Chapter Summaries

After Li Dingguo and his companions broke through using Post-natal High-Grade Great Spirit Peaches, he discovered that his new beginner Five Elements Spirit Body had changed the heavenly secrets, possibly opening the way for other human prodigies to reach Sixth-Tier cultivation. He fortified the captured Kang Family great spiritual land and prepared to harvest its ripening spirit peaches.

• Wan'er and Big Fierce broke through to the Fifth-Tier Late Stage, while Big Gold, Big Green, and Little Green strengthened their foundations and bloodlines after eating the peaches.
• Li Dingguo told Wan'er that he had become a beginner Five Elements Spirit Body and suspected the change would let other Peerless Prodigies break through their physique limits and reach Sixth-Tier cultivation.
• Li Dingguo and Wan'er discussed waiting three months before consuming more high-grade spirit fruits, and Wan'er resolved to strengthen her foundations and pursue a spirit body.
• Wan'er and the four great birds disposed of the bodies while Li Dingguo surveyed the hundred-li great spiritual land and replaced its damaged Guardian Great Array with a third-grade supreme-grade Minor Five Elements Heaven Concealing Array.
• Li Dingguo refined ten thousand jade boxes after Wan'er reported that more than two thousand Post-natal Mid-Grade Great Spirit Peaches would ripen the next morning.

Li Dingguo and Wan'er harvested the Great Spirit Peaches and set out for Mount Beimang to collect Phoenix Blood Fruits. At Heavenly Lake, Huang Taiji persuaded the Black Flood Dragon King to ally with Later Jin through a Natal Blood Oath, leaving Ao Bai to summon the banner lords so the pact could be formed.

• Li Dingguo used his Mental Energy to harvest and store all the Great Spirit Peaches in the orchard.
• Wan'er urged Li Dingguo to hurry to Mount Beimang before the nine Phoenix Blood Fruits ripened, and they flew south on Great Golden Eagles with two Great Goshawks.
• Huang Taiji offered the Black Flood Dragon King’s clan status as Later Jin’s guardian beasts and promised them national fortune, freedom from karmic burdens, and a chance to become True Dragons.
• Huang Taiji proposed a Natal Blood Oath alliance, and the tempted Black Flood Dragon King agreed on condition that both sides swear the oaths.
• Huang Taiji ordered Ao Bai to summon the banner lords, excluding Dodo, and bring the items needed to establish the alliance.

Huang Taiji completed a blood oath alliance with the Black Flood Dragon King and persuaded it to wait for Later Jin to formally establish its nation before attacking Han cultivators and hunting Li Dingguo. Back at the Revival Army camp, Li Dingguo rewarded Chang Liyun with a divine battle banner and a Great Spirit Peach, and she advanced to the Fifth-Tier Middle Stage.

• Huang Taiji and the Black Flood Dragon King completed the Natal Blood Oath Alliance, binding the fortunes of their tribes together.
• Huang Taiji explained that the flood dragons should target Han Martial Artists rather than civilians and promised the Black Flood Dragon King a chance to kill Li Dingguo and claim his treasures.
• Huang Taiji convinced the Black Flood Dragon King to wait while Later Jin weakened the Great Ming Dynasty, but moved the planned founding of Great Jin forward by one year.
• Li Dingguo returned to the Revival Army camp and gave Chang Liyun an Asura Battle Banner and a Post-natal High-Grade Great Spirit Peach as personal rewards.
• Chang Liyun refined the Asura Battle Banner into a Natal Divine Artifact, consumed the peach, and reached the Fifth-Tier Middle Stage three hours later.

Chang Liyun reported that the Revival Army’s bases Beyond the Pass had flourished and received Li Dingguo’s approval to expand the Internal Affairs Department and take command within the pass. Back on Lake Heart Island, Little Gold Dragon awakened at Sixth-Tier Middle Stage, ate three Great Spirit Peaches, and returned to sleep as Li Dingguo and Wan'er anticipated its growth and the coming rise of other powerful forces.

