Chapter Summaries

Yang Mingzhen and Yang Chengze raided deep into the Wuliang Royal Court, destroying tribes and alarming Tangwuxi, while Yang Zhengshan’s army endured a grueling detour across the Snow Plains. After finally reaching the grassland, Yang Zhengshan learned of a nearby tribe and prepared to move out the next day.

• Yang Chengze and Yang Mingzhen led their cavalry in separate attacks, destroying twelve Hu tribes in seven days and spreading panic through the Wuliang hinterland.
• Tangwuxi learned that Guriwen and six other tribes had been wiped out, then ordered Anduer to hunt down the Da Rong soldiers.
• Yang Zhengshan led the Front, Middle, and Rear Battalions on a detour of more than twenty-five hundred li through the Snow Plains, losing over three thousand warhorses to feed the army.
• Yang Zhengshan sent Yang Minghao and the light cavalry to scout for supplies, and Yang Minghao returned at night with news of a small tribe eighty li to the southwest.
• Yang Zhengshan ordered the army to rest and set out for the tribe the following day.

Yang Zhengshan’s army advanced secretly across the Snow Plains toward Yemi City, while Yang Mingzhen and Yang Chengze raided tribes in Wuliang territory. Wutuo ordered troops to hunt down the raiders, but they had already moved on, and Yang Mingzhen and Yang Chengze planned to frighten the Kele Tribe before continuing west.

• Yang Zhengshan’s army destroyed a small tribe, gathered its meager supplies, and continued west while keeping its route to Yemi City secret.
• Wutuo learned that enemy troops had penetrated the Royal Court’s heartland and ordered the Ongud Tribe and Tatar Tribe to raise thirty thousand men to encircle them.
• Yang Mingzhen and Yang Chengze’s forces massacred four tribes in Ongud lands and reached the Kele Tribe’s territory, where they attacked the Zhierjin Clan.
• Yang Mingzhen suggested attacking the Kele Tribe’s banner land, but Yang Chengze warned that its martial artists could inflict heavy losses.
• Yang Mingzhen and Yang Chengze decided to circle the Kele Tribe’s banner land and then raid west toward the Alaman Tribe.

Yang Mingzhen and Yang Chengze led their exhausted cavalry into Kele Tribe territory and struck at the settlements around Bayandelehei City. After routing Tuoli’s mine-protecting cavalry, they withdrew before the city’s defenders could engage them, then stopped to rest.

• The clan elders of Kele Tribe learned that Yang Mingzhen and Yang Chengze had entered their territory and decided to defend Bayandelehei City while sending scouts.
• Yang Mingzhen and Yang Chengze’s forces raided nearby settlements for supplies, then approached Bayandelehei City and faced a tense standoff with its defenders.
• Tuoli led about four thousand mine-protecting cavalry toward the city but encountered Yang Chengze’s force, which cut through the cavalry and killed about two thousand riders.
• Yang Mingzhen held the Right Battalion back to guard against the city’s forces while Yang Chengze attacked, and the two coordinated their withdrawal after the battle.
• The clan elders and Tuoli reached the battlefield after the enemy had left; Yang Mingzhen and Yang Chengze’s exhausted troops stopped to rest after riding about forty li.

Yang Zhengshan led his exhausted army into Wuliang territory and launched a sudden assault on Yemi City, the Wuliang royal city. After his troops stormed inside and overwhelmed the defenders, he defeated the state preceptor Master Zhixuan, leaving the city’s fate in the hands of Chongshan Town’s soldiers.

• Yang Zhengshan left several thousand exhausted soldiers behind to guard captured livestock and led the remaining cavalry toward Yemi City.
• Yang Zhengshan’s forces reached the city before its defenders could prepare, and his short spears prevented the gates from closing until his cavalry burst through.
• Song Dashan and the Chongshan Town soldiers fought their way across the city while Red Cloud charged through the streets and Yang Zhengshan went to meet an approaching Innate Martial Artist.
• Yang Zhengshan recognized the opponent as Master Zhixuan, the Wuliang Royal Court’s state preceptor, and fought him among the city’s manors.
• Yang Zhengshan pierced Master Zhixuan’s abdomen and chest with his spear, defeating him as the battle continued throughout Yemi City.

Yang Zhengshan’s army captured Yemi City, the Wuliang Royal Court’s wealthy capital, and he began gathering its treasures while resting his exhausted troops. He decided to leave after two more days rather than wait for Wutuo, whose return could trap the weakened army.

