Chapter Summaries

After pacifying Bing Province, Zhao Feng investigated Puppet Liang’s collaborators and persuaded Su Qingwan to join his army before the Prince of Jin arrived. The prince visited Zhao Feng’s residence and, seeing Su Qingwan treat Zhao as a friend, struggled to contain his jealousy.

• Ying Yang escaped to a mountain cave after burning his blood essence and vowed to reclaim the barbarians’ sacred relic from Zhao Feng.
• Zhao Feng ordered searches and interrogations across Bingzhou, recovered officials’ stolen wealth, and uncovered records linking Puppet Liang to the four great Lineages of You Province and Fei Yuanzhong.
• Su Qingwan agreed to stay with Zhao Feng’s army to help reclaim You Province and protect him from enemies.
• The Prince of Jin arrived in Bingzhou, praised the campaign, rewarded the troops, and privately visited Zhao Feng the next day.
• The Prince of Jin saw Su Qingwan with Zhao Feng and grew angry when she said they were friends.

The Prince of Jin tried to recruit Zhao Feng and warned him to stop investigating the Liang Rebels, but Zhao Feng refused and affirmed his support for the emperor’s policies toward the people. Later, Zhao Feng combined the Nine Yang Divine Fist and True Yang Cotton Palm into a powerful two-handed fighting style, leaving him better prepared to face formidable opponents.

• The Prince of Jin visited Zhao Feng, cautioned him against investigating the rebels, and offered treasures and a future dukedom in exchange for his allegiance.
• Zhao Feng rejected the Prince of Jin’s offer and declared that he served only the Son of Heaven.
• Su Qingwan revealed that the prince’s visit was meant to sow suspicion between Zhao Feng and the emperor, then asked why Zhao Feng served His Majesty.
• Zhao Feng explained that he supported rulers who improved ordinary people’s lives, and Su Qingwan praised his principle that the people mattered most.
• After the surrounding rebel and bandit troubles subsided, Zhao Feng practiced combining the Nine Yang Divine Fist and True Yang Cotton Palm, using one hand for each art.
• Zhao Feng fused the arts in a final strike that shattered the courtyard ground and strengthened his mastery of both techniques.

Zhao Feng and Sun Chenzong escorted captured Puppet Liang officials toward Upper Capital, where death soldiers ambushed their convoy at Lion Ridge. After Zhao Feng and Su Qingwan defeated the attackers, the convoy continued and reached the capital, while the identity of the mastermind remained unproven.

• Zhao Feng and Sun Chenzong received an imperial summons to bring captured Puppet Liang officials to Upper Capital for questioning.
• Zhao Feng led three thousand Martial Suppression Guards through Lion Ridge, where thousands of armored death soldiers attacked the convoy.
• Zhao Feng protected Sun Chenzong and the prisoners while fighting three Astral Realm experts, and Su Qingwan stopped an Innate Realm attacker from killing the senior officials.
• Su Qingwan and Zhao Feng defeated the enemy experts, but the Innate Realm attacker died by poison and other leaders killed themselves, leaving the captured death soldiers unable to identify their patron.
• Zhao Feng and Sun Chenzong resumed the journey, and the convoy reached Upper Capital after about ten more days.

Zhao Feng returned to the Upper Capital with Sun Chenzong and the captured Puppet Liang officials, where Emperor Jing publicly praised him and later questioned his loyalty and political views. Zhao Feng pledged to serve the people and advised the emperor on weakening the Northern Barbarians and recovering You Province, leaving Emperor Jing impressed and promising further rewards.

• Emperor Jing personally welcomed Sun Chenzong, Zhao Feng, and their victorious convoy outside the Upper Capital, praising their service and calling Zhao Feng a pillar of Great Yan.
• Su Qingwan identified Zhao Feng as her friend before Emperor Jing, drawing the officials’ attention and prompting Grand Secretary Zhang Jie to look up.
• Zhao Feng escorted the Puppet Liang prisoners to the Martial Suppression Bureau’s Imperial Prison, where Commander Lu Bing reviewed the interrogation records and warned him that court officials were targeting him.
• Emperor Jing summoned Zhao Feng and confronted him with memorials accusing him of raising a private army and plotting rebellion, then asked whether the Prince of Jin had tried to recruit him.
• Zhao Feng explained that he served to improve ordinary people’s lives, and Emperor Jing agreed with his principles and asked for advice on dealing with the Empress Dowager and the Prince of Jin.
• Zhao Feng proposed recovering You Province by disrupting Northern Barbarian supply lines, rallying refugees, and sowing divisions among the tribes, and Emperor Jing praised his counsel.

