Recaps

Chen Changqing spent three days leisurely waiting in Nine Provinces Auction City while Yue Xuan and the other factions watched him, then left through the south gate with his pursuers trailing behind. He entered a rocky valley, where the long-awaited ambush appeared ready to begin.

• Yue Xuan ordered his people to watch Chen Changqing constantly, while an elder warned that Chen was likely waiting for them to lose patience.
• Chen Changqing spent the first day touring the city, chatting with a pill-shop owner, and fishing, frustrating the cultivators following him.
• On the second day, Chen Changqing watched a beast fight, won three thousand Top-Grade Spirit Stones betting on a Black Tiger Demon, and bought a Demon King leg bone for Wangcai.
• Chen Changqing remained inside his inn room on the third day, shielding it from probing Divine Sense with pure Sword Intent.
• At dusk, Chen Changqing walked out through the south gate as his pursuers followed, waiting for him to leave the city's bounds before striking.
• Chen Changqing walked into a rugged valley along the ancient road, and the watchers grew alert at the natural dead end.

Chen Changqing was surrounded in Dragon-Severing Valley by Yue Xuan, Chu Xiong, and a host of cultivators seeking his treasures. After killing a Peak Spirit Transformation Devil Cultivator with one sword strike, he faced their combined assault and smiled as the two True Lords watched for an opening.

• Yue Xuan and Chu Xiong led a force of cultivators into Dragon-Severing Valley and demanded Chen Changqing’s Storage Ring and treasure box.
• Chen Changqing called the valley a fine burial ground and mocked the people surrounding him.
• A Peak Spirit Transformation Devil Cultivator attacked Chen Changqing, who killed him instantly with the Heaven-Slaying Sword Drawing Technique.
• Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan ordered their forces to attack Chen Changqing and offered a reward for his head.
• The cultivators charged Chen Changqing while the Yinyue Holy Dynasty’s black-robed old man and the Great Chu Dynasty’s Attendant elder locked onto him from the void.
• Chen Changqing smiled as the attackers closed in, finding the situation familiar.

Chen Changqing slaughtered the forces of the Great Chu Dynasty and Yinyue Holy Dynasty in Dragon-Severing Valley, then fought off two True Lords. He killed the Great Chu chief Attendant and left Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan trapped among his Avatars.

• Chen Changqing summoned four powerful Avatars and used them alongside his original body to massacre the cultivators in Dragon-Severing Valley, earning more than 300,000 AFK Points.
• The Great Chu Attendant elder and a black-robed Yinyue elder attacked Chen Changqing together, but Chen endured the Burning Heaven Ruler and wounded the Attendant elder with the Haotian Hammer.
• The black-robed elder fled, and Chen Changqing severed his arm with the Immortal Execution Sword Technique.
• Chen Changqing pinned the injured Great Chu Attendant elder beneath his foot while his Avatars sealed off Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan's escape.
• Chen Changqing crushed the Attendant elder's chest, beheaded him, and destroyed his fleeing Primordial Spirit with lightning.

Chen Changqing killed the fleeing True Lord of the Yinyue Holy Dynasty with one sword, then collected the battle spoils while Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan remained trapped by his four Avatars. Chu Xiong tried to bargain for a way out, warning that Great Chu would seek revenge.

• Chen Changqing used the Immortal Slaughter move to erase the black-robed True Lord of the Yinyue Holy Dynasty as he fled Dragon-Severing Valley.
• Chen Changqing received AFK Points for the kills and gathered the Great Chu attendant elder’s Storage Ring and the damaged Burning Heaven Ruler.
• Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan watched in terror as Chen Changqing’s four Avatars surrounded them and the remaining cultivators were killed or driven away.
• Chu Xiong admitted he could not defeat Chen Changqing and threatened that his imperial father would demand repayment for the Great Chu attendant’s death.

Chen Changqing trapped Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan in Dragon-Severing Valley with the Four Symbols Heaven-Sealing Formation, rendering their escape treasures useless. He approached the terrified princes with his Heavenly Thunder Sword as they begged him to stay back.

• Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan threatened Chen Changqing and crushed their escape talismans to flee.
• The talismans failed, leaving both princes trapped in Dragon-Severing Valley.
• Chu Xiong activated several more escape treasures, but the sealed space drained their power and dropped them to the ground.
• Chen Changqing revealed that his four avatars and original body had formed the Four Symbols Heaven-Sealing Formation.
• Chen Changqing walked toward Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan, and Yue Xuan cried out for him not to come closer.

Chen Changqing demanded one hundred million top-grade spirit stones each from Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan to spare their lives, maiming Chu Xiong when he could not pay. Yue Xuan surrendered his valuables and was stripped down to his inner robe, but Chen Changqing had not yet decided whether the payment was enough.

• Chen Changqing demanded one hundred million top-grade spirit stones from Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan for their lives.
• When Chu Xiong could not pay, Chen Changqing severed his sword arm and sent him crashing into the rubble.
• Yue Xuan knelt and offered the slightly over ten million spirit stones in his storage ring, but Chen Changqing said it only bought one leg.
• Facing Chen Changqing's sword, Yue Xuan frantically offered his jade pendant, robe, pills, treasures, armor, and boots.
• Chen Changqing appraised Yue Xuan's belongings at reduced prices, leaving the ninth prince shivering in only his thin white inner robe.

Chen Changqing forced Yue Xuan and Chu Xiong to surrender their wealth and sign ransom IOUs after defeating them. He carried the two princes back to Mount Shu, while the surviving witnesses realized Great Chu and the Yinyue Holy Dynasty had provoked a dangerous enemy.

• Chen Changqing accepted Yue Xuan's properties as partial payment and made him sign an IOU for the remaining fifty million Top-Grade Spirit Stones, due at Mount Shu within a month.
• Chen Changqing sealed Chu Xiong's cultivation, broke the Divine Sense imprint on his Storage Ring, and took its treasures and Chu Xiong's valuable clothing and armor.
• Chen Changqing valued Chu Xiong's belongings at sixty million and forced the injured prince to sign an IOU with a bloody handprint.
• Chen Changqing warned the hidden cultivators to tell Great Chu and the Yinyue Holy Dynasty to pay the ransom within a month or lose the princes.
• Chen Changqing dismissed his Avatars and flew away with Yue Xuan and Chu Xiong, leaving the witnesses to emerge from the devastated Dragon-Severing Valley.

Chen Changqing returned to Mount Shu with Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan as captives after defeating the forces at Dragon-Severing Valley, then shared his spoils with Evergreen Peak. At the Main Peak, Sect Master Chen Yuan warned him that the Great Chu Dynasty and Yinyue Holy Dynasty were responding, while Chen Changqing defended his actions as legitimate self-defense.

• Chen Changqing flew back to Mount Shu with Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan tied behind his sword as news of the battle spread across the Nine Provinces.
• Chu Tianba raged over Chu Xiong's capture and demanded that his ministers decide how to answer Chen Changqing's ransom threat.
• The Yin Moon Emperor ordered the Yinyue Holy Dynasty to suppress the news, approach Chen Yuan, and threaten Mount Shu ahead of the sect competition.
• Chen Changqing returned to Evergreen Peak, reassured Liu Ruyan, and distributed spirit stones and Law Treasures among the peak's members, who swore loyalty to him.
• After Chen Yuan summoned him to the Main Peak, Chen Changqing defended the capture and ransom of the two princes as spoils of war and compensation for their attack.

Chen Yuan warned Chen Changqing that Great Chu and Dark Moon would rally rivals against him at the Ten Great Sects Grand Competition, where the sects would compete for control of three ancient Secret Realms. Daoist Wuzhen backed Chen Changqing and gave Chen Yuan a token for use if an opponent broke the rules, leaving Mount Shu preparing to face the competition with its full support behind Chen Changqing.

• Chen Yuan accepted Chen Changqing’s killing of two True Lords and kidnapping of two princes, then warned that Great Chu and Dark Moon would target him at the upcoming competition.
• Chen Yuan explained that the competition determined control of the Void Sword Graveyard, the Eternal Pill Pool, and the Chaos Spirit Abyss, and described the powerful disciples Mount Shu would face.
• Chen Changqing declared that he could kill any True Lord who challenged him, and Chen Yuan told him to prepare while Mount Shu handled Great Chu and Dark Moon.
• Chen Yuan visited Daoist Wuzhen, who said Chen Changqing’s unusual potential could help the Human Race break through the realm’s limits and vowed that Mount Shu would protect him.
• Daoist Wuzhen ordered Chen Yuan to help Chen Changqing prepare to win decisively and gave him a wooden token for Chen Changqing to crush if anyone used power beyond the True Lord level during the competition.

