Chapter Summaries

Aaron rejected Wen Zhengming’s recommendation and promoted Cao Man, prompting Wen Zhengming to leave and spread a coded ballad that stirred fears of conflict. The chapter ended with Wen Zhengming arriving at Di You’s palace with a military map, and Di You rushing to welcome him.

• Aaron rejected Wen Zhengming’s essay and ordered him to leave, then appointed Cao Man Assistant Prefect of Jiangzhou Prefecture.
• Fan Jin visited Wen Zhengming and conveyed Aaron’s refusal; Wen Zhengming took offense at being disregarded and sent his bookboy to spread a cryptic ballad.
• Cao Man reported that officials had seized a hundred thousand mu of land for military colonies, while Fan Jin warned that military expansion could provoke unrest.
• Poison Dragon and Fan Jin warned Aaron that the ballad could make King of Wu suspect an attack on Jinshi, but Aaron dismissed their concerns.
• Wen Zhengming arrived at Di You’s palace with a topographical map of River Prefecture, and Di You hurried out to meet him.

Song Gongbao and Wu Xing learned that the court planned to send them south as expendable vanguard troops, while Aaron entrusted Tang Xun with leading Liang’s army against Di You. At Three Kings Mountain, the battle began with Di You’s Dare-to-Die Camp enduring Liang’s thunder explosives, and Wen Zhengming believed Wu’s army had weathered Liang’s strongest trick.

• Wu Xing protested that the court’s peace with the Golden King and constant battles had exhausted the amnestied rebels, then collapsed after learning they would be sent south against the King of Liang under the Imperial Guards’ watch.
• Song Gongbao considered the court’s promised title of duke and wondered whether his army was expected to die in the campaign.
• Cao Man reported that Di You was advancing on Jiangzhou, and Aaron promoted Tang Xun to command twelve thousand five hundred soldiers while Aaron kept eight thousand in reserve.
• Bai Yunzi saw Liang’s army hold firm against Wu’s greater numbers and suffered bloody tears as she predicted Di You’s defeat.
• At Three Kings Mountain, Di You sent his deafened Dare-to-Die Camp forward, and Zhang Tie’s troops used Supreme Divine Thunder against them.
• Wen Zhengming concluded that Wu’s soldiers had endured Liang’s explosives and that Di You would win through superior numbers and open battle.

The Liang vanguard’s fearless assault broke the Wu army’s forward ranks despite catastrophic losses. Tang Xun ordered the full Liang army to attack and exploit the disorder, leaving the battle’s outcome unresolved.

• A Liang young general killed the Wu commander-in-chief but was overwhelmed when the Wu soldiers continued fighting, and a Liang captain took command.
• Di You ordered Wu archers to shoot their own fleeing dare-to-die soldiers as the Liang vanguard charged onward under successive commanders.
• The Liang vanguard suffered more than fifty percent casualties but shattered the Wu forward formation, while Liang San fought his way into the enemy ranks.
• Tang Xun recognized the Wu army’s disorder and ordered the whole Liang army to attack, sending its cavalry charging first.

Aaron led a cavalry charge toward Di You after the Wu army began losing ground, while Daoists watching the battle saw the King of Wu’s flood dragon injured and feared he might die. As Di You’s troops were thrown into chaos, a sudden headwind blinded Aaron’s riders, and Wen Zhengming called it a divine wind aiding Wu.

• Di You entered the battle with the First Ascenders and Tiger Guard to rally the wavering Wu army.
• Aaron used his goshawk’s view to find a route to Di You and charged with more than a hundred cavalrymen and the Six Jia Divine Soldiers.
• Daoists observing the battlefield saw the King of Wu’s military aura retreat and a black iron plowshare strike his flood dragon, breaking its horn and claws.
• Aaron’s cavalry smashed into the Tiger Guard and pressed toward Di You, whose guards urged him to escape.
• A gust of wind and sand blinded several cavalrymen, and Wen Zhengming rallied the Wu troops by shouting that the divine wind was aiding them.

