Mingjian and Li Chengzhang were already captured.

Yang Zhengshan secured Star Moon Island after the Star Moon Sect’s destruction, accepting Deng Yuehe’s family and ordering the island’s remaining residents dealt with. He planned to preserve the island as a future refuge for the Yang Family, while an unseen Shenyang Sect follower named Ling Bufo grew stronger by draining Yue Hongyi’s qi and blood.

• Yang Zhengshan gave Deng Yuehe a Three-Yellow Plum after she agreed to serve Da Rong, then ordered Luo Jinsong to take the Tenglong Vanguard to Star Moon Island and settle its remaining residents.
• Ling Bufo gathered dying fighters on an uninhabited island and recognized the badly wounded Yue Hongyi among them.
• Ling Bufo drained Yue Hongyi’s qi and blood with the Spirit-Continuing Blood-Refining Technique, then let his followers feed on the other wounded.
• Yang Zhengshan arrived at Star Moon Island and gave Deng Yuehe, Wang Mingjian, and Li Chengzhang three days to prepare their clans to move to Da Rong.
• Yang Zhengshan ordered one granary and the medicinal field preserved, left Luo Jinsong and soldiers to guard them, and considered the island a future escape route for the Yang Family.
• Yang Zhengshan inspected the Star Moon Sect’s stores, finding more than two million taels of silver and a spirit fruit among the treasure vault’s valuables.

Yang Zhengshan finished suppressing the Star Moon Sect’s sea bandits, secured Star Moon Island as a base under Da Rong’s banner, and returned to the capital with the captured wealth and surrendered generals. He arrived at Jinhai Guard on the third day of the third month, preparing to enter the palace with Deng Yuehe, Wang Mingjian, and Li Chengzhang.

• Yang Zhengshan accepted a Jade Dew Spirit Peach from Yu Tonghai and rewarded him with a Three-Yellow Plum.
• Yang Zhengshan distributed gold and reward silver, assigned Luo Jinsong to remain on Star Moon Island, and sent the guards to eliminate the remaining sea bandits.
• Zhang Ruifu, Zheng Yang, and Xue Ping received shipments of grain, spices, timber, and other spoils at Zhaowu Guard and were warned to account for everything.
• Emperor Yanping received Yang Zhengshan’s victory report, ordered the Grand Secretariat and Ministry of War to prepare merit rewards, and planned a grand Lantern Festival banquet.
• Yang Zhengshan stayed on Star Moon Island until February, left Yu Tonghai and Luo Jinsong there, and used Da Rong’s name to secure the island as a base for the Yang Family.
• Yang Zhengshan returned to Jinhai Guard on the third day of the third month with Deng Yuehe, Wang Mingjian, and Li Chengzhang to present the spoils and enter the palace.

Yang Zhengshan returned to the capital with the spoils from the Star Moon Sect campaign, received a first-rank hereditary marquis title, and proposed reorganizing Da Rong’s naval forces. He ended the day reunited with his family and planned to escort Yang Wanqing to her wedding, while Yu Qingyi remained frustrated by her stalled cultivation.

• Yang Zhengshan entered the capital with more than two hundred carts of spoils and reported the campaign’s seized wealth and goods to Emperor Yanping.
• Emperor Yanping promoted Yang Zhengshan to first-rank Marquis of Jing'an and granted his title hereditary succession in perpetuity.
• Yang Zhengshan proposed dividing the Four Seas Naval Force into four regional naval forces, and Emperor Yanping sent the plan to the Grand Secretariat and Ministry of War for discussion.
• Yang Zhengshan returned to a family banquet at the marquis residence and learned that Yang Wanqing's wedding was set for the eighteenth of the fourth month.
• Yang Zhengshan promised to escort Yang Wanqing to her wedding in Southern Frontier Town, then gave Yu Qingyi a jade box after she said her cultivation had not advanced.

Yu Qingyi used a Jade Dew Spirit Peach to break through to the Innate Realm, while the Imperial Court established three naval forces and appointed commanders. Yang Zhengshan refused to lead the new Naval Chief Military Commission and set out with his family to escort Yang Wanqing to her wedding, reaching Jianxia Pass on the way to Southern Frontier Town.

