Chapter Summaries

After Bai Xiaowen returned to Ye Capital, Dong Zhao and Hua Xin proposed that the court promote him to Prince of Yan and grant him the Nine Bestowals. As the honors were prepared, Bai Xiaowen uncovered Empress Fu’s plot against him and ordered Fu Wan’s residence searched, ending with his decision to punish Fu Wan.

• Dong Zhao and Hua Xin memorialized that Bai Xiaowen should be promoted to Prince of Yan and receive the Nine Bestowals, while Xun Yu remained absent and ill.
• Bai Xiaowen ordered physicians to care for Xun Yu and told Dong Zhao to replace the palace guards and eunuchs to prevent the emperor from secretly winning their support.
• Bai Xiaowen’s investigation exposed Mu Shun as the eunuch assisting Empress Fu, so he ordered the tiger guards to search Mu Shun’s and Fu Wan’s residences.
• The search uncovered Empress Fu’s letter asking Fu Wan to plot against Bai Xiaowen and Fu Wan’s reply proposing to act when Bai Xiaowen campaigned against Jiangnan.
• Bai Xiaowen decided to punish Fu Wan to intimidate those who might oppose him.

Bai Xiaowen spared Empress Fu from execution but had her deposed, then accepted the title of Prince of Yan. As ministers pressed him to take secondary consorts, he appointed Zhen Mi Princess of Yan and deferred selecting fifteen consorts until after he unified the realm.

• Bai Xiaowen executed more than seventy members of Fu Wan and Mu Shun's families and exiled the remaining household members to Liaodong.
• Hua Xin forced Empress Fu to surrender her seal, and the Emperor deposed her and confined her to the Cold Palace after Bai Xiaowen left her punishment to him.
• Bai Xiaowen explained that sparing Empress Fu avoided alienating ministers and handing Sun Clan a righteous cause before his campaign south.
• The ministers petitioned to elevate Bai Xiaowen to Prince of Yan, and he accepted the title after three refusals.
• Bai Xiaowen rejected blame placed on Zhen Mi for having no children, named her Princess of Yan, and gave her authority to select fifteen secondary consorts after his campaign.
• Qiao Rui, Li Shuyi, and Han Xu joked about Bai Xiaowen's plan while he privately checked Li Shuyi's reaction.

Bai Xiaowen discussed Zhen Mi’s request to join the southern campaign before holding court to review the capture of Jingzhou and Wei Yan’s failed attack on Jiangdong territory. He rewarded Zhang He but withheld a reward from Wei Yan, leaving his future standing dependent on his conduct.

• Bai Xiaowen assured Zhen Mi that she could oversee the selection of palace maidens, then agreed to let her accompany the army south.
• Wei Yan captured Xiangyang and Jingzhou’s five commanderies after Liu Cong and other officials surrendered, while Zhang Yun defected to Sun Wu.
• Wei Yan attacked Jiangxia and other commanderies held by Sun Ce, but Lu Su and Lü Meng defeated him and cut down more than half his vanguard.
• Zhang He arrived with thirty thousand soldiers and held Jingxiang, preserving Wei Yan’s earlier gains.
• Bai Xiaowen’s court praised Zhang He and Wei Yan, but Bai Xiaowen promoted Zhang He and ruled that Wei Yan’s merits and faults canceled each other out.

Bai Xiaowen and his ministers agreed to launch a campaign against Sun Ce rather than delay, activating the final Grand Unification quest. He planned to lead the main army through Jiangxia while Zhang He and Jia Xu staged a diversion at Luling.

• Bai Xiaowen argued that Sun Ce’s conflict with Jiangdong’s clans made an immediate campaign urgent, persuading Tian Feng and the other ministers to agree.
• Bai Xiaowen activated the final Grand Unification Main Quest, which required gaining actual rule over Jingzhou, Yangzhou, and Jiaozhou.
• Ju Shou proposed attacking Jiangdong along routes toward Luling and Ruxu Pass, while Tian Feng warned that dividing the army would weaken both forces.
• Bai Xiaowen chose to send a feint toward Luling and lead the main army through Jiangxia, whose commanderies Sun Ce had only recently taken.
• Bai Xiaowen selected Zhang He to command the Luling diversion and proposed Jia Xu as his strategist.

