Recaps

Yang Mingzhao discussed how to build a government and improve commoners’ lives after taking county towns, focusing on land reform while considering how to avoid alienating martial forces. The group agreed they could begin with their current strength, though they might eventually face the imperial court and powerful local factions.

• Yang Mingzhao assigned Ma Yan to train scholars and asked Wu Zheng to take Chen Buyu as a nominal disciple.
• Yang Mingzhao said their purpose was to improve commoners’ lives, and Zhang Mo proposed distributing land, reducing burdens, building waterworks, and encouraging farming.
• Yang Mingzhao proposed issuing land deeds and re-registering fields after taking county towns, but Li Dagui warned that seizing land from martial forces could make them enemies.
• Li Dagui suggested giving martial artists preferential treatment and allowing them to do business so they could obtain cultivation resources and support the new regime.
• Yang Mingzhao recognized that the imperial court, local gentry, and martial forces could all oppose them, while Yang Ze argued they could start by occupying one or two counties and deal with greater challenges later.

Yang Mingzhao and his allies chose Taiping County as their first target and began preparing to take it in a month. Meanwhile, Yang Zhengshan visited Snow Spirit Palace and traded spirit fruits and pills for the Spirit Attachment Pill recipe, though the tiny Cloud Berries and Cold Pine Fruits left him suspecting he had been swindled.

• Yang Mingzhao agreed with Deng Xing's proposal to attack Taiping County first and ordered preparations, including training soldiers and stockpiling materials.
• Ma Yan organized valley residents into offices to register households and farmland, while Lu Bo and Li Dagui traveled to arrange warehouses and purchase supplies.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi reached Snow Spirit Palace after traveling through Lisheng Dynasty and the Snow Plains, bringing gifts for Xue Qiao'er.
• Yang Zhengshan asked Granny Xue for the Spirit Attachment Pill recipe and revealed his ability to wield thunder after she deduced he had begun comprehending Dao Intent.
• Yang Zhengshan offered spirit fruits and True Origin Pills, and Snow Spirit Palace exchanged the recipe and four kinds of spirit fruit for his goods.
• Yang Zhengshan saw that the Cloud Berries and Cold Pine Fruits were tiny and wondered whether Granny Xue had swindled him.

Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi visited the Snow Spirit Palace and the northern towns before Yang Mingzhao began his planned uprising in Taiping County. After Yang Mingzhao struck a city-gate yamen runner, his forces launched their attack across the county city.

• Yang Zhengshan exchanged ten True Origin Pills for spirit fruits and learned that different fruits could be used to make distinct Spirit Attachment Pills.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi explored the Menghe Mountain Range, observed the divided Wuliang Royal Court, and visited Yang Chengye in Chongshan Town and old friends in Beiyuan Town.
• Yang Mingzhao and Yang Ze rode through Taiping County and saw tenant farmers' poverty before reaching the poorly maintained county city.
• At the city gate, Yang Mingzhao confronted a yamen runner who was threatening a hungry youth and knocked the runner down with his sheathed sword.
• Chen Buyu signaled the uprising, and Yang Mingzhao's men rushed out to attack the county office and overpower the gate guards.

Yang Mingzhao and his men seized Taiping County’s office and wealthy households, then invited the commoners to accuse them publicly. The first accusations brought immediate punishment, while the people began to gather and speak up.

• Li Zhongping fled the county office with a chest of silver, but Li Cheng captured him as Chen Buyu took control of the office and the city gates were closed.
• Lin Baitao ventured out to find treatment for his feverish younger sister, and Doctor Li agreed to examine her after learning that the patrols were allowing people through.
• Yang Mingzhao discovered that Li Zhongping’s silver came from withheld taxes and ordered the officials’ homes and the city’s wealthy households confiscated.
• The young men seized seven or eight wealthy households, suffering casualties while killing more than fifty people during the raids.
• Yang Mingzhao held a public hearing outside the county office and promised to punish anyone accused by the commoners.
• A man accused one of the An family’s sons of beating him, and Yang Mingzhao ordered the son given twenty strokes of the paddle.

Yang Mingzhao seized Taiping County, punished officials and wealthy households, and spent two months registering residents and redistributing land and property. As fleeing gentry appealed to Prefect Su Muye for troops, Su admitted he had no resources to suppress the uprising and chose to do nothing.