Aaron helped King of Liang’s army defeat the Wu army and kill Di You, triggering heavenly punishment against Lord of Yinshan in the Underworld. After the victory, Aaron learned that Great Pine’s forces were advancing, but he remained confident that tactics could overcome the enemy’s advantages.

• Aaron sensed Underworld divine power strengthening the Tiger Guards, then used Dragon-Elephant Might to hurl a warhorse into their formation and break their morale.
• Little Jade killed Wen Zhengming, while Void Spirit Master pursued and killed Di You as the Wu army’s royal banner fell and its soldiers surrendered or fled.
• Heavenly punishment struck Lord of Yinshan’s palace after Di You’s death, destroying it and sealing Lord of Yinshan beneath the Underworld; the imperial princess escaped with an imperial seal.
• Bai Yunzi survived the backlash from the Wu dragon’s death but lost decades of cultivation, while an Exalted Bright Way Daoist collapsed after realizing the King of Liang was still a carp.
• Tang Xun reported the battle’s casualties to Aaron, who revealed that Great Pine had sent two hundred thousand Imperial Guards south and urged him to turn strategic advantages into tactical victories.

After the Chancellor defeated King of Wu, the Miao family learned that Great Song’s army had reached Jinshi and was executed for supporting it. Xiao Liang learned of the invasion and chose to remain in Jiangzhou Prefecture and stand with the Chancellor rather than flee.

• A rider announced that the Chancellor had slain King of Wu, and people in Jiangzhou Prefecture celebrated the victory.
• A Miao family landowner and his son welcomed news that Great Song’s army had reached Jinshi and planned to spread it, but Liang soldiers executed their clan for colluding with Great Song.
• Xiao Liang spoke with Xiao Zi about his gratitude to her and showed that he had begun reading orthodox teachings.
• Xiao Liang received a report that Great Song had sent a large army and that Liang’s forces had fewer than ten thousand troops remaining.
• Xiao Liang refused to leave Jiangzhou Prefecture and ordered the execution of anyone who spoke of surrender.

Aaron prepared to face Great Pine’s 250,000-man imperial army with only 5,000 Six Jia Divine Soldiers, while the Exalted Bright Way’s leaders feared for Great Pine’s failing Mandate of Heaven. The chapter left the decisive battle imminent, with the Grandmaster preparing to use the sect’s supreme treasure to strengthen the dynasty’s dragon qi.

• Cao Man warned Aaron that Great Pine’s army had marched south, but Aaron ordered him and Tang Xun to escort 20,000 prisoners and hold the rear with 7,000 men.
• Aaron planned to lead the remaining 5,000 Six Jia Divine Soldiers against the imperial army, relying on fortifications and a war of attrition.
• Aaron marched to Lishui County and established satellite forts ahead of the approaching imperial army.
• The Exalted Bright Way’s Grandmaster and four True Persons reviewed their preparations and observed that the King of Wu’s star had gone dark.
• The Grandmaster ordered the sect’s supreme treasure brought out so he could awaken Great Song’s remaining Heaven-given fate and fortune, despite the risk of drawing the sect deeper into the war.

Song Gongbao’s army began its assault on Lishui County, while the Exalted Bright Way used a secret art to suppress King of Liang’s dragon aura. The first attack exposed the fierce resistance of the county’s defenders, leaving Song Gongbao and Wu Xing facing a costly campaign.

• Song Gongbao and Wu Xing studied Lishui County’s defenses and considered forcing an assault, while Wu Xing proposed using local civilians as human shields.
• The Grand Master performed a ritual that wounded King of Liang’s dragon aura, causing Xiao Liang to cough blood and collapse; Poison Dragon confirmed the army’s aura remained steady.
• Tang Xun learned that twenty thousand hidden recruits were stationed near Jiangzhou Prefecture City, strengthening its defenses alongside seven thousand soldiers.
• Three days later, Song Gongbao surrounded a stockade and ordered an attack after its defenders refused to surrender.
• Li Xuanfeng captured the stockade after fierce fighting, but the Song forces suffered over a thousand dead and wounded while killing 227 defenders.