Bai Xiaowen secured Ye Capital before leading his army into Jingzhou, where he accepted Liu Cong's surrender and sent him and Lady Cai to Qingzhou. The chapter left Bai Xiaowen at Xiangyang as he began consolidating control over Jingzhou.

• Bai Xiaowen assigned Ju Shou to defend Ye Capital while Jia Xu and Zhang He prepared to lead a feint into Jiangnan.
• Zhen Mi selected fifteen women as candidates for Bai Xiaowen's secondary consorts, including Ma Yunlu and Han Qi, who was Camille.
• In the third month of the second year of Taishi, Bai Xiaowen led eighty thousand troops south and arrived at Xiangyang.
• Bai Xiaowen questioned Liu Cong and Lady Cai about aiding Liu Bei, and Kuai Yue defended them by explaining that Liu Bei had become too powerful to resist.
• Bai Xiaowen pardoned Liu Cong, made him Marquis of Fan Castle, and sent him and Lady Cai to Qingzhou, where he would hold the title of inspector while a deputy governed.

Bai Xiaowen rewarded Jingzhou’s gentry and generals while preparing to move against Jiangnan, then advanced on Jiangxia with a vastly larger army. Lu Su and Lü Meng abandoned the isolated city and escaped across the river as Wei Yan took it for the Prince of Yan.

• Bai Xiaowen ennobled fifteen Jingzhou gentry, then welcomed Jia Xu and the generals who had defended Hefei and granted them new offices.
• Bai Xiaowen ordered Zhang He and Jia Xu to take twenty thousand Sichuan troops to Lingling and feint toward Luling.
• Jia Xu told Zhang Xiu that Bai Xiaowen intended to conquer Jiangnan and explained why he trusted Zhang He to work with him.
• Bai Xiaowen led his main army toward Jiangxia while Wei Yan’s vanguard attacked the city.
• Lu Su persuaded Lü Meng to abandon Jiangxia and preserve their soldiers and the people rather than defend the isolated commanderies.
• Lu Su and Lü Meng broke out through Jiangxia’s south gate at night, and Wei Yan entered the city and reported its capture.

Bai Xiaowen secured Jingzhou, captured Lu Su and Lü Meng through an ambush, and organized a naval camp at Xiakou. That night, he finished reading the Great Peace Scripture and was ready to activate the special skill Origin Force.

• Bai Xiaowen rebuked Wei Yan for taking Jiangxia without capturing its defenders, then revealed that Li Shuyi and White Sanniang had ambushed and captured Lu Su, Lü Meng, and their officers.
• Bai Xiaowen offered Lu Su and Lü Meng a chance to surrender; they refused, so he imprisoned them and spared their lives.
• Bai Xiaowen inspected Jingzhou's remaining ships and appointed Han Song to establish a naval camp at Xiakou.
• Han Song built a well-organized water camp connected to Bai Xiaowen's land camp, while Bai Xiaowen considered Jiangdong's naval expertise.
• Bai Xiaowen finished reading the Great Peace Scripture in the Upper Volume of the Heavenly Books and prepared to activate Origin Force.

Bai Xiaowen completed his reading of the Great Peace Scripture and unlocked the Origin Force skill, along with a new function in the Mountains and Rivers Statecraft Diagram. He tested how Origin Force enhanced his unarmed attacks, but found it slow and difficult to control, leaving him unsure whether it could strengthen ranged weapons.

• Bai Xiaowen finished reciting the Gui section of the Great Peace Scripture and unlocked Origin Force, which began recovering over time.
• Bai Xiaowen used the Inner Vision Technique to sense Origin Force gathering in his Elixir Field and inspected the skill’s details.
• Bai Xiaowen learned that cultivating the scripture increased his Origin Force recovery and that Origin Force could strengthen attacks or power Daoist arts.
• Bai Xiaowen tested an Origin Force punch and found he needed time to gather energy, with a limit of 21 points for a single strike.
• Bai Xiaowen failed to reclaim most of the Origin Force from his fist and injured his arm with the backlash.
• Bai Xiaowen asked whether Origin Force could strengthen guns or bows, but the Spirit Realm Rules told him to explore the possibility himself.

Bai Xiaowen saw his fleet suffer heavy losses against the Jiangdong navy and decided to link his ships with iron chains to stabilize them. He ordered Cai Zhong and Cai He to be used as spies in Wu, while preparations began for the chained fleet.