Zhao Feng perfected the Breath-Concealing Technique and Blood Soul Secret Art before inviting Su Qingwan to view the moon for Mid-Autumn Festival. At the Moon-Viewing Tower, Cloud Crane Academy students insulted Zhao Feng, but Su Qingwan’s gesture of pulling out a chair for him stunned them.

• The Empress Dowager summoned Zhao Feng and warned him not to oppose the political tide, but he left without accepting her vague advice.
• As the Martial Suppression Guard arrested officials connected to the captives, Zhao Feng cultivated until the Breath-Concealing Technique and Blood Soul Secret Art both reached perfection.
• Zhao Feng invited Su Qingwan to view the moon, and they walked through the festive streets of the Upper Capital together.
• Zhao Feng recited a verse while thinking of his family on Blue Star, and Su Qingwan wondered if he had composed it and sensed that he was unlike other martial masters.
• At the Moon-Viewing Tower, Fei Yuanzhong and Song Chen introduced Zhao Feng to Xiao Fan and their fellow Cloud Crane Academy students, who insulted him.
• Su Qingwan pulled out a chair for Zhao Feng, who sat beside her and left the students stunned.

At the Moon-Viewing Tower, Zhao Feng rebuffed Xiao Fan’s accusations by arguing that heavenly principle resided in the human heart, leaving the Cloud Crane Academy students shaken and Xiao Fan injured. The academy students then challenged Zhao Feng to a Mid-Autumn poetry contest, and after Song Chen and Xiao Fan presented acclaimed poems, everyone waited for Zhao Feng’s turn.

• Su Qingwan and Zhao Feng admired the moon together, while Ye Wuya, Qin Guanyue, and Xie Yungui joined them and recognized Zhao Feng’s military achievements.
• Xiao Fan, Fei Yuanzhong, and Song Chen called Zhao Feng a crude fame-seeker and accused him of undermining Neo-Confucianism.
• Zhao Feng argued that heavenly principle resided in the human heart, leaving Xiao Fan speechless and prompting him to spit blood as the Cloud Crane Academy students reconsidered their beliefs.
• Fei Yuanzhong and Song Chen proposed a moon-themed poetry contest to humiliate Zhao Feng, and Xiao Fan joined their challenge.
• Song Chen and Xiao Fan composed poems that drew praise from the guests, while Zhao Feng accepted the challenge and waited to compose his own.

Zhao Feng stunned the guests at Moon-Viewing Tower with his lyric, “When Will the Moon Be Bright,” then ordered the arrest of Fei Yuanzhong and Xiao Fan after learning that Cloud Crane Academy students had injured a Martial Suppression Guard. He left the chapter ordering Yue Lang to mobilize the Martial Suppression Guard and surround Cloud Crane Academy.

• Zhao Feng rejected Su Qingwan and Ye Wuya’s offers of help and wrote the lyric “When Will the Moon Be Bright,” leaving the guests in awe.
• Zhao Feng gave the manuscript to Su Qingwan as the guests bid increasingly large sums for it, while Fei Yuanzhong, Song Chen, and Xiao Fan accused Zhao Feng of copying the poem.
• Yue Lang reported that Cloud Crane Academy students had injured a Martial Suppression Guard, and Fei Yuanzhong mocked Zhao Feng and ordered Yue Lang out.
• Zhao Feng ordered Yue Lang to arrest Fei Yuanzhong, then had Yue Lang slap him when he shouted insults.
• Xiao Fan used Word-Conforms-to-Law to command Zhao Feng to release Fei Yuanzhong, but Zhao Feng struck Xiao Fan’s divine soul and gravely injured him.
• Zhao Feng charged Fei Yuanzhong and Xiao Fan with colluding with rebels and resisting arrest, then ordered Yue Lang to assemble the Martial Suppression Guard and surround Cloud Crane Academy.

Zhao Feng surrounded Cloud Crane Academy to arrest Fei Yuanzhong and search for traitors, producing evidence that Fei had sold intelligence to Puppet Liang. Deputy Head Wen Mingyuan rejected Zhao’s authority to enter, leaving the standoff at the academy gates unresolved.