• Yang Zhengshan killed Master Zhixuan, broke into the royal palace, and led his soldiers in taking Yemi City.
• Yang Zhengshan spent the night guarding the city, then learned from Yang Minghao that the city held abundant grain and valuables.
• Yang Zhengshan ordered the city’s treasures gathered, searched the palace treasury, rewarded Yang Qinhu with pills, and gave him spear-technique guidance.
• The soldiers moved gold, silver, medicines, and other valuables into the palace, forming a vast pile in the plaza.
• Yang Zhengshan learned that more than two thousand soldiers had died and thousands more were wounded, so he ordered preparations to leave after two days instead of waiting for Wutuo.

Yang Zhengshan withdrew north after burning Yemi City and scattering the Hu tribesmen who pursued him. Wutuo refused to abandon the siege of Linyuan City, which fell after Aguche wounded Duan Qifeng and Fei Mingyue helped him escape; the two hid in an empty Centurion Office.

• Yang Zhengshan left Yemi City with wealth and provisions, setting fires throughout the city before withdrawing north.
• Yang Chengxu led five thousand Soldiers against the pursuing young Hu men, scattering their mob with a single charge.
• Wutuo learned that Yemi City had fallen but refused Aguche's pleas to withdraw, insisting that the army take Linyuan City first.
• Wutuo's forces launched a fierce assault, and Duan Qifeng led the Elite Guard Battalion to defend the city walls.
• Aguche wounded Duan Qifeng in their duel and knocked him from the wall, but Fei Mingyue intervened and helped him flee.
• Linyuan City fell as Beiyuan Town's army routed, and Fei Mingyue hid the wounded Duan Qifeng in an empty Centurion Office.

After Duan Qifeng’s forces captured blood food, Fei Mingyue betrayed him and drained his blood, while Duan Ninghe sided with her. Yang Zhengshan’s armies reunited after withdrawing from Yemi City, and Tangwuxi realized the Chongshan Town forces had deceived him and that Wutuo was now the one who had to act.

• Fei Mingyue attacked the wounded Duan Qifeng and made him her blood slave while Duan Ninghe watched loyally.
• Yang Zhengshan withdrew from Yemi City with his forces, finding that the Wuliang tribes did not pursue them.
• Yang Mingzhen and Yang Chengze reunited with Yang Zhengshan, who assessed the army’s casualties, supplies, horses, and plunder.
• Reports of Yemi City’s destruction and Chongshan Town’s raids spread across the Wuliang Grasslands and confused Tangwuxi.
• Tangwuxi concluded that the Chongshan Town camp was too fortified to attack and told his generals to wait for Wutuo to respond.

After the Wuliang army withdrew, Yang Zhengshan returned to Chongshan Town and questioned whether Da Rong had truly won, since the enemy had suffered heavy losses but Beiyuan Town and Longyuan had been devastated. The chapter also showed rival tribes eyeing power in the Wuliang Royal Court and Da Rong’s Imperial Court consumed by factional disputes while Longyuan went unsupported.

• Tangwuxi, Bai Mi, and Sang Kun considered taking advantage of Wuliang’s losses to challenge the Wuliang Royal Court.
• Cui Liang and Ji Feiyu planned to exploit the Wuliang Royal Court’s internal strife for blood food, while nursing their hatred of Yang Zhengshan.
• The Spirit-Continuing Blood-Refining Technique was revealed to weaken its users, shorten their lives, and enslave them to their evil thoughts.
• Da Rong’s Imperial Court punished officials and nobles over the defeats in Longyuan, while factional struggles delayed sending troops to support the province.
• Yang Zhengshan returned to Chongshan Town in late June and found seven Imperial Court documents, including inquiries about why he had not supported Linyuan City.
• Yang Zhengshan weighed Da Rong’s apparent victory against the devastation of Beiyuan Town and Longyuan and concluded that Da Rong’s losses had been greater.

Yang Zhengshan withdrew Chongshan Town’s army from Sari Lake, judging that Da Rong’s losses and the Wuliang Hu Tribe’s strength made further expansion too dangerous. After returning to Chongshan Pass, he and Zhou Lan discussed the new governor Zhang Zhecheng and the court’s efforts to balance Yang Zhengshan’s influence in Chongshan Town.