• Bai Xiaowen learned that the Map of Mountains and Rivers could alter weather through a ritual that consumed Origin Force and lowered Luck.
• Bai Xiaowen ordered his fleet to withdraw toward shore as the Jiangdong navy attacked, and Han Xu used Deep Sea Shock to capsize two enemy ships.
• Cecilia and Murong Ping led archers who drove back the pursuing Jiangdong boats, though Bai Xiaowen's fleet suffered greater losses.
• Bai Xiaowen assured Han Song that he would not send him into battle and ordered iron chains forged to link the ships against the river's waves.
• Kuai Yue proposed sending Cai Zhong and Cai He across the river as spies, and Bai Xiaowen approved the plan.

Bai Xiaowen sent Cai Zhong and Cai He to Jiangdong as apparent defectors, intending to give Zhou Yu false intelligence to exploit. In Sun Ce’s tent, Zhou Yu protected Lu Jun from treason charges and kept Lu Xun and Lu Ji behind after the other clan representatives left.

• Bai Xiaowen ordered Cai Zhong and Cai He to pose as resentful defectors and secretly report Jiangdong’s military intelligence.
• Li Shuyi questioned why Bai Xiaowen sent the brothers when Zhou Yu had exposed and killed them in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and Bai Xiaowen explained that Zhou Yu’s belief in using them was what mattered.
• Sun Ce confronted Lu Jun over allegations that the Lu Clan planned to surrender Jiangdong, as Gu Yong, Zhou Fang, Zhang Wen, Lu Xun, and Lu Ji arrived to plead for the clan.
• Lu Xun challenged the accusation as the revenge of an expelled servant, Zhu Ze, while Zhu Ze claimed he had heard Lu Jun discuss seeking terms with the enemy.
• Zhou Yu called Zhu Ze a slanderer and ordered his execution, then dismissed the other clan representatives and kept Lu Jun, Lu Xun, and Lu Ji behind to discuss matters.

Zhou Yu and Sun Ce pressured the Lu Clan to feign surrender to Yuan Xi and spy for Sun Ce, and Lu Xun agreed despite Lu Jun’s reservations. The meeting ended when two men claiming kinship with the Cai Clan arrived to see Sun Ce.

• Zhou Yu explained that he had killed Zhu Ze to protect the Lu Clan and proposed using its members as inside agents against the Northern Army.
• Lu Jun refused to feign surrender, while Sun Ce threatened the Lu Clan and Zhou Yu argued that supporting Sun Ce offered a chance to preserve its standing in Jiangdong.
• Lu Xun agreed to write to Yuan Xi, pretend to surrender, and feed him false intelligence.
• Sun Ce invited the Lu Clan members to dine, then learned that two men claiming to be Cai Clan kinsmen had arrived seeking an audience.
• Zhou Yu speculated that the visitors resented being overlooked for noble titles and sent the Lu Clan members away before Sun Ce met them.

Sun Ce and Zhou Yu planned to exploit Cai Zhong and Cai He's false surrender and the Yuan Army's chain-linked ships, while Bai Xiaowen received a letter offering support from the Lu Clan. Bai Xiaowen recognized that the Lu Clan's offer was not genuine as he prepared to invade Jiangdong.

• Sun Ce accepted Cai Zhong and Cai He's surrender, and Zhou Yu planned to use them to spread false information.
• Zhang Yun and Zhang Cong reported that Yuan Xi had chained his warships together, which Zhou Yu saw as an opportunity to defeat the fleet with fire.
• Zhou Yu and Sun Ce staged a crackdown on the Lu Clan, imprisoning Lu Jun and seizing the clan's lands to provoke Jiangdong's great clans.
• Cai Zhong and Cai He sent news of the crackdown to Bai Xiaowen, who received a letter from Lu Ji and Lu Xun offering to help seize Sun Ce's grain supplies.
• Bai Xiaowen told his generals he would cross the Yangtze and attack Jiangdong, then told Li Shuyi that the Lu Clan's offer was not genuine.

Bai Xiaowen deciphered Lu Xun’s warning, studied Daoist arts from the Middle Volume of the Heavenly Books, and welcomed Huang Zhong into his service. He then launched his fleet across the river to attack Zhou Yu’s naval camp at Three Rivers Estuary.

• Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi deciphered Lu Xun’s letter as a warning that his surrender was false, and Bai Xiaowen prepared to cross the river and defeat Zhou Yu.
• Bai Xiaowen studied the Middle Volume of the Heavenly Books and learned that he could perform its Daoist arts with Origin Force without using skill slots.
• Huang Zhong arrived from Jingzhou and pledged allegiance to Bai Xiaowen after Bai Xiaowen had treated his family well and offered help for Huang Xu.
• Bai Xiaowen appointed Huang Zhong, Huang Xu, and Huang Wudie to new ranks and discovered that Huang Zhong’s Bow-and-Blade Twin Mastery swapped his strength and agility when he changed weapons.
• Bai Xiaowen ordered his chained tower ships across the river to attack Zhou Yu’s naval camp at Three Rivers Estuary.

Sun Ce and Zhou Yu tried to destroy Bai Xiaowen’s fleet with fireships, but Bai Xiaowen used the Blessing Ritual to reverse the wind and turn the attack back on Jiangdong. With his troops emboldened by the apparent sign of destiny, Bai Xiaowen launched an assault on the enemy naval camp.

• Sun Ce and Zhou Yu learned that Zhang He and Jia Xu were advancing toward Luling, and Zhou Yu sent Han Dang and Zhou Tai with three thousand elite troops to defend it.
• Bai Xiaowen’s fleet encountered more than twenty fireships disguised as grain boats, and Xun You warned that they were a trap.
• The wind reversed after Bai Xiaowen invoked the Blessing Ritual, sending the fireships back toward Jiangdong and boosting the Yuan Army’s morale and loyalty.
• Bai Xiaowen ordered his fleet to cross the river and attack Sun Ce’s naval camp, promising a reward for capturing or killing Sun Ce.
• Huang Gai fled by speedboat, but Cecilia shot him into the water as the Jiangdong boats scattered.

Bai Xiaowen’s forces turned Zhou Yu’s naval camp into a rout with fire ships and fire arrows, while Bai Xiaowen investigated a fire aboard one of his own vessels. He discovered that Alec Santos had set the blaze and used the Taiping Talisman to overpower him, leaving Alec’s fate in Bai Xiaowen’s hands.

• Zhou Yu’s fleet was thrown into chaos by the northwest wind and a line of fire ships, and he ordered his warships to scatter as fires spread.
• Bai Xiaowen ordered Huang Zhong, Murong Ping, and Cecilia to fire on Jiangdong’s ships, then left Qiao Rui in command while he and Li Shuyi flew to investigate a burning Yuan Army vessel.
• Li Shuyi cut the burning ship free from the iron chains, while Bai Xiaowen found Alec Santos setting fire to the ship’s cargo hold.
• Alec revealed that he had entered the plane as Zhang Cong and sided with Sun Ce after deciding Bai Xiaowen would not share the Grand Unification contribution with him.
• Alec attacked with multiple afterimages, but Bai Xiaowen used the Taiping Talisman’s Heart-Confounding Talisman to suppress him despite his control-removal items.

Bai Xiaowen’s army crossed the river and routed Jiangdong’s shore camp, while Sun Ce and other Jiangdong generals returned to fight back. Sun Ce unleashed his Lord Skill, Overlord, and Bai Xiaowen prepared to bring another force into the battle.

• Alec escaped with a Return Scroll, confirming that Bai Xiaowen’s Heart-Confounding Talisman could control Awakeners who stayed within its range.
• Bai Xiaowen regrouped with Li Shuyi, searched the tower ship for other Awakeners, and led his forces ashore as the fireships devastated Zhou Yu’s camp.
• Zhang Liao and Huang Zhong overwhelmed Taishi Ci, while Sun Ce and Gan Ning returned with reinforcements and clashed with the Yuan Army.
• Li Shuyi joined the fighting against wounded Taishi Ci, while Cecilia and the Winged Cavalry harassed Jiangdong’s forces from the battlefield’s edge.
• Sun Ce activated Overlord, weakening nearby Yuan soldiers and killing a subordinate general outright, as Bai Xiaowen prepared to act from the tower ship’s main cabin.

Bai Xiaowen’s Yuan Army overwhelmed Sun Ce’s forces, and Zhao Yun held Sun Ce back while Li Shuyi and Cecilia helped kill Taishi Ci and corner Zhou Yu. Sun Ce broke free in a berserk state to rescue Zhou Yu, but Pang De and Zhang Xiu blocked him as Zhou Yu urged him to escape.

