Chapter Summaries

Hu Ding attacked the Deer Gate Marquis and Xun Tianling, who answered with protective poetry, a tidal wave, a flaming arrow, and their ancient swords. Hu Ding endured their strongest attacks and pressed his assault, while Lang Dan realized the two scholars had held back their true-name powers.

• Lang Dan explained that he, Xiong Bei, and Xiang Ba had stayed back to avoid a surprise attack, and Hu Ding agreed to join them in attacking the humans.
• Hu Ding activated his Blood-Qi Armor and demon baleful flames, then charged the Deer Gate Marquis and Xun Tianling at tremendous speed.
• The Deer Gate Marquis summoned a Kunlun phantom and an ocean tide, while Xun Tianling summoned his own Kunlun phantom and fired a flaming arrow with Ode to Hou Yi.
• Hu Ding punched through Xun Tianling's arrow with little injury and split the Deer Gate Marquis's ocean tide with a three-hundred-foot blood-qi blade.
• The Deer Gate Marquis and Xun Tianling sent their ancient swords against Hu Ding, who narrowly avoided their attacks by changing his strikes into slaps.
• Lang Dan realized that Xun Tianling had not yet used his true-name power and was relieved he had kept his distance from Lang Dan's Lip Spear and Tongue Sword.

Hu Ding finished testing the Deer Gate Marquis and Xun Tianling, then gave Xun Tianling time to recover before the six Barbarian Kings advanced at sunset. The Deer Gate Marquis, Xun Tianling, and ten Hanlin Academicians went to meet them, while the Deer Gate Marquis ordered his officers to kill Zhang Longxiang if he made a suspicious move.

• Hu Ding fought the Deer Gate Marquis and Xun Tianling, wounding them and forcing them to use nearly all their Grand Academician Literary Treasures.
• Hu Mu urged Xun Tianling to leave, but Xun Tianling refused and said he would mock himself if he retreated.
• Hu Ding announced that the battle would begin at sunset and returned to the barbarian camp while the two Grand Academicians rested.
• At sunset, Hu Ding and the five other Barbarian Kings advanced, and the Deer Gate Marquis and Xun Tianling went to face them.
• Zhang Qingfeng and ten Hanlin Academicians joined the battlefield, but the Deer Gate Marquis forbade anyone below Hanlin Academician from engaging.
• Su Lun called out that Zhang Longxiang was also a Hanlin Academician, and the Deer Gate Marquis ordered his officers to kill Zhang Longxiang if he acted suspiciously.

As the Barbarian Kings attacked the human commanders, the Pearl River Army and Deer Gate Army rejected the Deer Gate Marquis’s orders and rallied to face the barbarians. The four hundred thousand soldiers advanced together across the plain, with the Deer Gate Marquis fighting apart from them.

• Zhang Qingfeng and Wang Li demanded a Life-and-Death Literary Battle with the Deer Gate Marquis after the battle, and he agreed.
• Hu Mu sent Hu Ding after Xun Tianling and Bao Chi against the eleven Hanlin Academicians, while he and three other Barbarian Kings surrounded the Deer Gate Marquis.
• The Deer Gate Marquis ordered the armies to choose their own actions, and Su Lun led the Personal Guard Army toward the barbarians despite the risk of being branded a rebel.
• The Personal Guard Army, the Valiant Army, and the Deer Gate Army rallied behind their commanders and began advancing.
• The four hundred thousand human soldiers moved forward to attack the Barbarian Race.

The human and barbarian forces fought across four battlefields while the Barbarian Kings taunted and wore down the Deer Gate Marquis. A sudden linked demonic attack let them capture him, and Hu Ding declared the battle decided.

• Xun Tianling retreated while fighting Hu Ding, the armies clashed, and Bao Chi kept eleven Hanlin Academicians at bay.
• Xiong Bei, Lang Dan, Xiang Ba, and Hu Mu took turns attacking the Deer Gate Marquis while Hu Mu taunted him about Zhang Wankong and Zhang Longxiang.
• A bewitching moan and three roars knocked out hundreds of thousands of weaker humans and barbarians, abruptly halting the battle.
• The four Barbarian Kings attacked together, and Xiang Ba restrained the Deer Gate Marquis and sealed his Literary Qi.
• Hu Mu lifted the helpless Deer Gate Marquis by the neck, Hu Ding said the outcome was decided, and Wei Changxian accused the barbarians of using a despicable trick.

Hu Mu explained how he had captured the Deer Gate Marquis and tried to force him to order the Deer Gate Army to surrender. The Literary Star’s manifestations triggered human advances before an unseen bamboo slip erased the event from everyone’s memories, and Fang Yun emerged to challenge the Deer Gate Marquis.

