Recaps

Li Xuancang fought off the Barbarian cultivators long enough to complete the half-hour defense, killing several despite his injuries. When the soldiers were ordered to break through, he helped Zhao Changlin escape and turned back to rescue the Wang Daniu brothers, leaving his own escape uncertain.

• Li Xuancang killed an Early Body Tempering Stage Barbarian with one spear thrust, then fought off the other eleven attackers.
• Surrounded and wounded, Li Xuancang traded injuries for kills until his ferocious fighting frightened the Barbarians.
• Li Xuancang killed a Mid Body Tempering Stage Barbarian and held his ground until a soldier announced that half an hour had passed and everyone should break through.
• Li Xuancang drove back the Barbarians surrounding Zhao Changlin and helped him escape.
• Li Xuancang abandoned his own chance to flee, carved a path to the Wang Daniu brothers, and urged them to escape.

Li Xuancang and Zhao Changlin fought their way out of a barbarian encirclement and escaped into Blackwind Ridge, both severely wounded. After treating their injuries, they set out through the dangerous mountains toward Azure Cloud Ridge to rejoin the main army.

• Zhao Changlin joined Li Xuancang, and the two fought together against the barbarian soldiers and cultivators surrounding them.
• Zhao Changlin held off the two barbarian leaders while Li Xuancang protected his flank, and they forced their way toward Blackwind Ridge despite suffering severe wounds.
• Li Xuancang used his senses and the mountain terrain to guide them away from Demonic Beast lairs and evade the pursuing barbarians.
• After the pursuit faded, Zhao Changlin shared his last half-bottle of Golden Wound Medicine with Li Xuancang, and they bandaged their injuries.
• Zhao Changlin and Li Xuancang decided to travel southeast through Blackwind Ridge toward Azure Cloud Ridge and began their journey through the forest.

Li Xuancang and Zhao Changlin fought their way through the forest and evaded Barbarian scouts to reach Azure Cloud Ridge Camp. After the guards verified their identities, both men collapsed from their injuries.

• Li Xuancang and Zhao Changlin killed a Fanged Demon, and Zhao Changlin was nearly fatally wounded saving Li Xuancang.
• Li Xuancang fed Zhao Changlin the Fanged Demon's blood and heart, then carried him out of the forest.
• Zhao Changlin warned Li Xuancang about Barbarian scouts surrounding Azure Cloud Ridge Camp and directed him toward a hidden western entrance.
• Li Xuancang timed the patrol shift, slipped past the scouts, and carried Zhao Changlin up the western cliff path to the hidden sentry post.
• The guards verified Zhao Changlin's Identity Token and escorted both men into camp, where they collapsed unconscious.

After recovering from his wounds, Li Xuancang was restored as Squad Leader and placed under Wang Xuanshan’s command, receiving ten veteran soldiers. As the Barbarian army advanced on Azure Cloud Ridge, Li Xuancang prepared for the coming battle, his strength nearing the Late Body Tempering Stage.

• Li Xuancang recovered enough to move within five days, while Zhao Changlin was sent to the rear for treatment.
• Wang Xuanshan and a messenger informed Li Xuancang that the Lakeside Station remnants had joined the Xuanyang Commandery Army and restored him as Squad Leader over ten Battle Soldiers.
• Wang Xuanshan promised to seek Li Xuancang’s promotion to Hundred-Man Commander if he broke through to the Late Body Tempering Stage and earned merit.
• Li Xuancang settled in with the Lakeside Station remnants and established rules for the ten veteran soldiers assigned to him.
• Li Xuancang trained with his men for more than half a month, growing strong enough to challenge Late Body Tempering Stage opponents.
• As more than three thousand troops gathered and the Barbarians advanced toward Azure Cloud Ridge, Li Xuancang welcomed the prospect of battle.

After Li Xuancang became a squad leader, news of his success reached the Li Clan, whose elders regretted abandoning his family and hurried to Azure Creek Village to seek reconciliation. They arrived at the Li Family’s home with gifts and flattery, where Father Li faced the relatives who had once cast them out.

• News that Li Xuancang had become a squad leader and secured benefits for his family spread through the region and reached the Li Clan of Black Stone Town.
• The Li Clan elders and relatives regretted refusing to help the Li Family and decided to visit them with generous gifts.
• Dozens of Li Clan members traveled to Azure Creek Village, where villagers recognized their attempt to curry favor and guided them to the Li Family.
• Father Li saw the Li Clan arriving and turned away, but Li Changfeng called him over.
• Li Changfeng and the relatives praised Li Xuancang, apologized to Father Li and Mother Li, and urged them to accept the gifts.