Chen Changqing returned to Evergreen Peak and discussed the coming Ten Great Sects Grand Competition with Liu Ruyan. Ran Hua then revealed that Xuanyuan Xiaoyu had arrived at Mount Shu to see Chen Changqing, and Liu Ruyan realized who she was.

• Chen Changqing returned to Evergreen Peak, where Liu Mu, Jian Zhenzi, Luo Futian, and the other disciples inventoried treasures and rewards.
• Chen Changqing told Liu Ruyan that Sect Master Chen Yuan had warned him Great Chu and the Yinyue Holy Dynasty might target him at the Ten Great Sects Grand Competition.
• Ran Hua rushed to Chen Changqing and secretly told him that Xuanyuan Xiaoyu, his nominal fiancée, was waiting outside the mountain gate.
• Liu Ruyan noticed Chen Changqing's reaction, identified Xuanyuan Xiaoyu, and watched as he reluctantly confirmed it.

Chen Changqing faced his fiancée Xuanyuan Xiaoyu at Mount Shu’s gate while holding Liu Ruyan’s hand, setting the two women against each other in a tense standoff. Xuanyuan Xiaoyu ordered him to come to her, leaving him caught between them.

• Liu Ruyan challenged Chen Changqing over whether he would go meet Xuanyuan Xiaoyu, and he reassured her by calling her the mistress of Evergreen Peak.
• Ran Hua told Chen Changqing that Xuanyuan Xiaoyu had arrived alone and was waiting outside Mount Shu’s gate.
• Chen Changqing decided to meet Xuanyuan Xiaoyu, and Liu Ruyan insisted on accompanying him.
• Chen Changqing arrived at the mountain gate hand in hand with Liu Ruyan and faced Xuanyuan Xiaoyu on her golden flying boat.
• Xuanyuan Xiaoyu ignored Chen Changqing’s greeting and commanded him to come to her.

Chen Changqing kept holding Liu Ruyan’s hand when he greeted Xuanyuan Xiaoyu, who challenged Liu Ruyan’s claim to Evergreen Peak. Xuanyuan announced she would stay on Chen Changqing’s Evergreen Peak until the Ten Great Sects Grand Competition, and he refused as her Human King pressure filled the mountain gate.

• Chen Changqing walked to Xuanyuan Xiaoyu’s flying boat without letting go of Liu Ruyan’s hand.
• Xuanyuan Xiaoyu appeared before Chen Changqing and twisted his waist while asking who Liu Ruyan was.
• Liu Ruyan introduced herself as Xuanyuan Xiaoyu’s younger sister and the mistress of Evergreen Peak.
• Xuanyuan Xiaoyu announced she had come to represent the Nine Provinces Divine Dynasty in the Ten Great Sects Grand Competition and would stay on Evergreen Peak.
• Chen Changqing refused Xuanyuan Xiaoyu’s demand, and she narrowed her eyes as her Human King majesty weighed on the mountain gate.

Xuanyuan Xiaoyu used the Human King Token to compel Chen Changqing to host her on Evergreen Peak and prepare for battle alongside her. Liu Ruyan arranged the Third Princess's lavish lodging, but the chapter left Chen Changqing trapped in the courtyard when Xuanyuan Xiaoyu demanded that he cook for her and Liu Ruyan laughed.

• Chen Changqing tried to keep Xuanyuan Xiaoyu from staying on Evergreen Peak, but she revealed that the Human King had issued a decree requiring them to study and prepare for battle together.
• Liu Ruyan accepted the decree and ordered Ran Hua to prepare Listening Snow Lodge and assign disciples to serve Xuanyuan Xiaoyu.
• Xuanyuan Xiaoyu arrived at Listening Snow Lodge with rows of maids and chests, while Chen Changqing led her there beside Liu Ruyan.
• After Xuanyuan Xiaoyu dismissed the attendants, she told Chen Changqing she was hungry and demanded that he cook for her.
• Chen Changqing balked at the demand, and Liu Ruyan suddenly laughed beside him.