• Yang Zhengshan reflected that Da Rong had lost because its garrisons, local governments, and Imperial Court had failed to defend Longyuan effectively, and he ordered Chongshan Town to withdraw rather than risk fighting for Sari Lake.
• Tang Feihu questioned the withdrawal, but Yang Zhengshan explained that the Chici and Tatar Tribes remained strong, the Wula Tribe could resist settlement, and Chongshan Town had better land to develop closer to home.
• Tangwuxi let Chongshan Town’s army leave East Que Pass and sent Batu’er to the royal city to learn Wutuo’s intentions while Tangwuxi remained at the pass.
• Wutuo summoned the vassal kings, but only Cui Liang attended, while the Ula Clan hid in the Snow Plains and the other kings sent representatives; Wutuo chose to endure the challenge for now.
• Yang Zhengshan returned to Chongshan Pass, where he and Zhou Lan discussed Governor Zhang Zhecheng’s appointment and concluded that the Emperor had sent him to counterbalance Yang Zhengshan’s influence.
• Zhou Lan said she depended on Yang Zhengshan to preserve her control of Chongshan Town, and Yang Zhengshan laughed that they were both in the same boat.

Emperor Yanping transferred Zhou Lan and much of the Yang Family’s leadership to rebuild Beiyuan Town, appointing Tang Feihu Regional Commander of Chongshan Town. Yang Zhengshan secured the Yang Family’s influence there by keeping Yang Chengye in Chongshan Town and backing Tang Feihu, while Zhang Zhecheng remained isolated.

• Yang Zhengshan and Zhou Lan expected Zhou Lan to remain Regional Commander of Chongshan Town, but Emperor Yanping transferred Zhou Lan and Yang Mingzhi to rebuild Beiyuan Town and promoted Tang Feihu to lead Chongshan Town.
• Yang Zhengshan worried that Tang Feihu might struggle to control Chongshan Town without the Yang Family’s support, so he ordered his grandson Yang Chengye to remain there as a Bazong in the Town Garrison Camp.
• Yang Zhengshan asked Tang Feihu to look after Yang Chengye, and Tang Feihu chose to rely on the Yang Family rather than join forces with Zhang Zhecheng.
• Yang Zhengshan appointed Luo Feiyu East Route Assistant Regional Commander and ordered Zhang Chengzhi to exchange posts with him; Zhang Chengzhi accepted.
• Yang Zhengshan yielded the seat of honor to Tang Feihu and advised him to maintain Chongshan Town’s arrangements and remain wary of the Wuliang Hu Tribe.
• Tang Feihu hosted a banquet attended by Yang Zhengshan, Zhang Zhecheng, and Chongshan Town officials, where Yang Zhengshan’s presence signaled support for Tang Feihu and left Zhang Zhecheng isolated.

Yang Zhengshan arranged for Chongshan Town to remain stable after its command changed, then visited the Azure Sky Sword Sect with Yu Qingyi. He left the sect with its next generation in mind and continued preparing for the Yang Family to live with greater independence from Da Rong.

• Yang Zhengshan told Yu Qingyi that Tang Feihu and Zhang Zhecheng could clash, but he would not allow their conflict to destabilize Chongshan Town, and he decided Yang Chengye would stay there with a squad of guards.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi agreed that Lady Yu and Yang Ruochen would join Yang Chengye while Yang Qinyuan stayed in the Capital, and Yang Zhengshan explained his plan to move the Yang Family’s Innate Martial Artists to Star Moon Island.
• Yu Qingyi reminded Yang Zhengshan that Innate Martial Artists were protected by the jianghu’s consensus against forced service, easing his fears about the Imperial Court’s response to the Yang Family’s independence.
• After Zhou Lan and Yang Mingzhi left with five thousand soldiers, Tang Feihu took command, made appointments in Chongshan Town, and distributed rewards; Yang Zhengshan departed once the town had settled.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi visited the Azure Sky Sword Sect, where Hua Jinqiu described its growth and planned to pass the sect leadership to Song Ruwang.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi gave pills to promising disciples Song Ruwang, Wang Dahe, and Li Xiu, urging them to cultivate toward the Innate Realm.

Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi visited the Azure Sky Sword Sect and Tenglong Guard, leaving gifts and Spirit Spring Water before returning to the Capital. At home, Yang Zhengshan welcomed his new granddaughter-in-law, entrusted Yang Chengmou with helping raise Yang Qinyuan, and announced that Yang Mingcheng would inherit his title.