• Chang Liyun reported the bases’ growing population, abundant harvests, low infant mortality, and the need to expand the Internal Affairs Department amid unrest within the pass.
• Li Dingguo sent Chang Liyun south with Big Black Eagle to expand the Internal Affairs Department to three hundred thousand Martial Soldiers, while Big Green and Little Green stayed to guard Lake Heart Island.
• Li Dingguo and Wan'er saw Little Gold Dragon awaken with Sixth-Tier Middle Stage cultivation after sleeping on the Five-Colored Divine Tree.
• Little Gold Dragon ignored the Phoenix Blood Fruit, ate three Great Spirit Peaches, and returned to the Five-Colored Divine Tree to sleep and digest them.
• Li Dingguo and Wan'er discussed Little Gold Dragon’s likely breakthrough, its role as the Revival Army’s trump card, and its inherited hostility toward phoenix energy.

After learning that Hong Chengchou had assembled a powerful government force to block the Revival Army on several fronts, Li Dingguo decided to return to Yumen Ferry and take command. He and Wan'er prepared to fly south, determined to hold the Yellow River line while the Revival Army consolidated its recent conquests.

• Wan'er delivered Wei Jinfan's letter, which reported that Hong Chengchou had gathered more than five hundred thousand troops and positioned armies to block the Revival Army's advance.
• Li Dingguo recognized that Hong Chengchou intended to contain the Revival Army, build up his own forces with support from aristocratic clans, and prevent an attack on Chang'an City.
• Li Dingguo ordered Wan'er to prepare for their return to Yumen Ferry, where Cao Wenzhao and Li Bei's forces threatened the defenders.
• Li Dingguo explained that the Revival Army needed to hold its territory and consolidate its gains rather than risk a costly war that could benefit the Later Jin barbarians.
• Li Dingguo warned Wan'er not to underestimate Cao Bianjiao and other powerful opponents, and she vowed to strive for a Sixth-Tier breakthrough.
• Li Dingguo and Wan'er packed supplies, including jars of Hundred Fruits Wine, then flew south on Great Gold and Big Fierce.

You Shilù received command of the newly formed Taotie Legion and prepared to lead it beyond the Pass, while the Revival Army and Hong Chengchou’s official forces maintained a wary truce across the Luoshui River. At Yumen Ferry, Li Dingguo and Cao Bianjiao fought to a draw and agreed to battle again the next morning.

• Red Plum informed You Shilù that Li Dingguo had appointed him commander of the ninety-thousand-strong Taotie Legion and awarded him ten Postnatal Mid-Grade Great Spirit Peaches.
• You Shilù prepared his twenty thousand soldiers and the peaches for departure, eager to lead his army beyond the Pass and fight the Tatars.
• The Revival Army and Hong Chengchou’s official army held their positions across the Luoshui River while both sides trained troops and the Revival Army purged destabilizing forces from its territory.
• Li Dingguo and Cao Bianjiao fought evenly across the river near Yumen Ferry without revealing their Natal Divine Artifacts.
• Cao Bianjiao ended the duel and challenged Li Dingguo to fight him again the next morning.

Cao Bianjiao refused Cao Wenzhao’s order to ambush Li Dingguo, and the two men’s relationship deteriorated after their draw. Meanwhile, Huang Taiji planned a massive three-route invasion of the Great Ming Dynasty, targeting Li Dingguo’s forces while pursuing his own political and military aims.