Chen Changqing received the Nine Provinces Divine Dynasty’s Human King Heaven-Suppressing Seal from Xuanyuan Xiaoyu and learned that it could help him face the coming sect competition. After he began cultivating it, the Human King’s imprint chose him almost immediately, astonishing Xuanyuan Xiaoyu.

• Liu Ruyan persuaded Xuanyuan Xiaoyu that trying to tie Chen Changqing to her with petty tricks would only drive him away.
• Chen Changqing cooked Thunder Qilin Beast tenderloin for Xuanyuan Xiaoyu and Liu Ruyan, and both women enjoyed the meal.
• Xuanyuan Xiaoyu gave Chen Changqing a golden scroll from her Imperial Father containing the Human King Heaven-Suppressing Seal.
• Liu Ruyan and Xuanyuan Xiaoyu explained that the sect competition would involve the fortune of the Nine Provinces and that Chen Changqing would face dangerous enemies.
• Chen Changqing started cultivating the technique, and the scroll’s nine characters entered the space between his eyebrows.
• Xuanyuan Xiaoyu recognized that the Human King’s imprint had chosen Chen Changqing as its master after only a few dozen breaths.

Chen Changqing mastered the Human King Heaven-Suppressing Seal and clashed with Xuanyuan Xiaoyu over visiting the Divine Dynasty. Their argument was interrupted by Hua Yao’s arrival, and she insisted on staying in Chen Changqing’s cave abode as his fiancée.

• Chen Changqing demonstrated the Human King Heaven-Suppressing Seal, briefly suppressing everyone’s cultivation before dispersing its golden light.
• Xuanyuan Xiaoyu asked Chen Changqing to visit the Divine Dynasty after the sect competition, but he refused.
• Ran Hua announced that Hua Yao had arrived, and Xuanyuan Xiaoyu and Liu Ruyan moved to welcome her together.
• Hua Yao entered Listening Snow Lodge with a marriage contract and Medicine God Valley disciples carrying medicine chests.
• Hua Yao reminded Xuanyuan Xiaoyu that her engagement to Chen Changqing came first, then told Liu Ruyan she would stay in Chen Changqing’s cave abode.

Chen Changqing tried to escape the three women’s plans to live in his cave abode, then secluded himself to strengthen the Human King Heaven-Suppressing Seal before the sect grand competition. He invested all his AFK Points for a hundred years of cultivation results, which would be ready in three months, when Hua Yao called him to open the door.

• Chen Changqing objected to sharing a room with Hua Yao, but Xuanyuan Xiaoyu and Liu Ruyan also decided to move into his cave abode.
• Hua Yao, Xuanyuan Xiaoyu, and Liu Ruyan divided up the cave abode’s rooms, leaving Chen Changqing to retreat into the cultivation chamber.
• Chen Changqing checked his idle cultivation progress on the Human King Heaven-Suppressing Seal and invested all his AFK Points in it.
• The system began generating a hundred years of cultivation results, which Chen Changqing could extract after three months.
• Hua Yao called through the sealed cultivation chamber door and said that she and the other two women had reached an agreement.

As the sect grand competition approached, Chen Changqing trained in the Human King Heaven-Suppressing Seal while the three women prepared Evergreen Peak and equipped him with protective treasures. The chapter ended with the Great Chu Dynasty and the Yinyue Holy Dynasty arriving at the mountain gate with valuables to ransom their people.

• Hua Yao, Xuanyuan Xiaoyu, and Liu Ruyan tried to alter Chen Changqing's cave-abode formations, and Liu Ruyan kept his control Token until after the grand competition.
• Hua Yao organized Medicine God Valley's pills, Xuanyuan Xiaoyu studied sect intelligence with Chen Changqing, and Liu Ruyan took charge of Evergreen Peak's affairs.
• Xuanyuan Xiaoyu, Hua Yao, and Liu Ruyan gave Chen Changqing a Nine-Revolution Heart-Guarding Pill, a Human King Protective Talisman, and a robe concealing his Silver Firmament Battle Armor.
• Chen Changqing demonstrated that his Human King Heaven-Suppressing Seal could suppress the three women's cultivation and said he could defeat a True Lord without an Immortal Artifact.
• Liu Mu reported that the Great Chu Dynasty and the Yinyue Holy Dynasty had arrived with twelve flying boats of valuables to ransom their people.