Song Gongbao’s army took the ninth stronghold at the cost of Li Xuanfeng’s life, and the rebels withdrew to Lishui County. After waking, Song Gongbao saw through the court’s betrayal and was summoned to Gao Qiu’s camp, where officers credited Gao with the victory.

• Song Gongbao’s exhausted army attacked the ninth stronghold under Gao Qiu’s threat of military punishment, and Li Xuanfeng led a desperate assault.
• Li Xuanfeng seized Supreme Divine Thunder and charged the Liang troops, destroying half the stronghold gate but dying in the explosions.
• A Daoist concluded that Li Xuanfeng’s death and the army’s losses had broken Song Gongbao’s dragon aura and ended its influence over him.
• Song Gongbao awoke to learn that Li Xuanfeng had died and the rebels had withdrawn to Lishui County; he regretted accepting amnesty and entrusted Wu Xing with the brothers’ savings and dependents.
• Song Gongbao went to Gao Qiu’s command tent and heard officers falsely praise Gao for making the Liang troops flee.

Song Gongbao was forced by Gao Qiu to lead his battered troops in repeated assaults on Lishui County, while the Imperial Guards threatened their families and blocked retreat. After seven days of costly fighting, he reached the battlements and was confronted by Li Xuanfeng, leaving his fate uncertain as Li's axe descended.

• Gao Qiu rejected Song Gongbao's request to let his troops recover and ordered him to continue attacking Lishui County for the Fire Jujubes.
• Song Gongbao and Wu Xing realized the Imperial Guards were watching their army and that defecting would endanger their families, so Song ordered an assault.
• For seven days, Song's troops attacked Lishui County and suffered heavy casualties while the defenders continued to hold the walls.
• Song Gongbao led the assault himself, climbed onto the battlements, and cut down Liang soldiers to make room for his men.
• Li Xuanfeng appeared and attacked Song Gongbao; after fewer than three exchanges, he knocked away Song's sword and brought down his axe.

Aaron led a night raid from Lishui County, defeating the Great Song camps and winning a decisive victory. As Great Song’s Daoist leaders foresaw the dynasty’s collapse, news of the victory reached the awakened Xiao Liang and the officials in Jiangzhou.

• After Song Gongbao died, Gao Qiu ordered his troops to hold their camps and sent his personal guards forward rather than waking the army at night.
• Aaron led about thirty thousand soldiers out of Lishui County and attacked the Southern Expedition General’s camp during the guard change.
• Aaron’s forces killed Wu Xing and broke through the Imperial Guards’ camp, exploiting the soldiers’ lack of will to fight.
• The Grandmaster and four True Persons saw Great Song’s true dragon near death, suffered the destruction of their sect’s treasures, and ordered the Dao seeds to flee overseas with a damaged pearl.
• Xiao Zi received word that the Chancellor had defeated the enemy, and Xiao Liang woke from his illness as the palace celebrated the victory.
• Poison Dragon predicted the victory from the officials’ rising fortunes, and an official dispatch confirmed the great victory to Cao Man and Fan Jin.

Wanyan Lie learned that the Song army had been crushed and ordered Gold’s forces south to conquer the Song capital. In Lishui County, Aaron expanded his army, announced new recruitment policies, and ordered an immediate march on Goldstone City.

• Wanyan Lie heard that the King of Liang’s chancellor had defeated 250,000 Song soldiers with 5,000 men, then ordered Gold’s warriors to invade the south again.
• Cao Man and Tang Xun arrived in Lishui County and found the former Imperial Guard camp flying Liang banners and filled with drilling soldiers.
• Aaron claimed that tens of thousands of Imperial Guards had joined him, while Tang Xun proposed that the five prefectures of the King of Wu could soon submit.
• Aaron announced that Great Liang would require officials to pass a civil service exam and said it might establish a military academy.
• Aaron ordered the corpses from the battle cremated and mausoleums built, then commanded his forces to march on Goldstone City despite Tang Xun’s concerns about the new recruits.