• Cao Wenzhao rebuked Cao Bianjiao for not using three thousand soldiers to surround Li Dingguo, but Cao Bianjiao defended his honorable conduct and warned that an ambush could have brought heavy losses.
• Cao Bianjiao condemned Cao Wenzhao’s obsession with serving the court, called him a stranger, and left to rest.
• Wan'er proposed a cannon exchange with the government fleet, but Li Dingguo declined to fight unless the enemy attacked his upper-river towns and ordered his fleet back to port.
• Huang Taiji assigned Yuetuo the Eastern Army to attack Lingshan Island, Dorgon and Dodo the Central Army to raid Northern Zhili, and reserved the Western Army for his own campaign against Li Dingguo.
• Huang Taiji ordered his generals to prepare the two-million-strong invasion force, while privately intending to use the campaign to eliminate Amin and seize Li Dingguo’s treasures.
• Huang Taiji resolved to invade because the Later Jin was running short of resources and Li Dingguo had disrupted its merchants, fleets, and supplies.

Wei Jinfan reported that Later Jin planned a three-pronged invasion and warned Li Dingguo about Huang Taiji’s powerful forces and artifacts. Li Dingguo ordered Wan’er and elite spirit birds to reinforce Lingshan Island, while the Imperial Seal of Succession became a key potential prize in the coming war.

• Wei Jinfan arrived at Yumen Ferry and told Li Dingguo that Huang Taiji planned to invade through the passes in three routes when spring began.
• Wei Jinfan described Yuetuo’s six-hundred-thousand-strong eastern army and warned that Lingshan Island lacked a Fifth-Tier Master to steady its defenders.
• Li Dingguo ordered Wan’er to reinforce Lingshan Island with Big Fierce and two Fifth-Tier Peak Great Goshawks, use hit-and-run tactics, and prepare core generals to advance through spirit peaches.
• Wei Jinfan reported that Dorgon and Dodo would lead the central army into Northern Zhili, while Huang Taiji’s eight-hundred-thousand-strong western army would advance toward the passes north of the Yellow River.
• Wei Jinfan warned that Huang Taiji might possess a Natal Divine Artifact and held the Imperial Seal of Succession, which Li Dingguo’s Innate Destiny Artifact could counter.

Li Dingguo prepared breakthrough resources for Wan'er and planned to stop Huang Taiji's coming invasion at Fugu City and Baode Prefecture City. Hong Chengchou learned of the Tatar armies' plans, resolved to exploit their raids for military merit, and ordered preparations to ambush them.

• Li Dingguo gave Wei Jinfan spirit fruits for Wan'er and the Great Goshawks, then ordered Red Plum to move supplies to Fugu City and Baode Prefecture City for a plan to trap Huang Taiji's army outside his territory.
• Hong Yuanfeng reported that Cao Wenzhao's probe at Yumen Ferry had ended in a draw between Cao Bianjiao and Li Dingguo, and that the Revival Army was well armed and focused on internal affairs.
• Hong Yuanfeng told Hong Chengchou that Huang Taiji planned to invade with separate forces, sending armies against Li Dingguo while Dorgon and Dodo led six hundred thousand soldiers toward the Capital City.
• Hong Chengchou warned Hong Yuanfeng not to underestimate Li Dingguo and said he would use his elite personal guard army to attack scattered Tatar forces and seek military merit.
• Hong Chengchou ordered Hong Yuanfeng to solicit supplies and Treasure Ships from aristocratic clans and wealthy merchants, then use surprise attacks to destroy Tatar legions.

Zuo Liangyu explained to Zuo Menggeng why the Great Ming court could not defeat the Later Jin Tartars and revealed his ambition to strengthen the Zuo Family Army. In Yongning Prefecture City, Lu Xiangcheng accepted wealthy supporters’ supplies and prepared to expand and train his army for a campaign against Li Dingguo’s Revival Army.