Li Dahai rejected Li Clan relatives who sought favors from Li Xuancang, while at the border Li Xuancang prepared to face a joint Barbarian and Demonic Beast assault. The defenders assembled at the pass as the enemy advanced, leaving the battle about to begin.

• Li Clan relatives pressured Li Dahai to use Li Xuancang's rank to win the clan protection and tax relief, but Li Dahai told them to leave and threatened to report them to the authorities.
• After fleeing, the Li Clan relatives cursed Li Xuancang and hoped he would die on the battlefield.
• Li Xuancang and the soldiers gathered at the Drill Ground when the Assembly Drum sounded, and Zhou Xingzhan ordered the army to prepare to defend the pass.
• Wang Xuanshan led Lakeside Station's Battle Soldiers to the defensive line as the Barbarians advanced with Demonic Beasts among their ranks.
• Zhou Xingzhan and the commanders deployed their forces along the pass, while the frightened conscripts struggled to hold their weapons.

The Barbarians launched a full assault on Azure Cloud Ridge, and Zhou Xingzhan’s spear strike steadied the Human Race defenders’ morale. Li Xuancang fought fiercely at the main point of attack, holding the line and killing numerous Barbarians as the battle raged.

• The Barbarians charged with hundreds of Demonic Beasts, causing panic among the Human Race troops.
• Zhou Xingzhan killed a demon tiger from several hundred meters away, restoring the defenders’ morale and making Li Xuancang wary of his own weakness.
• The Human Race defenders rained arrows, logs, and boulders on the attackers, but the Barbarians forced their way to the walls and began close-quarters combat.
• Wang Xuanshan shouted for the soldiers to hold the front pass as the defensive line neared collapse.
• Li Xuancang held his position, killed more than twenty Barbarians, then slew four Body Tempering Realm attackers who surrounded him.
• Li Xuancang charged through the Barbarian ranks, inspiring his soldiers to keep fighting and hold the defensive line.

After the Human Race’s defenses at Azure Cloud Ridge collapsed, Li Xuancang and Wang Xuanshan fought their way through the pursuing Barbarians and Demonic Beasts. They reached Jade Sun City with a handful of survivors, where Li Xuancang recovered after eating.

• The western pass fell after Thousand-Man Commander Liu was killed, and Zhou Xingzhan ordered the defenders to retreat east toward Jade Sun City.
• Li Xuancang joined Wang Xuanshan’s group and fought through the Barbarian pursuit as the Human Race’s forces fled Azure Cloud Ridge.
• Li Xuancang and the surviving soldiers escaped the battlefield, regrouped, and continued toward Jade Sun City while the Barbarians pursued them.
• Wang Xiaoniu thanked Li Xuancang for saving him and grieved for his brother Wang Daniu, who had died in battle.
• Wang Xuanshan led the exhausted survivors to Jade Sun City, where officials carried the unconscious into the city and supplied the soldiers with food.
• Li Xuancang ate his meal and regained some strength, while the conscripts received a simpler ration without meat.

After the defeat at Azure Cloud Ridge, Li Xuancang explored Jade Sun City and saw the stark contrast between starving refugees and the wealthy elite. He returned to camp resolved to grow stronger and protect his family as the Barbarian threat loomed.

• The defeated troops from Azure Cloud Ridge gathered in Jade Sun City, where Zhou Xingzhan took command and Li Xuancang continued serving as a Squad Leader.
• Li Xuancang walked through the slums and saw refugees suffering from hunger, cold, and harsh taxes, which made him fear for his family in Azure Creek Village.
• Li Xuancang entered the city center and witnessed the wealthy feasting and thriving while the poor were driven away from their district.
• Li Xuancang vowed to become stronger so he could protect his family and survive the turmoil.
• Yamen runners stopped Li Xuancang, but they panicked and begged forgiveness after he showed them his Squad Leader's token.
• Li Xuancang returned to camp, where his strength continued to increase by 1% each day as the Barbarian pursuers remained a threat.

As the Great Flame Dynasty reeled from defeats at Azure Cloud Ridge, the Imperial Court imposed triple taxes, driving frightened civilians into hunger and despair. Tax collectors descended on Azure Creek Village, where families were robbed, displaced, and separated as residents struggled to pay.

• Rumors of the Barbarian army's advance spread panic across Jade Sun Commandery, and residents hoarded scarce food as prices soared.
• The Imperial Court ordered all shops and farming households to pay triple taxes within a month or face confiscation and conscription.
• Tax collectors and government runners terrorized civilians across the dynasty, seizing property and forcing impoverished families to sell belongings and children.
• Tax collectors arrived in Azure Creek Village and ransacked homes for food and clothing.
• Government runners dragged away Old Man Wang's only son for military service despite his parents' desperate pleas.
• Farmer Wang tried to sell his young children to raise tax money, while other villagers surrendered their fields and became homeless.