• Yang Mingzhao restored a grain shop to its owner, heard accusations against local officials and wealthy families, and ordered executions after the commoners demanded County Magistrate Li Zhongping’s death.
• Yang Mingzhao declared himself County Magistrate, ordered Taiping County’s registers rewritten, and assigned his men to register residents and distribute land to taxable adults.
• Deng Xing and Han Lin reported taking the Patrol Division and destroying the Yan Family, while Yang Mingzhao ordered land allocations across the county and reserved nearby fields for his Three Arrow Valley followers.
• Over two months, Yang Mingzhao’s forces redistributed fields, abolished indentured contracts and usurious loans, and filled the county treasury and granary with silver and grain taken from gentry and landlords.
• Yan Jifei and Huang Hengtai asked Prefect Su Muye to send troops against the uprising, but Su, lacking soldiers, money, and grain, decided to lie flat instead.

Yang Mingzhao consolidated his control of Taiping County while Emperor Yanping died and a devastating drought threw three provinces into chaos. Meanwhile, Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi traveled through Wanshan Ridge and onward to the Yilan Dynasty, deciding to visit the Martial God Hall in search of spirit fruits.

• Yang Mingzhao ordered his followers to strengthen Taiping County by recruiting scholars and soldiers, repairing irrigation, restoring industries and trade, and building local defenses.
• Emperor Yanping died, and Crown Prince Chen Zhaojun became Emperor Jianxing as drought and famine plunged Longyuan, Longxi, and Longnan into disorder.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi saw the drought-stricken lands of Longyuan and left Spirit Spring Water in Wanshan Ridge to help people survive on plants there.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi traveled through Bashu without realizing that their son Yang Mingzhao was rebelling in Taiping County, then crossed into the Dongyu and Yilan dynasties.
• After hearing that the Martial God Hall had two kinds of spirit fruit trees, Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi decided to visit it and look for an opportunity to seize a spirit fruit.

Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi used Dao Intent Sacred Lotus seeds to cultivate, and Yu Qingyi discovered that her dao intent let her control and accelerate plant growth. They reached Martial God City, where Yu Qingyi claimed they were friends of Chai Wujie to gain an audience, leaving Yang Zhengshan face-to-face with the man he had nearly killed.

• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi cultivated with Dao Intent Sacred Lotus seeds, gaining insights comparable to years of practice in a brief period.
• Yu Qingyi demonstrated her plant-related dao intent by creating vines and accelerating plants, but she exhausted herself trying to affect a Three-Yellow Plum.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi set out for Martial God Hall and were impressed by the size and prosperity of Martial God City.
• At the city gate, Yu Qingyi claimed they were friends of Chai Wujie, and the guards brought them to a reception courtyard.
• Chai Wujie arrived and recognized Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi, while Yang Zhengshan greeted him cheerfully despite their hostile history.

Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi traded spirit fruits with Chai Wujie, then withdrew to refine pills while Da Rong’s drought and banditry worsened. The chapter ended with Zhou Lan confronting a bandit-held Longyang Prefecture whose starving refugees outside the city obstructed an assault.

• Yang Zhengshan exchanged two True Origin Pills and two Three-Yellow Plums for Martial God Hall’s Seven-Orifice Pulse-Clearing Fruit and Dragon Bone Flower, and Chai Wujie agreed to end their past grudge.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi left Martial God Hall, avoided going to Great Yue, and secluded themselves in the Spirit Spring Space to refine pills.
• Yang Zhengshan practiced refining the Jade Bone Ice Heart Pill and Tendon Changing Pill before preparing to attempt the Spirit Attachment Pill.
• As the drought and roving banditry continued into Jianxing’s third year, Zhou Lan led twenty thousand soldiers south to Longyang Prefecture.
• Song Hao reported that refugees gathered outside several nearby counties, and Zhou Lan realized the bandits were using them to prevent her army from attacking the city without endangering the starving people.

Zhou Lan captured Longyuan’s cities but halted her campaign to resettle refugees and seek more grain, while Prince of Great Liang’s powerful rebel army besieged Daizhou. Prince Dai, Chen Zhaoxuan, faced the city’s imminent fall and was urged to escape, but he asked what would happen to the people left behind.