• Zuo Liangyu told Zuo Menggeng that Hong Chengchou had gained the resources to expand his army because Li Dingguo’s Revival Army threatened the interests of officials and powerful families.
• Zuo Liangyu warned that the court and Liaodong officials profited from the prolonged conflict with the Later Jin Tartars, and Zuo Menggeng understood why his father distrusted the court.
• Lu Xiangcheng cultivated with his Southern Leaving Earth Flame Light Banner and sensed that his Fifth-Tier bottleneck was loosening.
• Lu Xiangcheng accepted the aristocratic families’ and merchants’ shipments of money, grain, supplies, and cultivation resources, then ordered his soldiers to register and store them.
• Lu Xiangcheng began recruiting several hundred thousand youths, intending to select one hundred thousand soldiers to expand the Heavenly Might Army before attacking Li Dingguo’s Revival Army.

Li Dingguo returned to Lake Heart Island to break through alongside Great Gold after sensing an impending threat, while Cao Bianjiao reached the Sixth-Tier Early Stage and set out to kill him. Li Dingguo completed his breakthrough to a new realm, and the crisis he had sensed vanished.

• Li Dingguo chose to leave Longmen Grand Canyon unexplored and returned to Lake Heart Island so Great Gold could consume a supreme-grade spirit fruit and attempt a breakthrough.
• Cao Bianjiao rescued a Phoenix-Crested Red-Crowned Crane, found a secret realm atop Mount Hua, and used one of its two Post-natal Supreme Grade Spirit Root Undying Grasses to reach Sixth-Tier Early Stage with the crane.
• Cao Bianjiao decided to leave the government army after killing Li Dingguo, then flew north with Big White to find him.
• After returning to Lake Heart Island, Li Dingguo and the Great Golden Eagle consumed Post-natal Supreme Grade Phoenix Blood Fruits and entered seclusion to break through.
• Li Dingguo completed his breakthrough as the Mysterious Yellow Chaos Bell expanded to thirty-six zhang, and the sense of impending crisis left him.

After breaking through to the Sixth-Tier Early Stage, Li Dingguo discovered that Cao Bianjiao had arrived at Lake Heart Island with a Sixth-Tier Big White Crane to challenge him. The two revealed their powerful Natal Innate Divine Artifacts and prepared to fight.

• Li Dingguo inspected his increased attributes and Fortune Value after advancing to the Sixth-Tier Early Stage, while the Great Golden Eagle also completed its breakthrough.
• Li Dingguo sensed a Sixth-Tier Big White Crane approaching Lake Heart Island and recognized Cao Bianjiao riding it.
• Cao Bianjiao admitted he had come to kill Li Dingguo and take his head to Cao Wenzhao before leaving the Cao Family Army.
• Cao Bianjiao summoned his nine-sealed Immeasurable Pagoda, and Li Dingguo summoned the Mysterious Yellow Chaos Bell.
• Cao Bianjiao disclosed that he had unlocked five of the Immeasurable Pagoda's seals, while Li Dingguo revealed that he had unlocked four of the bell's seals and readied himself to fight.

Li Dingguo defeated Cao Bianjiao in a battle between their Natal Divine Artifacts, then offered him a place in the Revival Army instead of killing him. Cao Bianjiao accepted and was appointed commander of the Pixiu Legion to fight Tatars and White Barbarians Beyond the Pass.

• Li Dingguo and Cao Bianjiao clashed with their Natal Divine Artifacts, and Li Dingguo gained the advantage by sealing the battlefield and bombarding Cao Bianjiao.
• Li Dingguo trapped Cao Bianjiao's Immeasurable Pagoda in the Human Emperor Cauldron and offered to return it if Cao Bianjiao joined the Revival Army.
• Li Dingguo told Cao Bianjiao that You Shilù had surrendered and was fighting Tatars Beyond the Pass, and explained that surrendered imperial soldiers could avoid the civil war.
• After recalling the stable lives of the common people in Revival Army territory, Cao Bianjiao agreed to join and fight enemies Beyond the Pass.
• Li Dingguo returned the Immeasurable Pagoda and appointed Cao Bianjiao commander of the ninety-thousand-strong Pixiu Legion, which Cao Bianjiao vowed to lead against the Tatars.