Aaron’s Great Liang army captured Quarry Rock, seized Purple Azure Mountain, and surrounded Goldstone City, where his threat of destruction and the city’s panic pushed the Marquis of Guangyang to surrender. The chapter ended with Lin Ping ordering Goldstone City’s surrender after the Liang army’s explosives were mistaken for heavenly thunder.

• The commander of Quarry Rock surrendered to Aaron as his army marched toward Goldstone City.
• Aaron sent the Six Jia Divine Soldiers up Purple Azure Mountain, and they broke through Great Song’s defenses.
• Aaron crushed a talisman found near Black Tortoise Lake and ordered Tang Xun to frighten Goldstone City with explosive-carrying lanterns, threatening a massacre if it resisted.
• Lin Le urged his father, Lin Ping, to surrender, citing Great Song’s defeats and the Jin invasion.
• Explosions spread panic through Goldstone City, and Lin Ping ordered the city to surrender.

After King of Liang took Goldstone City and consolidated the south, Aaron rejected calls to accommodate the scholars and preserve the old order. He prepared to march north into the Zhang Family’s stronghold of Xu Prefecture, leaving the chapter poised for a major war and harsh resistance.

• Lin Ping surrendered Goldstone City, and Aaron accepted its seal before ordering Tang Xun to pacify the south with fifty thousand men.
• Poison Dragon saw most of Black Tortoise Lake’s dragon qi stripped away before it reached King of Liang, while the northern King of Gold appeared close to becoming a true dragon.
• Sima Zhong advocated peace with the Hu to keep military commanders from gaining power, and Yu Zhan despaired at the court’s factional struggle.
• King of Liang issued sweeping reforms, and Haoran arrived in Goldstone to urge Aaron to restore the imperial examinations and reduce taxes.
• Aaron burned Haoran’s memorial, rejected his proposals, and announced plans to lead forty thousand infantry and ten thousand naval troops against Xu Prefecture after the New Year.

Zhang Haoran, Void Faith Master, and Plum Blossom Hermit joined forces to resist Great Liang’s advance through Xu Prefecture, hoping to wear down its army. Aaron led the assault on Harmony Gate County, where monk-soldiers rallied the defenders as Liang soldiers climbed the walls.

• Zhang Haoran said Void Spirit Master planned to attack Xu Prefecture after spring, and he proposed using its cities to exhaust Great Liang’s forces.
• Void Faith Master and Plum Blossom Hermit agreed to support the resistance, with the three teachings aiming to break Liang’s dragon aura.
• Tang Xun reported that Harmony Gate County had closed its gates and that the Double Blossom Prefect had turned against surrender; Aaron ordered ten thousand Six Jia Divine Soldiers to attack.
• The county magistrate entrusted Harmony Gate County’s defense to the monk-soldiers, whose leader vowed to resist Aaron’s army.
• Aaron watched as Liang soldiers pressed forward under arrows, stones, and boiling liquid, while the monk-soldier leader ordered the Demon-Subduing Vajra Grand Formation.

After Harmony Gate County fell, Aaron ordered a purge of its elites and religious institutions instead of a city massacre, then spent the next year conquering Xu Prefecture at terrible cost. As the Liang army surrounded Great Melody Prefecture, Zhang Haoran lamented that the world had no wise lord.

• Tang Xun reported that the siege of Harmony Gate County had cost the Liang army over two thousand casualties, and Aaron proposed massacring cities to frighten the region into submission.
• After learning that the three southern prefectures had rebelled, Aaron canceled the city massacre and ordered the burial or execution of officials, wealthy households, landlords, and the families of temples and Daoist shrines that had aided the defense.
• The Six Jia Divine Soldiers carried out Aaron’s purge in strict order, while Tang Xun worried that the Three Teachings would retaliate and make future sieges harder.
• Over the following year, the Liang army captured Xu Prefecture’s cities through repeated costly sieges, while reinforcements grew its infantry from forty thousand to eighty thousand.
• As the Liang army surrounded Great Melody Prefecture, Zhang Haoran mourned the deaths of Xuxin and others and wondered why the world lacked a wise lord.