Chen Changqing received ransom envoys from the Great Chu Dynasty and the Yinyue Holy Dynasty, making them wait before negotiating for their captured allies. After the envoys offered twelve flying boats of valuables, he ordered Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan brought in, leaving the ransom negotiations about to begin.

• Chen Changqing agreed to meet the Great Chu and Yinyue envoys who had come to ransom Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan.
• Chen Changqing made Minister Wang An and Elder Yin Jiuxuan wait two hours before receiving them at Evergreen Peak.
• Wang An and Yin Jiuxuan bowed to Chen Changqing and confirmed that twelve flying boats of valuables waited outside Mount Shu.
• Chen Changqing accepted their offer and ordered Ran Hua to bring in the two captives.
• Ran Hua brought the bedraggled Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan into the hall.

After Chu Xiong threatened Chen Changqing while being escorted out, Chen had Mount Shu’s disciples block the exits and forced the prisoners and their escorts to submit. He said the ransom had settled their earlier offenses, but Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan now owed him a new debt for threatening him on Evergreen Peak.

• Wang An and Yin Jiuxuan brought the imprisoned Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan before Chen Changqing, who dismissed the escorts after inspecting the prisoners.
• As they were leaving, Chu Xiong threatened Chen Changqing and vowed that the Great Chu Dynasty would retaliate; Yue Xuan silently shared his defiance.
• Chen Changqing ordered the party to stop, and Mount Shu’s core disciples surrounded the hall and sealed the exits.
• Chen Changqing confronted Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan, arguing that their threats on Mount Shu’s territory warranted consequences beyond the ransom they had paid.
• Chen Changqing’s pressure forced Wang An and Yin Jiuxuan to their knees and Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan to the floor, while the escorts begged him to spare the prisoners.
• Chen Changqing declared that the ransom had settled the earlier offense but Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan owed him a new debt for threatening him before his fiancée and senior sister.

Chen Changqing punished Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan by suppressing their imperial Dragon Qi and ties to their dynasties, then faced a dispute over where he should sleep. The chapter left him cornered as Liu Ruyan, Xuanyuan Xiaoyu, and Hua Yao all insisted he stay in their rooms instead of the cultivation room.

• Wang An and Yin Jiuxuan offered Chen Changqing priceless treasures to appease him, but he rejected them and summoned the Human King Heaven-Suppressing Seal.
• Chen Changqing branded Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan with prisoner marks that suppressed their imperial Qi and connection to their dynasties without killing or injuring them.
• Wang An and Yin Jiuxuan carried the dazed Chu Xiong and Yue Xuan out of the hall, while the Mount Shu disciples celebrated Chen Changqing's victory.
• Chen Changqing discussed his use of Xuanyuan Xiaoyu's imperial father's Divine Ability with her, and she grudgingly praised his progress.
• Liu Ruyan raised the matter of Chen Changqing leaving the cultivation room, and Xuanyuan Xiaoyu and Hua Yao each offered him a room for rest and cultivation.
• Chen Changqing tried to keep sleeping in the cultivation room, but the three women refused, while Jian Zhenzi and the other disciples avoided helping him.

Chen Changqing escaped the three women’s relentless attention when the Sect Master summoned him to discuss the approaching Sect Grand Competition. At the Headmaster’s Hall, he found Shu Mountain’s elders divided into rival groups, and Second Elder Daoist Wu Xing warned him to be cautious before Lu Tian objected.

• Liu Ruyan proposed that she, Xuanyuan Xiaoyu, and Hua Yao take turns spending nights with Chen Changqing, prompting him to flee the hall.
• For three days, Chen Changqing repeatedly encountered the three women around Evergreen Peak while disciples bet on where he would sleep.
• An inner disciple delivered the Sect Master’s summons, and Chen Changqing eagerly hurried to the Headmaster’s Hall.
• Chen Changqing entered the hall and found the elders divided between a group led by his master Chen Yuan and one led by Second Elder Daoist Wu Xing.
• Daoist Wu Xing warned Chen Changqing not to act rashly in the Sect Grand Competition, and Lu Tian snorted before Chen Changqing could reply.