Li Dingguo welcomed Cao Bianjiao into the Revival Army, showed him its Five-Colored Divine Tree, and appointed him to command the Pixiu Legion. He then heard how the Revival Army’s vast population and new recruitment and development systems were accelerating its expansion, while preparing for future wars against foreign powers.

• Li Dingguo stopped the Great Golden Eagle and Big White Crane from fighting, brought Cao Bianjiao into the Revival Army headquarters, and showed him the Five-Colored Divine Tree and Hundred Fruits Wine.
• Cao Bianjiao praised Li Dingguo’s foundations and accepted command of the ninety-thousand-man Pixiu Legion, promising to train an elite cavalry force within three months.
• Li Dingguo told Cao Bianjiao to join You Shilù in sweeping the northern grasslands and warned that the Revival Army would eventually wage a war of extermination against the White Barbarians.
• Zhao Hong reported that the Revival Army had occupied extensive territory Within the Pass, where farms, city defenses, workshops, and currency reforms were advancing.
• Zhao Hong explained that local New Recruit Camps were training young people and sourcing cultivation resources by hunting Demon Beasts, building a large reserve force for future wars.

Li Dingguo prepared the Revival Army to face the Later Jin invasion while Hong Chengchou’s forces readied their own campaign against the Tartars. The chapter left both commanders confident in their plans as the Ming court remained distracted by factional conflict.

• He Guang reported that Huang Taiji’s forces had marched west and that Yuetuo’s land-and-sea armies were heading toward Jiaozhou Bay.
• Li Dingguo ordered Wan’er and Liang Liping to destroy the Tartar navy and attack Yuetuo’s army, then sent the main Revival Army legions toward the Yellow River’s northern passes to confront Huang Taiji.
• Hong Yuanfeng told Hong Chengchou that the Revival Army had reinforced its border and moved its main forces north, while Hong Chengchou lamented that the Ming court had failed to prepare for the invasion.
• Hong Yuanfeng reported that his newly formed Personal Guard Legion had completed training and secured cooperation, supplies, and fleets from northern clans and merchants.
• Hong Yuanfeng said his troops could use surprise attacks and concentrated cannon fire to trap Dorgon and Dodo’s forces, and Hong Chengchou’s army prepared to resist the Tartars.

Hong Chengchou and Li Dingguo learned that Duke Chengguo Zhu Chun Chen had marched south with one hundred thousand soldiers, seeking revenge and military merit. Li Dingguo ordered a fleet to block Zhu Chun Chen at Yongning Prefecture City while preparing to trap Huang Taiji’s army as it entered the pass.

• Hong Yuanfeng reported that Zhu Chun Chen had led one hundred thousand soldiers toward Yongning Prefecture City to supervise the campaign against Li Dingguo and the Revival Army.
• Hong Chengchou explained that Zhu Chun Chen sought revenge for Jiang Jufang’s death and hoped to gain military merit, while predicting his arrival would bring the Eastern Army abundant supplies.
• Hong Chengchou ordered preparations to receive supplies and map ambush sites as Dorgon and Dodo’s forces prepared to enter the pass.
• Wei Jinfan warned Li Dingguo that Zhu Chun Chen’s army could threaten the Revival Army’s rear during its decisive battle against Huang Taiji.
• Li Dingguo ordered Black Tortoise Battalion One to block the river exit near Yongning Prefecture City and attack Zhu Chun Chen’s fleet from range.
• Wei Jinfan reported that Black Tortoise Battalion Three and the Vermilion Bird Legion had secretly positioned a fleet upriver to cut off Huang Taiji’s retreat.

Huang Taiji secluded himself in the Khorchin Golden Tent to break through from Level 5 Peak to the Sixth-Tier Realm, while Ao Bai secured the area against dissent and sabotage. His breakthrough’s outcome remained unknown, and Hailanzhu agreed only to consider marrying him if he returned victorious from his campaign against Great Ming.