• Zhao Feng mobilized the Martial Suppression Guard, and Lu Bing ordered the Firearms Battalion to follow his command as the troops marched on Cloud Crane Academy.
• Zhao Feng brought the captured Fei Yuanzhong and Xiao Fan to the academy, where Wen Mingyuan and other scholars condemned the siege and demanded Zhao withdraw.
• Zhao Feng named Fei Yuanzhong as a traitor and presented Yong’er, secret letters, account books, a jade hairpin, and her confession as evidence that Fei had sold intelligence to Liao Kuan.
• Wen Mingyuan and the watching officials read the evidence, and their accusations faltered as Fei’s guilt appeared increasingly credible.
• Wen Mingyuan insisted that Fei must be tried by the Three Judicial Offices and declared that Zhao would not enter the academy to search it.

Zhao Feng forced the Cloud Crane Academy to submit to a search under the emperor’s decree, weakening its political influence, then gained authority over Bing Province and returned to oversee its reconstruction. After arriving safely, he perfected the Primordial Unity One-Qi Art and advanced to late astral force.

• Zhao Feng used the emperor’s verbal decree to overcome Wen Mingyuan’s resistance, searched the Cloud Crane Academy, and arrested Fei Yuanzhong, Xiao Fan, and the students who had attacked his guards.
• Fei Yuanzhong confessed to colluding with the Rebel Army, while seized documents damaged the Academy’s reputation and forced it to close for an internal investigation.
• The emperor appointed Zhao Feng Provincial Administration Commissioner of Bing Province, and Zhao Feng asked Lin Ziwei to move their plans forward through the Four Seas Trading House.
• Zhao Feng left the capital with Sun Chenzong and the officials assigned to Bing Province, then arrived there safely after nearly a month of travel.
• Zhao Feng perfected the Primordial Unity One-Qi Art, broke through to late astral force, and reviewed his cultivation panel.

Zhao Feng prepared Bing Province for winter and war, completed his Tai Chi Golden Body Art, and learned more about the Barbarian Sacred Relic from Su Qingwan. As Great Yan launched its campaign to retake You Province, Zhao Feng perfected the Nine Yang Sword Technique in his military camp.

• Zhao Feng tasked Lin Ziwei with rebuilding Bing Province and authorized her to negotiate border trade with Great Wan for supplies and warhorses.
• Sun Chenzong and Yu Zhiyong planned a pincer campaign against You Province after Ji Province was recovered, while Zhao Feng perfected his Tai Chi Golden Body Art.
• Su Qingwan returned after fighting the Blood Lotus Dharma King, identified Zhao Feng's finger-bone relic as a key connected to the Barbarian God, and prepared to leave again.
• Great Yan's armies invaded Northern Barbarian-occupied You Province, and Emperor Jing discussed his growing authority and hopes for the campaign with Lu Bing.
• Sun Chenzong advanced by capturing cities and sabotaging enemy supplies, while Zhao Feng perfected the Nine Yang Sword Technique in his camp.

Zhao Feng led the Martial Suppression Guard across the Helan Plateau and into the Northern Barbarians’ rear, where they seized horses, raided supply lines, and liberated county seats. After Hu Hamu sent a large force to destroy them without weakening the Three Prefectures, Zhao Feng turned to ambush its isolated vanguard.

• Zhao Feng persuaded Sun Chenzong to send the Martial Suppression Guard over the Helan Plateau and into the enemy’s rear.
• Zhao Feng’s officers captured three horse ranches, mounted the seized warhorses, and began attacking Northern Barbarian supply routes and lightly defended towns.
• Zhao Feng’s troops raised Great Yan’s banner in liberated settlements, restoring hope among civilians and organizing local militias.
• Pang Qing advised Hu Hamu to leave the Three Prefectures’ forces in place and send troops from You Province City and rear prefectures against Zhao Feng.
• Zhao Feng led the Martial Suppression Guard toward the Black River, then turned his ten thousand riders against Mengheer’s isolated three-thousand-man vanguard.

Zhao Feng’s Martial Suppression Guard repeatedly crossed the Black River, using civilian support and fast raids to liberate cities and evade Baleite’s pursuit. Hu Hamu’s attempt to encircle them weakened his defenses, and the chapter ended with Red Mountain Prefecture breaking under pressure.

• Zhao Feng’s Martial Suppression Guard defeated Mengheer’s vanguard, crossed the Black River by civilian boats, and escaped Baleite’s pursuing army.
• Zhao Feng captured South Peace Prefecture, distributed its grain, and led his troops away before Baleite arrived.
• Zhao Feng’s force liberated more county seats and Dapu Prefecture, relying on local civilians for food and concealed boats to cross the river again.
• Pang Qing predicted the location of Zhao Feng’s third crossing, but civilians ferried the boats downstream; during the pursuit, the Yan army inflicted more than ten thousand casualties and an arrow took Baleite’s eye.
• Hu Hamu ordered troops from Rising River, Red Mountain, and Longcheng Prefectures to encircle Zhao Feng, despite Pang Qing’s warning that this would expose their defenses.
• Zhao Feng split his force and crossed the Black River for a fourth time to escape the encirclement, while Red Mountain Prefecture became the first of the weakened defenses to fall.