• Zhao Yun rode from the warship and challenged Sun Ce, while Bai Xiaowen’s generals fought Gan Ning, Taishi Ci, and Zhou Yu across the battlefield.
• Li Shuyi and Cecilia killed Taishi Ci, and Xu Huang drove Zhou Yu’s forces into retreat.
• Zhou Yu rallied Jiangdong soldiers as Sun Ce ordered a withdrawal, but Zhao Yun broke Sun Ce’s banner and confused the retreating army.
• Bai Xiaowen sent the Winged Cavalry and Death Knight charging into Zhou Yu’s gathered troops, while Li Shuyi disarmed and attacked Zhou Yu.
• Sun Ce entered a berserk state and charged to save Zhou Yu, but Pang De and Zhang Xiu stopped him while Zhou Yu urged Sun Ce to flee and avenge him.

After Sun Ce fled the routed Jiangdong Army, Bai Xiaowen captured Zhou Yu and several other generals, then continued his advance toward Chaisang. Sun Ce escaped toward Wu Commandery but was ambushed in the mountains by masked crossbowmen using poisoned bolts.

• Sun Ce fled the battlefield, and Bai Xiaowen ordered Zhao Yun, Pang De, and Zhang Xiu not to pursue him.
• Li Shuyi captured the severely wounded Zhou Yu alive, while Bai Xiaowen's forces captured Gan Ning, Jiang Qin, and Ding Feng; Huang Gai escaped.
• Bai Xiaowen rewarded his soldiers, sent troops across the river, and promised Zhao Yun he would honor their agreement after Jiangnan was pacified.
• Sun Ce led several dozen survivors toward Wu Commandery and entered Mount Kuang despite suspecting danger.
• Masked crossbowmen ambushed Sun Ce's group, killed his surviving soldiers, and wounded him with poisoned bolts as he fought his way uphill.

Sun Ce survived an assassination attempt at Mount Kuang but lost Huang Gai and was forced to flee south as Bai Xiaowen’s army advanced. He reached Jiaozhou hoping to take refuge with Shi Xie, only to learn that Shi Xie was preparing to submit to the Prince of Yan and would not admit him.

• Huang Gai charged in to rescue Sun Ce, while Lu Xun revealed that he had joined the plot against Sun Ce on behalf of Jiangdong’s noble clans.
• Lu Xun and the masked assassins killed Huang Gai, but Sun Ce’s surviving soldiers escorted him away from Mount Kuang.
• Sun Ce avoided Wu Commandery and fled toward Luling, where Han Dang and Zhou Tai met him with three thousand soldiers.
• Sun Ce decided to take his troops to Jiaozhou, seek Shi Xie’s support, and kill him if he refused to lend troops.
• Sun Ce reached Jiaozhou, but Shi Xie refused him entry and announced that he was sending an envoy to submit to the Prince of Yan.

Bai Xiaowen pacified Jiangnan, secured Jiaozhou, and completed Grand Unification Main Quest 4 while Sun Ce fled overseas. As Bai Xiaowen returned toward Ye Capital to claim a final contribution reward, he learned that Camille and his officers had already crushed a Han loyalist uprising and fire in the city.

• Sun Ce fled with Han Dang and Zhou Tai to Pearl Cliff Prefecture, while Bai Xiaowen's forces swept through Jiangnan and captured Luling.
• Lu Xun presented Huang Gai's head, prompting the eastern commanderies to surrender, and Shi Hui pledged Jiaozhou's loyalty in exchange for Bai Xiaowen's promise to recommend Shi Xie as King of Southern Yue.
• Bai Xiaowen received notice that he controlled Jingzhou, Yangzhou, and Jiaozhou and had completed Grand Unification Main Quest 4; he sent Zhao Yun and Liu Bei's family to Eastern Ying and ordered Sun Ce's family and Zhou Yu brought to Ye Capital.
• Bai Xiaowen appointed Xun You, Lu Xun, and Zhang He to govern and defend Yangzhou, then led his army back toward the capital without submitting the completed quest.
• Emperor Liu Xie issued a secret edict that led Han loyalists to set Ye Capital ablaze, but Ju Shou and Ju Hu organized the city's defenses while Camille intercepted the edict.
• Camille's squad captured Geng Ji and Wei Huang, killed Jin Yi, and quelled the unrest, while Ju Shou and Ju Hu took the rebellious ministers' families into custody.