• Yu Qingyi ate the Jade Dew Spirit Peach, broke through to the Innate Realm, and celebrated with Yang Zhengshan.
• Emperor Yanping established the North Sea, East Sea, and South Sea Naval Forces, appointed Deng Yuehe Right Governor, and named Li Chao Left Governor of the Naval Chief Military Commission after Yang Zhengshan declined the post.
• Deng Yuehe, Li Chengzhang, and Wang Mingjian visited Yang Zhengshan, who advised them to cooperate with their superiors and give themselves several years to integrate into Da Rong.
• Deng Yuehe revealed that she had reached the Innate Realm, and Yang Zhengshan advised her to register her cultivation at the Venerable Hall.
• Yang Zhengshan and his family departed the Capital with Yang Wanqing's dowry, traveled by ship and road, and reached Jianxia Pass on their way to Southern Frontier Town.

Yang Zhengshan’s family crossed Jianxia Pass, where he witnessed the suffering caused by the Tea and Horse Bureau but chose not to intervene, then continued toward Southern Frontier Town to escort his granddaughter for her marriage. The chapter left the family resting in Nanjing Central Guard after Ai Benhou welcomed them on Qu Changkong’s behalf.

• At Jianxia Pass, Yang Zhengshan learned that the Tea and Horse Bureau used corvée labor and harsh levies, but he continued on without trying to reform the system.
• Li Chang whipped an official who had beaten commoners and cleared the road for the Marquis of Jing'an’s convoy.
• After Yang Zhengshan’s party left, masked bandits attacked the laborers’ escorts and carried the workers and goods into the mountains while the pass soldiers stayed behind their gates.
• At Jianxia Prefecture City, Yang Mingzhao questioned why Yang Zhengshan had not rescued the laborers, and Yang Chengye explained that temporary aid could not solve widespread poverty.
• On the tenth day of the fourth month, Ai Benhou welcomed Yang Zhengshan into Southern Frontier Town and arranged for the family to rest at Nanjing Central Guard.

Yang Zhengshan’s family traveled through the Cloud Mist Mountains toward Nanhua City, where Li Xiangzu’s forces ambushed their convoy. Yang Zhengshan detected the attackers, and Yu Qingyi and Yang Mingcheng charged into the fight, leaving Ai Benhou stunned by Yu Qingyi’s strength.

• Li Xiangzu ordered his men to ambush the Yang Family’s party as it left Guard City, and instructed Ruan Hongjin to join the attack.
• Yang Zhengshan traveled with the convoy through the Cloud Mist Mountains and helped carry its carriages across a narrow cliffside path.
• Yang Zhengshan spotted more than two hundred attackers hidden near the road, and Li Xiangzu ordered them to attack head-on.
• Yang Mingcheng charged at the attackers while Yang Zhengshan stopped the younger Yang Mingzhao from joining the battle.
• Yu Qingyi rushed into the fight and, alongside Yang Mingcheng, killed more than half the attackers, astonishing Ai Benhou with her Innate Realm cultivation.

Yu Qingyi defeated a Jinlong Dynasty bandit ambush, and Yang Zhengshan’s family reached Nanhua City for Yang Wanqing’s upcoming marriage to Qu Shaogong. Qu Changkong warned Yang Zhengshan that the Jinlong Dynasty remained a threat and that court factionalism could eventually draw him in.

• Yu Qingyi killed the bandits attacking the convoy, while Yang Zhengshan asked her to leave one alive; the group captured survivors and burned the bodies.
• Ai Benhou learned that Yu Qingyi had recently become an Innate Martial Artist, and the convoy continued through a market town to Nanhua City.
• Qu Changkong and Southern Frontier Town officials welcomed Yang Zhengshan, then Qu Changkong hosted the Yang Family at a banquet before speaking privately with Yang Zhengshan.
• Qu Changkong told Yang Zhengshan that the bandits came from the Jinlong Dynasty, whose agents had killed Qu Shaogong’s parents, and Yang Zhengshan agreed that Da Rong would not send an army to destroy the Jinlong Dynasty.
• Qu Changkong described the Song and Zhou factions’ conflict and the military factions forming around powerful nobles, joking that he might join the Yang Faction.
• Qu Changkong warned Yang Zhengshan that he might be drawn into factional struggles despite avoiding them, and Yang Zhengshan set the concern aside for the time being.