After a crushing defeat at the front, officials demanded new taxes in Azure Creek Village, alarming the Li family because Li Xuancang was stationed at the border. The tax clerk exempted the Li family because of Li Xuancang’s military status, leaving the villagers to watch their own families suffer while the officials treated the Lis with deference.

• Father Li learned that the defeated army needed supplies, so the authorities were collecting taxes again and taking villagers for military service.
• Mother Li feared Li Xuancang was in danger, and Father Li reassured her while hiding his own worry.
• The tax clerk recognized the Li family as relatives of Squad Leader Li Xuancang and announced that their military registration exempted them from taxes and labor service.
• The officials respectfully left the Li family’s courtyard, while the villagers watched in shock and envied the protection Li Xuancang had earned for his family.

Father Li intervened when Qian the Tycoon tried to take Zhang Cuier, whom her parents had sold, and rescued her with help from the local officials. He brought Zhang Cuier home, while she left her birth parents behind.

• Zhang Ergou and his wife sold Zhang Cuier to Qian the Tycoon, who ordered his servants to take her away.
• Father Li stopped Qian the Tycoon and offered to buy Zhang Cuier, but Qian refused to release her.
• Father Li returned with Sun Yun and constables, who surrounded Qian the Tycoon and forced him to give Zhang Cuier up.
• Father Li declined to pursue further punishment, and Qian the Tycoon’s servants released Zhang Cuier.
• Zhang Cuier thanked Father Li and followed him home without looking back at her parents.

After officials imposed the tripled taxes on Zhang Family Village, Li Xiu’s household received preferential treatment because of her brother Li Xuancang’s military service. The Zhang family embraced Li Xiu as their benefactor, while she hoped her brother would return safely from the border.

• Constables and tax collectors stripped villagers of their food and tools and seized able-bodied men who could not pay the tripled taxes.
• The tax collector told Li Xiu that her household owed only half its taxes and was exempt from corvée labor and military service because of Officer Li’s merits.
• Villagers envied the Zhang family’s treatment and recognized that Li Xuancang’s service had protected his sister’s household.
• Yang Cuihua, Zhang Erzhu, and Zhang Chunhua warmly fussed over Li Xiu and promised to treat her well.
• Li Xiu reflected that her family’s good fortune came at her brother’s expense and hoped he would stay safe and return victorious.

The Li Clan faced ruthless tax collection after Li Xuancang refused to claim them as relatives, while the border camp mobilized against the Yellow Wind Bandits for stealing military supplies. Li Xuancang joined Zhou Xiong’s expedition, and the troops set out for the Yellow Wind Mountains.

• County tax collectors raided the Li Clan, seized valuables, and dragged away clansmen who could not pay after confirming Li Xuancang had not registered them for protection.
• The Li Clan elders regretted expelling Li Xuancang’s family, but the clan fell into despair as the officials enforced the taxes.
• Zhou Xingzhan ordered Zhou Xiong to lead five hundred elite troops against Lin Xuan and the Yellow Wind Bandits after they seized a military supply convoy.
• Li Xuancang received orders to join the expedition and assembled his soldiers with the other troops.
• Zhou Xiong addressed the assembled force, and the five hundred soldiers set out for the Yellow Wind Mountains.

Zhou Xiong led five hundred border troops into Yellow Wind Ridge, where Lin Xuan’s bandits ambushed them with arrows and boulders. Li Xuancang scaled a cliff and broke the bandits’ formation, turning the battle in the troops’ favor as Lin Xuan tried to retreat.

• Zhou Xiong led the border troops into the mountains, where Lin Xuan’s bandits launched a prepared ambush.
• Zhou Xiong ordered the soldiers to form a shield wall and charge, but the bandits held the pass with arrows and falling stones.
• Li Xuancang climbed a cliff with several soldiers, reached the bandits’ rear, and fought off their attackers.
• Zhou Xiong sent more troops up the cliff, and the border soldiers’ attack from both sides shattered the bandits’ formation.
• Lin Xuan ordered a retreat into the mountains, but Zhou Xiong engaged him while the soldiers pursued the fleeing bandits for military merits.

After the Battle Soldiers defeated the Yellow Wind Stockade bandits and rescued their captives, Li Xuancang was promoted to Hundred-Man Commander for his role in the campaign. He selected and organized a hundred soldiers under his command, taking on responsibility for their training and lives.