After Red Mountain Prefecture fell, Hu Hamu led nearly a hundred thousand troops toward the Helan Plateau, while Zhao Feng brought the Martial Suppression Guard to capture You Province City. Zhao Feng’s surprise attack overwhelmed the city’s defenders, and he ordered his troops to seize the Four Great Lineages before they could destroy evidence of their collusion.

• Xu Shan’s army captured Red Mountain Prefecture, leaving Longcheng Prefecture and Rising River Prefecture vulnerable to attacks from both sides.
• Hu Hamu rejected Pang Qing’s advice to seek reinforcements and marched south with nearly a hundred thousand troops to strike the Yan army from behind.
• Zhao Feng revealed that Hu Hamu’s troops had been drawn into Sun Chenzong’s plan and ordered the Martial Suppression Guard to take You Province City.
• Pang Qing urged Hu Lü to strengthen the city’s defenses, then fled after Hu Lü dismissed his warnings.
• Zhao Feng led the Martial Suppression Guard in a nighttime surprise attack, and Yue Lang, Xie Qiu, Jiang Chen, and Mu Xingze helped open the gates.
• The Martial Suppression Guard routed the defenders, while Zhao Feng ordered his troops to capture the Four Great Lineages and prevent them from destroying evidence.

Zhao Feng captured You Province City, killed the Four Great Lineage heads, and restored order while pursuing evidence of the Prince of Jin’s ties to them. After learning the main Yan army had defeated Hu Hamu’s forces, Zhao Feng prepared for the routed survivors, and Hu Hamu arrived to find the Martial Suppression Guard’s banner over the city.

• Zhao Feng killed Kong Chengye, Cao Hong, Lin Moyuan, and Liu Shankui when they attacked him, prompting the Four Great Lineages’ followers to surrender.
• Yue Lang reported that the remaining barbarian troops had surrendered, and Zhao Feng ordered them sent to labor camps while the four families’ members and assets were seized.
• Zhao Feng opened the families’ granaries to feed civilians and examined records showing their smuggling, then ordered three southern underground banks sealed to seek evidence against the Prince of Jin.
• Yue Lang reported that Sun Chenzong had trapped Hu Hamu’s army and that Longcheng Prefecture and Rising River Prefecture had fallen; Zhao Feng ordered scouts to watch for the retreating barbarians.
• Hu Hamu led roughly thirty thousand exhausted survivors toward You Province, saw the Martial Suppression Guard’s banner above its walls, and realized the city had fallen.

Zhao Feng defeated Hu Hamu’s army and welcomed Sun Chenzong’s forces into You Province, where the commanders discussed a possible campaign against the Northern Barbarians. He then learned that three Underground Banks had routed their lending funds to the Prince of Jin’s Residence, giving him evidence to report to His Majesty.

• Hu Hamu ordered his exhausted thirty thousand soldiers to assault You Province, and Zhao Feng’s forces repelled them from the city walls.
• Hu Hamu broke through the battlements and wounded Qianhu Dong, but Zhao Feng killed him in three moves, sending the barbarian army fleeing.
• Zhao Feng’s troops pursued the scattered barbarians, cleared the battlefield, and later welcomed Sun Chenzong and the arriving commanders into You Province City.
• Sun Chenzong told the commanders that His Majesty intended to strike the weakened Northern Barbarians rather than give them time to recover.
• Yue Lang reported that the Martial Suppression Guard had traced the Underground Banks’ lending funds to the Prince of Jin’s Residence, and Zhao Feng prepared to submit the evidence to His Majesty.

Zhao Feng presented evidence of the Prince of Jin’s crimes to Emperor Jing, who confined the prince and tasked Zhao Feng with weakening the Empress Dowager’s faction. After perfecting his Nine Yang Divine Fist, Zhao Feng received a promotion and became Commandant of the Martial Suppression Bureau.

• Zhao Feng delivered evidence of the four great lineages’ crimes and their ties to the Prince of Jin to Emperor Jing.
• Emperor Jing explained his plans to weaken the Northern Barbarians and ordered Zhao Feng to gradually dismantle the Empress Dowager’s faction.
• At court, Emperor Jing had the evidence examined and sentenced Yan Che, Prince of Jin, to permanent confinement in the Imperial Clan Court.
• Zhao Feng perfected the Nine Yang Divine Fist and combined it with the True Yang Cotton Palm using the Left-Right Mutual Combat Art.
• Emperor Jing promoted Zhao Feng to Grand General Who Assists the State and appointed him Commandant of the Martial Suppression Bureau, replacing Lu Bing.