• Yu Qingyi gave Hua Mingzhu and her junior brothers and sisters pills, and she and Yang Zhengshan spent three days visiting the Azure Sky Sword Sect before departing.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi visited Tenglong Guard, where Yang Zhengshan gave Yu Tonghai a Three-Yellow Plum and left Spirit Spring Water in the four Guard Cities.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi returned to the Capital, where Wang introduced Yang Chengxian's wife, Zhu Mingqiu, and Yu Qingyi and Yang Zhengshan gave her gifts.
• At a family banquet, Yang Zhengshan praised Yang Qinyuan for studying and gave him grapes, then told Yang Chengmou to help raise him and not spoil him.
• Yang Zhengshan told Yang Mingcheng to accompany him to the palace the next day and revealed that he planned to have Yang Mingcheng inherit the title.

Yang Zhengshan secured Emperor Yanping’s approval for Yang Mingcheng to inherit the Jing’an Marquis title as Yang Zhengshan prepared to withdraw from court and move to Star Moon Island. He reflected on the Yang family’s growing power and the ambitions future descendants might develop, then learned Yang Mingcheng was close to reaching the Innate Realm.

• Wang celebrated becoming a Marchioness, while Yang Mingcheng worried that inheriting the title would leave him responsible for the Yang family’s affairs in the capital; they considered leaving the capital to avoid court politics.
• Yang Zhengshan told Emperor Yanping he wanted to resign as Martial Administrator of the Martial Arts Pavilion, and Emperor Yanping agreed to place the pavilion under the Martial Temple.
• Yang Zhengshan asked Emperor Yanping to approve Yang Mingcheng inheriting his title, and Emperor Yanping gladly granted permission.
• As Yang Zhengshan left the Imperial City, he reflected that his service to Da Rong had repaid his obligations and that future Yang family descendants might develop ambitions of their own.
• Yang Zhengshan told Yang Mingcheng he and his wife would move to Star Moon Island after Wanting’s wedding, and Yang Mingcheng said he expected to reach the Innate Realm within a year or two.

After Yang Mingcheng inherited the title of Marquis of Jing'an, Luo Shang warned Yang Zhengshan that corruption and private glass production were draining the Imperial Merchant Bureau. Yang Zhengshan arranged for Luo Shang and Zhen Yang Shi to leave the Bureau and join his planned Yang Family Trading Firm on Star Moon Island.

• Yang Mingcheng put on his Qilin Robe to celebrate becoming Marquis of Jing'an, then changed out of it because it was uncomfortable.
• Luo Shang told Yang Zhengshan that the Imperial Merchant Bureau's earnings were falling because private glass workshops used its sales channels and corruption was reducing merchants' profits.
• Yang Zhengshan told Luo Shang to resign from the Imperial Merchant Bureau and offered the Luo Family a role in a trading firm based on Star Moon Island.
• Luo Shang agreed to invest in the Yang Family Trading Firm, and Yang Zhengshan named him chief shopkeeper and Zhen Yang Shi second shopkeeper.
• Yang Zhengshan invited Luo Shang and Zhen Yang Shi to help establish the firm and said he would guide young children from their families in cultivation on Star Moon Island.

Yang Zhengshan finalized plans for the Yang Family Trading Firm and prepared to move his family and clan to Star Moon Island. After attending Yang Wanting’s wedding, he reassured Yang Yunxue about the coming separation and offered to take her son Liang Qingping to the island for his education.

• Luo Shang and Zhen Yang Shi established plans for the Yang Family Trading Firm, while Deng Yuehe agreed to send her son and grandson to serve on Star Moon Island in exchange for a half-percent share.
• The Luo Family, Zhen Family, and Lv Family sent several hundred people from Jinhai Guard to Star Moon Island, and Wang Qianzhong married Yang Wanting on September 12.
• Yang Zhengshan arranged for Wang Qianzhong to work at the Martial Arts Pavilion so he could cultivate and later try to enter as a disciple.
• Yang Zhengshan told Yang Yunxue that he and several family members would leave for Star Moon Island soon, and offered to take Liang Qingping with him for a few years.
• Yang Zhengshan comforted Yang Yunxue about the separation and said he would return to visit when he had time.

Yang Zhengshan left the Capital with most of the Yang Family and sailed to Star Moon Island, where he planned to settle down as its Island Master. After arriving, he inspected the city and took up residence in the former Yue Family estate.

• Yang Zhengshan visited Zhang Ye in Three Mountain Valley, where they discussed the difficulty of comprehending Dao intent and learned that Chen Shanwu had died and Li Shouning was nearing the end of his life.
• Yang Zhengshan reflected that letting go of obsession might open a new path, then decided to let nature take its course.
• On September twentieth, Yang Zhengshan and most of the Yang Family left the Capital and sailed south with Star Moon Island's fleet.
• Yang Zhengshan declared that he would be called Island Master, and Luo Jinsong welcomed the fleet to Star Moon Island alongside Luo Shang, Zhen Yang Shi, and Lv Xinghe.
• Yang Zhengshan entered the city, said he wanted its walls torn down, and settled into the former Yue Family estate while Wang Jing and Lu Shou arranged the family's lodgings.