• Zhou Xiong stopped the Battle Soldiers from pursuing the fleeing bandits and ordered them to recover the supplies and bring the rescued women to Jade Sun City.
• Three days after returning to camp, Li Xuancang received a promotion to Hundred-Man Commander under Zhou Xiong, along with new equipment, a military tally, and improved privileges.
• Zhou Xingzhan continued the awards ceremony, recognizing other soldiers and using the rewards to raise the army’s morale.
• Li Xuancang selected one hundred elite soldiers and reorganized them into squads, promoting Wang Xiaoniu to Five-Man Leader.
• Li Xuancang’s soldiers pledged to obey him as he accepted responsibility for commanding their training, battles, and lives.

Li Xuancang joined a planned counterattack against the Barbarians after months of waiting in Jade Sun City. As Gu Shuo led the Barbarians to meet the Human Race army, the outnumbered defenders feared they could not win.

• Li Xuancang appointed Nangong Zhan as his personal guard and continued growing stronger while stationed in Jade Sun City.
• Zhou Xiong ordered Li Xuancang and other commanders to take more than a thousand men to Blackwind Ridge and ambush the Barbarians' retreat.
• Zhou Xingzhan led the rest of the army, along with fighters from local gangs and factions, toward Azure Cloud Ridge to counterattack.
• Gu Shuo learned the Human Race army was approaching and decided to rally the Barbarians and meet it in battle.
• As the armies drew near, the Human Race soldiers lost morale and feared they could not defeat the Barbarians.

The Human Race army defeated Gu Shuo’s Barbarians, forcing them to retreat into Black Wind Valley, where Zhou Xiong and Li Xuancang’s troops ambushed them. The slaughter continued as more fleeing Barbarians arrived and the ambushers began taking casualties.

• Zhou Xingzhan led the Human Race army against the Barbarian charge while officers rallied the conscripts with the promise of becoming Battle Soldiers.
• Zhou Xingzhan and Gu Shuo fought as the armies clashed, but the Human Race’s gang members and experts turned the battle in their favor.
• A black-robed old Daoist and a middle-aged scholar struck Gu Shuo from behind and joined Zhou Xingzhan in attacking him.
• Gu Shuo ordered a retreat, and the Human Race army pursued the fleeing Barbarians toward Black Wind Valley.
• Zhou Xiong and Li Xuancang led more than a thousand Battle Soldiers out of ambush, killing two thousand Barbarians before the growing influx of fugitives increased pressure and casualties.

Li Xuancang fought a Bone Forging Realm Barbarian general and helped the Human Race army crush the Barbarian force at great cost. The victorious army returned to Jade Sun City, where Li Xuancang recovered with a hearty meal, while Zhou Xingzhan planned to reorganize before occupying Azure Cloud Ridge.

• Zhou Xiong ordered his thousand-man defensive line to hold off the Barbarians, while Li Xuancang fought and killed a Bone Forging Realm Barbarian general.
• Nangong Zhan helped the exhausted Li Xuancang withdraw as the Human Race army attacked the Barbarians from both sides.
• After an hour of resistance, the Human Race army nearly wiped out the more than eight thousand Barbarians, though it suffered heavy casualties and Gu Shuo was slain.
• Zhou Xingzhan led the victorious army back to Jade Sun City and planned to rest and reorganize before taking Azure Cloud Ridge.
• The people of Jade Sun City cheered the returning army, and Li Xuancang ate a large meal after receiving provisions.

After the victory, Zhou Xingzhan incorporated the Conscripts' Camp into Great Yan's regular Battle Soldier ranks and distributed rewards for merit, including a Military Merit Medal to Li Xuancang. Li Xuancang sent the medal and other rewards home, then gave his superior cultivation pills to the thirty Battle Soldiers under his command.

• Zhou Xingzhan announced that the Conscripts' Camp would become regular Battle Soldiers, and the conscripts cheered at their new status and protections.
• Zhou Xingzhan praised Li Xuancang for his battlefield deeds and awarded him weapons, armor, supplies, cultivation pills, silver, land, and a Military Merit Medal.
• Li Xuancang accepted his rewards, thanked Zhou Xingzhan, and suspected Zhou Xiong had helped secure the medal for him.
• Li Xuancang sent the silver, cloth, and Military Merit Medal home so his family could benefit from their protections.
• Li Xuancang gave his superior cultivation pills to the thirty remaining Battle Soldiers, who divided them and thanked him.