• Zhou Lan recruited refugees to build a camp and feed them, then ambushed and routed over ten thousand roaming bandits as they tried to flee Longyuan.
• Zhou Lan settled refugees by organizing well-digging and farming, took Longyang Prefecture and two more prefectures, then stopped when she lacked grain and troops to continue.
• Yang Chengye and Niu Zhuang agreed to send Zhou Lan three hundred thousand dan of grain and fodder from Chongshan Town.
• Prince of Great Liang ordered his organized army to attack Daizhou City after a twenty-day siege, with thirty catapults ready.
• Chen Zhaoxuan defended Daizhou City alongside its civilians and asked whether reinforcements were coming; Liang Zhiman said none were available and urged him to escape through the north gate.
• Chen Zhaoxuan asked Liang Zhiman what would happen to him if Chen escaped alone.

Chen Zhaoxuan tried to lead his family out of besieged Daizhou City, but his son died and Princess Consort Dai took her own life during the escape. Chen Zhaoxuan died fighting the rebels, while Fang An fled with his daughter toward Shanhe Province; news of the defeat reached Chen Zhaojun, who mourned his brother and felt powerless.

• Chen Zhaoxuan refused to abandon Daizhou City but arranged for his family to escape with guards and servants.
• Chen Zhaoxuan led fewer than a hundred people through the north gate and fought a path northeast through the rebel forces.
• A rebel cavalryman killed Chi'er, and Princess Consort Dai took her own life after urging Chen Zhaoxuan to escape.
• Grief-stricken, Chen Zhaoxuan fought alone until the rebels killed him, while the Prince of Great Liang ordered his body buried.
• Fang An escaped with the unconscious Princess and reached Shanhe Province after three days, while Daizhou City fell and Liang Zhiman died.
• Chen Zhaojun learned of Chen Zhaoxuan's death and mourned his brother, feeling powerless over the worsening situation.

Chen Zhaojun appointed Du Hesheng to command the armies of three towns against the bandits, while Zhou Lan struggled to obey orders without the soldiers or provisions to spare. After learning Chen Zhaoxuan had died, Yang Chengye received An Yuxing’s warning that the Da Rong Dynasty might be in danger of losing the nation.

• Chen Zhaojun heard officials impeach Zhou Lan, then approved Wang Chonggu’s proposal to appoint Du Hesheng governor-general over Longyuan, Longxi, and Longnan.
• Chen Zhaojun transferred Lu Wenyuan to serve as Minister of War and appointed Lin Zhan to the Liaoyuan Provincial Administration Commission.
• Zhou Lan received rebukes and orders to advance south, but told Wang Yunqiao to demand provisions from the governor-general because her troops were resettling displaced people.
• Zhou Lan asked Wang Yunqiao to investigate Prince Dai’s fate while Yang Chengye learned that Chen Zhaoxuan had died in battle.
• An Chenhui brought Yang Chengye a letter from An Yuxing warning that the Da Rong Dynasty might lose the nation, and told him his family had taken refuge in Chongshan Town.

After Chen Zhaoxuan died in the chaos of Da Rong, the Yang brothers discussed how to protect their family and contacts across the realm. Meanwhile, Prince of Great Liang Zhang Bei chose to move his rebel army into Hanzhong Prefecture and build a defensible base.

• Yang Mingcheng told Wang that Chen Zhaoxuan had been killed by bandits, then summoned Yang Mingzhi and Yang Minghao to review letters describing Da Rong’s worsening unrest.
• Yang Mingzhi and Yang Minghao warned that the Yang family should avoid intervening openly, and the brothers arranged for trusted martial artists to safeguard relatives in the Capital, Tenglong Guard, and Chongshan Town.
• Yang Mingcheng decided to have Yang Chengye send Yang Qinsheng and Yang Ruohan to Star Moon Island for their protection.
• After Chen Zhaoxuan’s death boosted his reputation, Prince of Great Liang Zhang Bei saw his rebel army swell from two hundred thousand to three hundred thousand, worsening its food shortages.
• Song Chenxing and Niu Sude advised Zhang Bei to avoid Shanhe Province and instead occupy Hanzhong Prefecture, where better water supplies and defensible terrain could support the army.
• Zhang Bei agreed to withdraw to Hanzhong Prefecture, defend it, and develop his forces there for three years.

Zhou Lan drove Du Hesheng out of Yijun Prefecture after refusing to surrender Beiyuan Town’s military command, while Lu Wenyuan rejected a transfer to the capital. In Jiujiang Prefecture, Chen Hengchang pressed Lin Fu'an to act, and Lin Fu'an said they were waiting for one person who had arrived.