Zhang Haoran’s forces surrendered Great Melody Prefecture after Lu Xiaoyi led the city’s prominent families against him, allowing Aaron’s army to occupy Xu Prefecture and impose new decrees. News then arrived that King of Kang had been defeated and killed by King of Gold, leaving the struggle for the Divine Land between Gold and Liang.

• Zhang Haoran sent letters north and urged Zhang Jushi to survive by serving King of Liang and preserving Confucian orthodoxy.
• Lu Xiaoyi led the prominent families in attacking the Zhang residence, forced Zhang Haoran to drink poison, and signaled the Liang army to enter Great Melody Prefecture.
• Aaron entered the city, recruited Lu Xiaoyi into the Supreme Way Sect, ordered new taxes and land surveys, and gave the Zhang Family’s land deeds to its tenant farmers.
• Zhang Jushi gathered Zhang Haoran’s remains and defied Aaron, who spared him; Aaron also received news that Zhan Da had ended the southern rebellion and Black Two had died.
• King of Gold’s cavalry routed King of Kang’s army, and a Hu general captured and killed King of Kang.
• An old Daoist and a Daoist nun discussed the fall of Great Song, the defeat of King of Kang, and the contest between Gold and Liang for the Divine Land.

Former officials, clerks, landlords, and temple keepers plotted to destabilize Xu Prefecture by bribing its new officials into provoking a popular rebellion. Yan Er targeted Feng Erlang with an invitation to a celebratory banquet, and Feng accepted, seemingly walking into their trap.

• Imperial notices announced the destruction of licentious shrines, punishment of the East Gate Family for resisting a land survey, and confiscation of the Kong Family's property for tax evasion.
• Yan Er and other disgruntled former officials and local elites agreed to stir up rebellion by manipulating the new officials into driving the people to revolt.
• Feng Erlang reviewed rising commercial tax revenue and anticipated a promotion if he was selected to head north.
• Yan Er invited Feng Erlang to a banquet, intending to drug him and gradually ensnare him in corrupt dealings.
• Feng Erlang accepted the invitation, while Yan Er concluded that his plan had succeeded.

Yan Er and his allies engineered excessive summer grain levies and a peasant revolt to obstruct Aaron’s northern campaign. Aaron learned how corrupt officials and the death of Xu Changchun had fueled the unrest, then confronted the officials who had let Feng Erlang’s abuses go unchecked.

• Yan Er bribed Feng Erlang and planned to raise levies to nine-tenths of the harvest, provoke a rebellion, and secretly arm and support the rebels.
• Aaron received news that Great East Township had rebelled during his preparations for the northern campaign and suspected a plot by his enemies.
• Tai Chong reported that Feng Erlang’s tax abuses, Xu Changchun’s death, and the county soldiers’ bloody suppression had spread resentment across Xu Prefecture.
• Aaron accused Tai Chong and the other officials of ignoring Feng Erlang’s corruption, and they knelt in fear.

Aaron quelled the rebellion in Xu Prefecture and marched north with his army, while the King of Gold received aid from the Brahman Gate and the ghost deities to fight the King of Liang. The chapter left Wanyan Lie preparing for war, convinced that supernatural forces would help him defeat Aaron.

• Aaron ordered Feng Erlang and his associates detained, sent the Six Jia Divine Soldiers to suppress the unrest, and kept his march north on schedule.
• Yan Er and the other rebels decided to flee, but Zhang Jushi's forces surrounded their safehouse and killed the rebels, including the Dragon Son Temple priest.
• Aaron led an army of twenty to thirty thousand out of Xu Prefecture toward the north, and spies relayed the news to the King of Gold.
• Huide demonstrated the Brahman Gate's Ksitigarbha King's Dharma Domain before Wanyan Lie, who saw ghost deities swear to help defeat the King of Liang and identified the Tiger-Riding Daoist as an Extraterritorial Heavenly Demon.
• After Huide died, Wanyan Lie ordered preparations for war against the King of Liang, believing the ghosts and gods would help him win.