After returning to Azure Cloud Ridge and rebuilding their camp, Li Xuancang learned that Prince Fu of Cloud Prefecture had rebelled in alliance with the White Lotus Sect and Demons. Zhou Xiong ordered the troops to strengthen patrols as Peace Prefecture faced isolation from the Imperial Court.

• Zhou Xingzhan ordered the army to rebuild Azure Cloud Ridge after the Barbarians burned the camp to ashes.
• Li Xuancang noticed civilians fleeing into the border region and questioned a man from Cloudmist Commandery.
• The man told Li Xuancang that Prince Fu had rebelled, joined forces with the White Lotus Sect and Demons, and cut off Cloud Prefecture from the Imperial Court.
• Li Xuancang brought the man to the military camp, where Zhou Xiong told the commanders that Prince Fu had rebelled and relayed Colonel Zhou's order to strengthen patrols.
• Li Xuancang had Nangong Zhan escort the man out of the camp.

After the Garrison Commander ordered the army to abandon Azure Cloud Ridge and defend Profound Sun Commandery City, Li Xuancang worried that his family in Azure County would be left exposed to the Barbarians and demons. He sent Nangong Zhan to bring them to safety, while the army prepared to retreat in three days.

• Zhou Xingzhan told the commanders that the Commandery Governor's Residence had ordered them to leave Azure Cloud Ridge, and the commanders protested before agreeing to seek the Garrison Commander's decision.
• Half a month later, Li Xuancang tested his rapidly growing strength and found that he could rival Bone Forging Realm cultivators.
• Zhou Xingzhan announced the Garrison Commander's order to withdraw to Profound Sun Commandery City and defend it to the death.
• The soldiers welcomed the retreat, while the commanders worried that abandoning Azure Cloud Ridge would leave the surrounding counties vulnerable.
• Li Xuancang ordered Nangong Zhan to take his Military Merit Medal and silver to Azure Creek Village and escort his parents and eldest sister's family to Profound Sun Commandery City.

Nangong Zhan escorted Li Xuancang’s parents and the Zhang Family to Profound Sun Commandery City after arranging their evacuation from Azure Creek Village. The families departed while the villagers watched enviously, unaware that the commandery army planned to abandon Azure Cloud Ridge.

• Nangong Zhan reached Azure County, and Yang Yunlong supplied him with carriages, provisions, and guards after learning that the commandery army would withdraw from Azure Cloud Ridge.
• Nangong Zhan arrived at Azure Creek Village and reassured Father Li and Mother Li that Li Xuancang was well, showing them his letter and token.
• Nangong Zhan explained to the villagers that Li Xuancang had sent for his family, then escorted Father Li and Mother Li away with their belongings.
• Nangong Zhan reached Zhang Family Village and persuaded Zhang Erzhu and his family to leave for Profound Sun Commandery City, where Li Xuancang would arrange for them.
• Nangong Zhan confirmed both families were present and led the three carriages out of the village.

Nangong Zhan used Li Xuancang’s Military Merit Medal to frighten away bandits threatening the Li Family’s carriages. Meanwhile, Li Xuancang’s retreating army approached Half-Moon Gorge, where Barbarian generals and a sinister Human Race man prepared an ambush, and Li Xuancang sensed danger.

• Nangong Zhan and the Azure County guards escorted the Li Family and Zhang Family toward the commandery city.
• More than twenty refugee bandits blocked the road and demanded the travelers’ money, supplies, carriages, and horses.
• Nangong Zhan displayed Li Xuancang’s Military Merit Medal and drove the terrified bandits away without bloodshed.
• The Li Family continued toward the commandery city, using the medal to pass checkpoints and displaced people safely.
• Three Barbarian generals and a sinister Human Race man prepared to ambush Zhou Xingzhan’s army at Half-Moon Gorge.
• Li Xuancang worried that the gorge was a dangerous ambush site, but he followed the army as it entered.

The Barbarians and Demon Race ambushed the Human Race army in a canyon, forcing Zhou Xingzhan to flee while Zhou Xiong stayed behind to cover him. As the army collapsed, Li Xuancang led his unit through the enemy and stunned the survivors by killing a giant black bear with his bare hands.

• Barbarian and Demon Race forces sprang their ambush, trapping the Human Race army in the canyon and inflicting heavy casualties with poisoned arrows.
• Wu Xiaotian and two other Astral Qi Realm experts charged Zhou Xingzhan, so Zhou Xiong sacrificed his foundation to hold them off while Zhou Xingzhan escaped.
• Li Xuancang ordered his hundred-man unit to retreat in formation and led them through the attacking enemies.
• Li Xuancang killed a Bone Forging Realm black bear with his bare fists, then swung its body into nearby Barbarians and killed them.