• Du Hesheng accused Zhou Lan of fearing the enemy and demanded control of Beiyuan Town’s forces, but Zhou Lan rebuked him and refused to march without money or grain.
• Du Hesheng invoked the Imperial Command Flag and Token and accused Zhou Lan’s generals of rebellion, but the generals stood by Zhou Lan and Wang Yunqiao led the Elite Guard Battalion’s Women's Army in driving him out.
• Zhou Lan sent a memorial to the Capital explaining the confrontation and said she would not abandon the two prefectures she had stabilized.
• Lu Wenyuan refused his appointment as Minister of War, chose to claim illness and request resignation, and told Lu Miaoshu to draft the memorial.
• Chen Hengchang asked Lin Fu'an when they would make their move, and Lin Fu'an said the timing was ripe because the person they were waiting for had arrived.

Chen Hengchang allied with Lü Hua and the Shenyang Sect to launch an uprising under his own banner, while Yang Mingzhao prepared Taiping County’s forces for expansion. The chapter left Chen Hengchang’s Righteous Army in control of Jiujiang Prefecture and Yang Mingzhao ready to begin a campaign after the autumn harvest.

• Ji Feiyu introduced Lü Hua to Chen Hengchang, and Lü Hua agreed to help establish the Blood-Clad Guard from the remnants of the Secret Martial Guard.
• Lin Fu'an urged Chen Hengchang to raise troops in his own name while the Shenyang Sect supported him from behind the scenes.
• Chen Hengchang raised eight thousand men in Jiujiang Prefecture, then captured the prefecture and its counties within a month as his force grew into the Righteous Army.
• Yang Mingzhao and Chen Buyu observed Taiping County’s prosperous harvest and prepared to send out troops once the autumn grain was collected.
• Yang Mingzhao gathered his officials and military officers to review the campaign plan, relying on Taiping County’s trained soldiers and growing cadre of clerks.

Yang Mingzhao launched an expansion campaign to seize Baoning Prefecture, and his forces quickly occupied most of the region with little resistance. His central army stalled outside the heavily fortified prefecture city, where Li Dagui raised the name of Shangwu Division Commander Li Baoshan.

• Yang Mingzhao announced plans to take Baoning Prefecture and organized three routes with three thousand camp soldiers and five thousand farmer-soldiers.
• The Taiping Army set out, and Deng Xing's river route occupied Tongjiang County, Baoping County, Bazhou, and Nanjiang County before finding Micang County abandoned.
• Han Lin's west route took Jianzhou after infiltrators opened its gates, then occupied the remaining western targets with little resistance.
• Yang Mingzhao's central route reached Baoning Prefecture City but camped outside its high walls and moat, unable to risk an assault with only three thousand troops.
• Li Dagui proposed a possible solution and told Yang Mingzhao that the prefecture's Shangwu Division commander was Li Baoshan.

Yang Mingzhao sent Li Dagui into Baoning Prefecture City to approach Li Baoshan, a former disciple of Yang Zhengshan, and seek his help opening the gates. As Baoning’s officials prepared to defend the city and train recruits, Li Dagui found Li Baoshan in the Shangwu Division yamen and confronted him in his bedroom.

• Li Dagui told Yang Mingzhao that Li Baoshan had studied under Yang Zhengshan and came from an ordinary martial family, so Yang Mingzhao sent him with a sealed letter to ask Li Baoshan to open the city gates or kill him if he refused.
• Prefect Li Wenchun, Assistant Prefect Xu Fusheng, Sun Derong, and Li Baoshan discussed defending Baoning, requesting reinforcements, training young men, and raising funds from wealthy households.
• Li Baoshan explained that Yang Zhao’s forces had organized Taiping County and improved conditions for its commoners, though the officials still had to defend Baoning against them.
• Li Dagui entered Baoning at night, found the marks left by Zhang Mo and Li Cheng, and learned that Li Baoshan was staying at the Shangwu Division yamen.
• Li Dagui entered Li Baoshan’s room and sat beside his bed, while Li Baoshan pretended to sleep with his hand on his blade.

Li Baoshan weighed Yang Mingzhao’s offer and agreed to help the Taiping Army take Baoning Prefecture, while preparing to surrender the Li Family’s land and debts. He arranged to open the north city gate the next morning and asked that the city remain peaceful and that the prefect, Li Wenchun, be spared.