Zhao Feng ordered a sweeping purge of officials tied to the Prince of Jin and the Maternal Relatives' Faction, while Emperor Jing backed his actions against court opposition. After the Wind and Cloud Tower warned that someone would kill him in three days, Zhao Feng survived an ambush on East Main Street and captured one of the attackers.

• Zhao Feng issued 137 arrest warrants, and the Martial Suppression Guards arrested officials and seized property across the Upper Capital.
• Emperor Jing rejected officials' demands to stop Zhao Feng and declared that opposing him meant opposing the emperor.
• Li Han of the Wind and Cloud Tower told Zhao Feng that an assassin would strike in three days and asked him to release Gan Zhirong in exchange for identifying the would-be killer.
• Zhao Feng released Gan Zhirong, prepared for an attack, and rode through East Main Street with his personal guards three days later.
• Zhao Feng detected masked crossbowmen and evaded their bolts, then killed several attackers with a saber strike as his guards pursued the rest.
• A disguised assassin shot Zhao Feng with a fire lance, but Zhao Feng's golden body and Treasure Armor stopped the bullet; Zhao Feng broke the assassin's wrist, struck him down, and ordered his men to seize him.

Zhao Feng uncovered the Empress Dowager’s involvement in an assassination attempt, survived a strike by an Assassin Alliance killer, and accepted an invitation to the Wind and Cloud Gathering. He arrived at the gathering as the crowd wondered who he was.

• Zhao Feng found that the crossbowmen who attacked him had killed themselves with poison, and Li Han later identified them as the Empress Dowager’s men.
• Li Han warned Zhao Feng that the Assassin Alliance would make a second attempt and invited him to the Wind and Cloud Gathering, which Zhao Feng agreed to attend.
• An Assassin Alliance killer attacked Zhao Feng in his office with poisoned needles and a short sword, but Zhao Feng killed him and found a black token marked with the character for eight.
• Zhao Feng ordered Yue Lang to investigate the assassin and later went about his duties with greater caution.
• At the Wind and Cloud Gathering, the crowd recognized Lin Lie, Liaoran, and Situ Xun as Dragon Ranking talents before Zhao Feng arrived in casual clothes and went unrecognized.

Zhao Feng attended the Wind and Cloud Gathering, where his reunion with Su Qingwan drew the attention and jealousy of Murong Fu and Lu Changhe. After Shen Ci opened the gathering and announced a martial exchange, Lin Lie challenged Situ Xun and began a fierce fight.

• Zhao Feng arrived at the Wind and Cloud Tower and greeted Qin Guanyue and Xie Yungui before Lu Changhe, Murong Fu, and Ye Wuya entered.
• Shen Ci welcomed the young experts, and Su Qingwan arrived and greeted Zhao Feng warmly, then chose to sit beside him instead of Murong Fu.
• Su Qingwan used Zhao Feng as a shield against Murong Fu's advances, while he shared her food and wine and recognized her ploy.
• Shen Ci announced that the gathering would include sparring and that the Wind and Cloud Tower would give each guest personally relevant information.
• Lin Lie challenged Situ Xun, and Situ Xun calmly defended against Lin Lie's relentless attacks.

At the Wind and Cloud Gathering, Lu Changfeng accused Zhao Feng of persecuting innocent officials and challenged his right to attend. Zhao Feng defended the purges as action against treason, winning support from Shen Ci and Su Qingwan before Lu Changfeng demanded a martial contest.

• Situ Xun defeated Lin Lie in their sparring match, and the gathering resumed its feasting and friendly bouts.
• Su Qingwan told Zhao Feng that rival clans and sects were using the gathering to assess rising talents, then praised Lin Lie’s work in You Province and Bing Province.
• Lu Changfeng publicly accused Zhao Feng of abusing his authority and persecuting innocent officials, with Murong Fu and Ye Wuya adding their criticism.
• Su Qingwan challenged Lu Changfeng’s claims, and Zhao Feng defended the arrests by citing the officials’ treason and corruption, including Chen Zhengyuan’s seized illicit wealth.
• Shen Ci and Su Qingwan affirmed that Zhao Feng deserved his place at the gathering, leaving Lu Changfeng humiliated.
• Lu Changfeng demanded that Zhao Feng prove his martial ability and prepared to fight him.