Mount Shu debated its representatives for the approaching Sect Grand Competition, and Wu Xing recommended the little-known Chen Yuan of Sword Treasury Peak as a teammate for Chen Changqing. The elders learned that Chen Yuan had mastered the forbidden Supreme Emotionless Sword and reached Early Tribulation Transcendence, leaving Chen Yuan questioning Wu Xing for concealing his cultivation.

• Chen Yuan announced that Mount Shu could send three disciples to the Sect Grand Competition and asked for recommendations for the two remaining places.
• Wu Xing recommended Chen Yuan of Sword Treasury Peak, a reclusive disciple whom most elders had never heard of.
• Bai Wuya and other elders objected that an unknown disciple who had stayed in seclusion was an unsuitable representative.
• Wu Xing revealed that Chen Yuan cultivated the lost forbidden art, the Supreme Emotionless Sword.
• Wu Xing said Chen Yuan had reached Minor Accomplishment in the sword art and attained Early Tribulation Transcendence, prompting Chen Yuan to challenge Wu Xing for not reporting it.

Daoist Wu Xing revealed that Mount Shu disciple Chen Yuan had reached Early Tribulation Transcendence, and Chen Changqing demanded to meet him. Chen Yuan joined the sect tournament, while Chen Changqing challenged his confidence and declared that even other geniuses could only watch him pull ahead.

• Daoist Wu Xing announced that Chen Yuan had reached Early Tribulation Transcendence, shocking the elders gathered in the great hall.
• Chen Changqing asked Wu Xing to summon Chen Yuan so he could see the Supreme Emotionless Sword for himself.
• Chen Yuan entered the hall, displaying formidable Sword Intent that chilled the elders and drew the attention of Chen Changqing and Bai Wuya.
• Chen Changqing confronted Chen Yuan, who said he wanted to enter the sect tournament and secretly revealed that he was the reincarnated Ruthless Sword Lord.
• Chen Changqing laughed off Chen Yuan's disdain and declared that the geniuses he had met could only watch his retreating back.

Chen Changqing challenged Chen Yuan to a duel outside the Headmaster's Hall, where their clash of swordsmanship shook Mount Shu's summit. After hundreds of exchanges, Chen Changqing remained composed while Chen Yuan was left stunned by his opponent's superior sword path.

• Chen Changqing left the hall and called on Chen Yuan to fight outside, and Chen Yuan followed him to the plaza.
• Chen Yuan unleashed his Emotionless Sword Intent and drew the Starfall Sword, a High-grade Immortal Artifact given to him by Daoist Wu Xing.
• Chen Changqing summoned the Heavenly Thunder Sword and welcomed a fight between their matched weapons.
• Chen Changqing and Chen Yuan exchanged hundreds of rapid sword strikes, straining the formations surrounding the plaza.
• The fighters separated, and Chen Yuan realized Chen Changqing's swordsmanship had suppressed him despite his past life as the Ruthless Sword Lord.

Chen Yuan unleashed the forbidden Supreme Emotionless Sword, but Chen Changqing answered by opening a Sword World that froze the attack and asserted control over Mount Shu’s summit. Chen Yuan and the Mount Shu elders were left stunned as Daoist Wu Xing realized his side had suffered a crushing defeat.

• Chen Yuan used the first form of Supreme Emotionless Sword, Sever Dustbound Ties, and tore through the formation protecting the arena.
• Daoist Wuzhen appeared and repaired the formation, but let the attack continue as Chen Yuan’s Sword-Ray raced toward Chen Changqing.
• Chen Changqing dismissed the attack and opened his Sword World, freezing the Sword-Ray and transforming the summit into a realm ruled by sword intent.
• Chen Yuan recognized that Chen Changqing had created a world while still at the Tribulation Transcendence Stage, and the Mount Shu elders were left in shock.
• Chen Yuan celebrated Chen Changqing’s display, while Daoist Wu Xing realized his side had been decisively defeated.