• Li Dagui delivered Yang Mingzhao’s letter, which offered the Li Family favorable terms for seeking refuge with the Taiping Army.
• Li Baoshan questioned whether Yang Mingzhao could represent the Yang Family, then studied the army outside Baoning Prefecture and judged its camp orderly and well trained.
• Li Baoshan reviewed the Li Family’s land deeds and promissory notes, including its thirty thousand mu of farmland and thousands of IOUs, and set the records aside for the coming handover.
• Li Baoshan agreed to serve Yang Mingzhao on the condition that his troops not mistreat the city’s people, and he urged them to spare and persuade prefect Li Wenchun.
• Li Dagui promised that the Taiping Army would not harm Li Wenchun or his family, and Li Baoshan arranged to open the north city gate the following morning.

Li Baoshan surrendered Baoning Prefecture to Yang Mingzhao, who won Li Wenchun’s support and took control of the city. Meanwhile, Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi continued researching the Spirit Attachment Pill and developing the Spirit Spring Space’s ecosystem.

• Li Baoshan ordered the city gates opened and surrendered Baoning Prefecture to Li Dagui’s Taiping Army.
• Yang Mingzhao entered the city, accepted Li Baoshan’s allegiance, and revealed his ambition to try becoming emperor.
• Li Wenchun recognized Yang Mingzhao as the son of Yang Zhengshan, agreed to support him, and helped him take over the government office.
• Li Wenchun helped Yang Mingzhao organize Baoning Prefecture’s officials, local affairs, and land-division policies.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi spent over a year in the Spirit Spring Space researching the Spirit Attachment Pill and cultivating plants and animals.

Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi surveyed the thriving Spirit Spring Space, where his spirit fruits, herbs, and animals had flourished. After discussing his Spirit Attachment Pill research and playing with Silly Big Guy and Red Cloud, they decided to return home by ship from the Peacock Dynasty.

• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi admired the Spirit Spring Space and agreed to let its less-developed northern ridges grow naturally.
• Yang Zhengshan explained how Spirit Attachment Pills granted elemental abilities and aided Dao Intent comprehension, while Silly Big Guy demonstrated its limited ice-and-snow powers.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi rode Silly Big Guy and Red Cloud, whose speed and strength far surpassed the reindeer's.
• Yang Zhengshan described how the space's tiger population had grown, forcing him to hunt the tigers and introduce other animals to balance the ecosystem.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi discussed returning home and their grandchildren, then decided to leave the next day by ship from a port in the Peacock Dynasty.

Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi traveled to Tunwu City, joined a Yang Family Trading Firm fleet, and returned to Star Moon Island. He learned that the island’s martial artists were rapidly advancing, while its growing population threatened to overwhelm its resources.

• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi reached Tunwu City and met Xie Yan, Zhen Yuncheng, and Zhang Dahu aboard a Yang Family Trading Firm fleet.
• Yang Zhengshan learned that Zhang Dahu had reached the Half-Step Innate Realm and that many people on Star Moon Island had broken through to the Innate Realm.
• Yang Zhengshan guided the fleet’s guards in cultivation while the ships carried goods northeast along the coast toward Da Rong.
• Yang Zhengshan arrived at Zhaowu Guard, then transferred to the First Fleet and continued to Star Moon Island.
• Yang Zhengshan learned that Star Moon Island’s population and far-flung trading network had grown rapidly, creating a looming population problem for the island.

Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi returned to Star Moon Island after more than three years away and reunited with their sprawling family and old associates. The chapter ended with Yang Zhengshan learning that Yang Mingzhao had been spending much of his time in Da Rong and ordering his family to bring him back.

• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi arrived at the bustling Star Moon Island port and walked home without announcing their return in advance.
• Yang Mingcheng rushed to greet his parents, and Yang Zhengshan began meeting the many descendants of the Yang Family.
• Yang Zhengshan held Yang Qinyuan’s young son, Yang Jijue, and caught up with the children and families of his branches.
• Yang Zhengshan learned that Yang Mingzhao had been traveling in Da Rong and told Yang Mingcheng to contact him and have him return.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi finished greeting their family and received Luo Shang, Zhen Yang Shi, Xie Yuan, and Han Cheng the following day.