Yang Wanqing married Qu Shaogong in Nanhua City, while Yang Mingcheng struggled to hide his grief at parting with his daughter. The next morning, Yang Wanqing joined the Qu Family and was entrusted with managing its household, with Red Cloud staying by her side for five years.

• Yang Zhengshan arranged for Red Cloud to remain with Yang Wanqing for five years to protect her from threats tied to the Duke of Xing Mansion's feud with the Jinlong Dynasty.
• Yang Mingcheng secretly wept as Yang Wanqing prepared for her wedding, recalling how frail she had been as a baby.
• Qu Shaogong arrived at the Yang Family residence, completed the wedding rites, and brought Yang Wanqing back to the Duke of Xing Mansion.
• The morning after the wedding, Yang Wanqing accidentally knocked Qu Shaogong onto the floor when she pushed him away playfully.
• Yang Wanqing and Qu Shaogong paid respects to Qu Changkong and Qu Suian, and Qu Changkong gave Yang Wanqing the household key and seal and entrusted her with managing the inner residence.
• Qu Changkong learned that Red Cloud would stay with Yang Wanqing for five years to care for her.

Yang Wanqing settled into the Qu Family and asked Yang Zhengshan for nourishing gifts for her ailing new relatives. Before returning to the Capital, Yang Zhengshan sparred with Qu Changkong, defeated him through his growing comprehension of Only-Self Intent, and tried to explain the elusive path of entering the Dao.

• Yang Wanqing met bedridden Li and began learning to manage the Qu Family’s inner residence.
• On the third day after the wedding, Yang Wanqing returned to her maiden home and asked Yang Zhengshan for Bee Queen Honey to help Qu Suian and Li.
• Yang Zhengshan agreed to send nourishing goods to the Qu Family, then later challenged Qu Changkong to a weapon spar.
• Yang Zhengshan’s Only-Self Intent helped him overcome Qu Changkong and send him crashing into the weapon storage room.
• Qu Changkong asked Yang Zhengshan to explain intent, but Yang Zhengshan said it could only be grasped through personal comprehension.

Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi traveled through the Cloud Mist Mountains after leaving Southern Frontier Town, where they found Xue Qiao'er and her group fighting Martial God Hall cultivators. Yang Zhengshan joined the battle against Chai Wujie and, despite falling behind, continued fighting him one-on-one.

• Yang Zhengshan told Qu Changkong to protect Yang Wanqing, then left Southern Frontier Town with his family the next morning.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi split from Yang Mingcheng's group and wandered through the Cloud Mist Mountains with Red Cloud and Tianqing.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi spotted a town and saw Innate Martial Artists fighting near it.
• Yang Zhengshan recognized Xue Qiao'er, Granny Xue, Xue Zhongjin, and their companions under attack by Martial God Hall fighters, and Yu Qingyi went to help Xue Qiao'er.
• Yang Zhengshan challenged Chai Wujie, an elder of Martial God Hall, and fought him with twin short spears, falling into a disadvantage but refusing Granny Xue's offer to help.

Yang Zhengshan stopped Chai Wujie’s attack on Snow Spirit Palace and learned that Xue Qiao’er’s powers came from the Ice and Snow Holy Spirit. After the group settled in Yushan Town, Xue Qiao’er explained that she needed rare ingredients to make Spirit Attachment Pills, which let Snow Spirit Palace’s palace master inherit a holy spirit.

• Yang Zhengshan nearly struck Chai Wujie’s throat with Thunderbolt Spear, but Chai Wujie blocked it with Qi Armor and called off the fighting.
• Chai Wujie withdrew with his surviving subordinates after threatening to seek an explanation from Snow Spirit Palace, while Granny Xue accepted responsibility for the conflict.
• Xue Qiao’er revealed the Ice and Snow Holy Spirit, and Granny Xue gave Yang Zhengshan one of the four Light Spirit Fruits they had stolen from the Martial God Hall.
• Yang Zhengshan led the group to Yushan Town, identified himself to Yang Yanchun, and arranged for them to stay in a rented courtyard.
• Yang Zhengshan gave Xue Qiao’er six Flame Red Lotus lotus seeds, and she explained that she was gathering ingredients to refine Spirit Attachment Pills for inheriting a holy spirit.