• Huang Taiji announced his secluded breakthrough and ordered the area around the Golden Tent cleared and guarded by the Two Yellow Banners.
• Dorgon, Dodo, and Amin considered killing Huang Taiji before his breakthrough but were thwarted by the strict security measures.
• Ao Bai commanded Yanguli to patrol, then rode a Sea Eastern Green above the army to watch over Huang Taiji’s secluded tent.
• Zaisang and Dayuer urged Hailanzhu to consider marrying Huang Taiji, whom they expected to become the strongest hero in the world.
• Hailanzhu said she would consider the match if Huang Taiji returned from his Great Ming campaign victorious and proved himself the greatest hero under heaven.

Huang Taiji broke through to Sixth-Tier Early Stage, and the Later Jin army celebrated, certain that its invasion would succeed. At Huigouzhai Fort, Li Dingguo prepared the reorganized Revival Army for a decisive battle against Huang Taiji’s approaching force.

• Huang Taiji completed his breakthrough, and the Later Jin soldiers celebrated before departing the next morning.
• Li Dingguo arrived at Huigouzhai Fort, which Wan’er’s forces had captured and rebuilt into a major fortress.
• Li Dingguo reorganized the Revival Army’s six main combat legions, giving them fleets, Martial Soldiers, and extensive magical weapons.
• Li Dingguo prepared to face Huang Taiji’s 800,000 elite troops, recognizing that neither side could afford defeat.
• Military Intelligence Department reports indicated that Huang Taiji’s army was advancing from Xuanfu and could reach the pass north of the Yellow River in about twenty days.

The Chongzhen Emperor learned that Later Jin armies had invaded Xuanfu and Datong and ordered Hong Chengchou to stop Dorgon and Dodo near Changping. Hong Chengchou prepared his 230,000 personal guard troops to march from Chang'an, hoping to intercept them before they captured Juyong Pass.

• The Chongzhen Emperor berated Minister of War Zhang Fengyi for failing to report the invasions sooner and ordered him to block the Later Jin advance near Changping.
• The Chongzhen Emperor reflected on how the theft of the Haotian Pagoda had weakened the Ming Dynasty and left its emperors vulnerable to court factions.
• Hong Chengchou received an imperial edict commanding him to reinforce the Capital City and stop Dorgon and Dodo's army at Changping.
• Butler Hong explained that Great Jin Merchants had aided the invasion by supplying treasure ships, while court officials protected their collaboration.
• Hong Chengchou ordered Yuanfeng to assemble 230,000 personal guard soldiers for departure the next morning and planned to intercept Dorgon and Dodo before Juyong Pass.

Li Dingguo and the Revival Army prepared an ambush at Huigouzhai Fort as Huang Taiji’s eight-hundred-thousand-strong Later Jin army entered the pass, supported by a fleet organized by Jin merchants. Huang Taiji advanced cautiously along the Yellow River with Fan Yubin’s fleet nearby, while the Revival Army’s forces concealed themselves ahead.

• Wei Jinfan reported that Fan Yubin’s fleet had secretly joined Huang Taiji’s army and that Huang Taiji was expected to reach Huigouzhai Fort within three days.
• Li Dingguo ordered the generals to conceal their forces, use the terrain and their cannons to block Huang Taiji’s advance, and carry out the battle plan Red Plum distributed.
• The Revival Army’s generals boarded Treasure Ships and sailed to their assigned positions as Great Gold hunted enemy spirit birds and prepared to target Huang Taiji’s four Sea Eastern Greens.
• Huang Taiji instructed Fan Yubin to keep the supply fleet close to his cavalry, and Fan Yubin set out with the Jin merchants’ ships carrying logistics soldiers and the Han Army’s Firearm Battalion.
• Huang Taiji sent Yanguli’s cavalry ahead as vanguard, ordered the Sea Eastern Greens to scout from the air, and led his army southwest along the Yellow River into Great Ming territory.