Yang Zhengshan learned that his disciple Chen Zhaoxuan had died fighting the Prince of Great Liang and weighed how to avenge him without exposing the Yang family's strength or violating the unspoken rules governing Innate Martial Artists. He postponed a decision until after the New Year and ordered the merchant company to find news of Chen Zhaoxuan's surviving daughter.

• Han Cheng told Yang Zhengshan that Zhang Yuanwu would arrive at Star Moon Island the next month and that Wu Mingyang had been appointed Commander.
• Xie Yuan told Yang Zhengshan that Chen Zhaoxuan had died in battle half a year earlier, killed by the Prince of Great Liang, and Yang Zhengshan summoned his three sons to learn more.
• Yang Mingcheng, Yang Mingzhi, and Yang Minghao described the unrest spreading through Da Rong and explained that the Prince of Great Liang controlled Hanzhong Prefecture with a large force.
• Yang Zhengshan considered sending Innate Martial Artists or going himself to kill the Prince of Great Liang, but worried about the consequences and the rules against using such power in ordinary warfare.
• Yang Zhengshan decided to wait until after the New Year to see whether the Imperial Court would avenge Chen Zhaoxuan and ordered Li Chang to ask the merchant company for news of Chen Zhaoxuan's daughter.

Yang Zhengshan celebrated the New Year with his family while worrying about Yang Mingzhao’s absence. That night, news arrived that Shenmu Island had attacked the Yang Family Trading Firm’s fleet, bringing the long-running dispute between the islands to the brink of war.

• Yang Zhengshan welcomed Song Shi and Song Yuanzhao during New Year’s greetings and gave the child an Ice Heart Fruit.
• Yu Qingyi worried that Yang Mingzhao had not come home, and Yang Zhengshan said Wu Zheng and guards were with him.
• A fast ship arrived with word that Shenmu Island had attacked the 22nd Fleet near Huya Island, capturing five large ships while one escaped.
• Luo Shang and Luo Zhen learned of the attack, and Luo Shang identified it as Shenmu Island’s declaration of war.
• Luo Shang sent Luo Zhen to ask Second Master whether the Yang Family could rescue the captured crew, while reflecting on Shenmu Island’s escalating passage fees and opposition to the trading firm’s expansion.

Yang Zhengshan learned that Shenmu Island had attacked the Yang Family Trading Firm’s fleet with help from Taluo Dynasty Blue-Robed Warriors, possibly at Jiuxing Island’s urging. He agreed to retaliate against Shenmu Island and asked his gathered allies whether they should destroy it, leaving the decision open.

• Yang Mingzhi and Luo Zhen discussed Shenmu Island’s attack and suspected it had outside backing.
• Yang Zhengshan heard the fleet had been attacked and summoned the island’s leaders to explain what happened.
• Yang Mingzhi identified the attackers as Shenmu Island forces accompanied by Blue-Robed Warriors from the Taluo Dynasty.
• Luo Jinsong and Yang Mingzhi suspected Jiuxing Island had helped Shenmu Island because of its conflict with Dihuo Island.
• Yang Zhengshan concluded the Yang Family had been drawn into the Zhu Family’s conflict and decided to strike Shenmu Island.
• Yang Zhengshan asked whether they should wipe out Shenmu Island, and Yang Mingcheng deferred to his father.

Yang Zhengshan decided to destroy the Shenmu Sect and claim the Shenmu Seven Islands, both to relieve Star Moon Island’s population pressures and to obtain the Divine Trees and their resources. As he prepared to request Tenglong Guard reinforcements, the chapter revealed that the Shenmu Sect had allied with the Taluo Dynasty to force the Yang family to submit.

• Luo Jinsong argued that Star Moon Island needed more land and described the wealth and strategic value of the Shenmu Seven Islands.
• Yang Zhengshan decided to destroy the Shenmu Sect, citing the need for new territory, his interest in the Dazhao Celestial Empire, and the military value of the Divine Trees.
• Yang Zhengshan ordered Yang Minghao to prepare provisions and investigate Shenmu Island, and he wrote to Yu Tonghai to request troops from the Tenglong Guard.
• The chapter described the Shenmu Sect’s religious hierarchy and its use of Shenlin Island as a center for dealings with outsiders.
• Hou Fangjin and Wen Qing discussed their alliance: the Shenmu Sect and the Taluo Dynasty intended to make the Yang family submit and seize a share of Da Rong’s maritime trade.