Yang Zhengshan surveyed Star Moon Island and organized its government, trade, military, and martial arts institutions. He left Jiang He and the others to establish them while preparing the island to grow into a self-sufficient base.

• Yang Zhengshan toured Star Moon Island with Luo Jinsong, assessed its farmland and population, and decided to recruit more settlers from Tenglong Guard.
• Yang Zhengshan inspected the island’s streams, medicinal fields, and mountain pools, claimed the mountaintop courtyard for himself, and planned to add spirit spring water to the pools.
• Yang Zhengshan established the Star Moon Official Office and assigned Jiang He, Yang Chengche, and Yang Qinwu to oversee administration, education, and island security.
• Yang Zhengshan appointed Luo Shang, Zhen Yang Shi, and Lv Xinghe to run the Yang Family Trading Firm, tasked them with opening shipping routes and setting up glass and salt production, and put Luo Jinsong and Wu Zhan in charge of the naval force.
• Yang Zhengshan ordered Wang Lei and Li Chang to select a hundred guards, then established a Library Pavilion stocked with cultivation methods and instructed Jiang He to organize and copy its books.

Yang Zhengshan organized Star Moon Island’s finances and established generous cultivation and official salaries for its residents and martial artists. As the island’s administration settled into routine, two thousand young military households arrived from Tenglong Guard.

• Jiang He completed the island’s resident registers, village divisions, and primary schools while Luo Shang and Zhen Yang Shi established the Yang Family Trading Firm.
• Luo Shang and Zhen Yang Shi showed Yang Zhengshan their families’ vast wealth, and he directed them to fund the Official Office and trading firm while keeping the remainder.
• Yang Zhengshan set salaries that combined silver for official posts with spirit fruits, wine, and tea based on martial cultivation, and he ordered the list kept confidential.
• The new salary standards raised the island’s officials’ and martial artists’ enthusiasm, allowing Yang Zhengshan to delegate daily affairs to his subordinates.
• In the twelfth lunar month, two thousand boys and girls aged ten to fifteen arrived on Star Moon Island from Tenglong Guard, surprising Yang Zhengshan.

Yang Zhengshan discovered that Yu Tonghai had sent two thousand children from Tenglong Guard to Star Moon Island, forcing the island to arrange for their care and education while seeking more farmers to cultivate its fields. As the island entered the First Year of Star Moon, Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi explored the Spirit Spring Space and found that all twelve Unknown Lotuses had begun to bud.

• Yang Zhengshan learned from Luo Jinsong that Yu Tonghai had arranged for two thousand children of Tenglong Guard soldiers to move to Star Moon Island, and he ordered Jiang He to house and teach them.
• Yang Zhengshan told Luo Jinsong to bring honest farmers from Fuhai and obtain livestock and poultry for the island’s farming households.
• Jiang He settled the children in empty mountain villages, hired women to care for them, and assigned fifty soldiers as their instructors.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi celebrated the first New Year of Star Moon as the children played across the island.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi entered the Spirit Spring Space, where Yang Zhengshan discovered that each of the twelve Unknown Lotuses had grown a flower bud.

Yang Zhengshan replaced Red Cloud with Hongdou and arranged to settle refugees from drought-stricken Funing Prefecture on the islands he controlled. Meanwhile, Da Rong’s wider famine worsened as corruption and grain shortages left disaster victims without relief, culminating in starving people storming Dachang County.

• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi found that tigers had wiped out the space’s roe deer, then moved Red Cloud into the space and brought Hongdou out to replace it.
• Star Moon Island’s offices and trading firm settled into routine as its population and maritime connections grew.
• Luo Jinsong told Yang Zhengshan that over three thousand starving refugees from Funing Prefecture had been brought to Star Moon Island after drought, exploitation, and government neglect.
• Yang Zhengshan ordered Luo Jinsong to bring more disaster victims to farm the Four Cardinal Islands and provide them with monthly grain.
• Drought across more than twenty prefectures, embezzled relief supplies, and hoarding caused famine to spread through Da Rong.
• Starving people stormed Dachang County, where County Magistrate Zhao Yuankai defended the office after embezzling relief grain.