• Hu Mu revealed that he had used the Shouchun Examination Hall Case to distract the Deer Gate Marquis before the four barbarian kings captured him.
• Hu Mu demanded that the Deer Gate Marquis order his troops to surrender, but the marquis stayed silent as Hu Mu tortured him.
• The Literary Star split with fissures and released surging light that replenished scholars’ literary qi and helped several soldiers and scholars approach new ranks.
• A silver storm, a people’s radiance, and a miniature literary star appeared over the Pearl River Army’s camp, prompting Xun Tianling to identify a Threefold Phenomena Grand Academician.
• A bamboo slip swept across the area and erased the phenomena from everyone’s memories, after which Fang Yun appeared and asked the Deer Gate Marquis if he could make his move.

The Literary Star split, flooding the worlds with stronger literary light and prompting scholars to advance in rank. Fang Yun advanced to Grand Academician before the armies south of Pearl City, where the Deer Gate Army and Pearl River Army faced encirclement by the barbarians.

• The Literary Star split, and scholars across the worlds gained power as many advanced to higher literary ranks.
• Liu Shan welcomed the surge in literary light and considered whether Zhang Longxiang might join his school, while Zhao Hongzhuang wondered why Wenqu's light had not blessed her.
• The King of Chu learned that Zhang Longxiang had advanced to Grand Academician and believed the trapped armies would still be destroyed.
• Fang Yun asked the Deer Gate Marquis for permission to join the battle, surprising the commanders and restoring some of the soldiers' confidence.
• Zhang Qingfeng urged Fang Yun to flee, but Wei Changxian accused him of hiding his strength and blamed him for the armies' predicament.

Fang Yun confronted the Deer Gate Marquis and six Barbarian Kings, declaring that they would pay for the Pearl River Army’s deaths. He revealed his Investigative Realm strength and Myriad-People Literary Platform as Hu Ding prepared to challenge him.

• Fang Yun warned Wei Changxian to obey military law and demanded that the Deer Gate Marquis admit his wrongdoing.
• The Deer Gate Marquis refused to repent, blaming Fang Yun for the army’s losses, and Fang Yun vowed to kill the six Barbarian Kings.
• Fang Yun revealed that he had reached the Investigative Realm and identified Hu Ding as a Silver-Tent Barbarian King.
• Hu Ding challenged Fang Yun and gathered powerful blood qi into his fist.
• Fang Yun summoned his Myriad-People Literary Platform, prompting Zhang Qingfeng to lament his choice and Hu Ding to threaten them both.

Fang Yun used a Grand Academician battle poem to unleash the Snow-Slaying Sword against Hu Ding, first shattering his blood-qi fist and then crippling him with a second strike. Hu Ding fell frozen and badly wounded while Fang Yun still had a third sword ready.

• Hu Ding charged Fang Yun, who used three writing techniques to compose the battle poem Snow-Slaying Sword.
• Fang Yun joined with a luminous soldier from his Myriad-People Literary Platform and swung a sword that emerged from the ground more than a li away, striking Hu Ding into the sky and breaking his blood-qi fist.
• A luminous wandering swordsman joined Fang Yun, who brought down a second enormous Snow-Slaying Sword on Hu Ding as he fell.
• Hu Ding used a Sage Aspect Strike, but the sword shattered his right arm and coated his body in ice.
• Zhang Qingfeng explained that Fang Yun's poem combined sword-like sharpness with freezing power, while Hu Ding fell with Fang Yun's third sword still unused.

Fang Yun killed Hu Ding and several other Barbarian Kings with the Snow-Slaying Swords, turning the battle and sending the barbarians fleeing. He pursued Hu Mu and Lang Dan, who tried to bargain with the Deer Gate Marquis’s life, and agreed to slow down to negotiate while keeping them in range.

• Fang Yun’s third Snow-Slaying Sword killed Hu Ding, and Hu Mu fled with the Deer Gate Marquis as the other Barbarian Kings followed.
• Fang Yun pursued the fleeing kings, killed Bao Chi, then killed Xiang Ba and Xiong Bei with further Snow-Slaying Sword strokes.
• Xun Tianling attacked the remaining Barbarian Marquises while Zhang Qingfeng rallied the human army to rout the barbarians.
• Hu Mu offered to trade the Deer Gate Marquis’s life for his own and Lang Dan’s, threatening to expose Fang Yun if he refused.
• Fang Yun rejected Hu Mu’s proposed distance for talks, then agreed to slow down together while keeping three li between them.

Fang Yun confronted Hu Mu and Lang Dan, then used two powerful poems to summon golden dragons from his True Dragon Ancient Swords. Lang Dan and the Deer Gate Marquis died, while Hu Mu fled under the dragons’ pursuit.

• Fang Yun demanded that Hu Mu and Lang Dan surrender, and the Deer Gate Marquis accepted that Fang Yun had never been his comrade.
• Fang Yun explained that he could withstand the King of Chu’s response and then recited the Edge-Concealing Poem, summoning the Void Sage Ou Yezi.
• Fang Yun’s Swift Writing completed the Dragon Sword Poem in one stroke, empowering two True Dragon Ancient Swords until they transformed into golden dragons.
• Hu Mu and Lang Dan fled, but a golden dragon caught and killed Lang Dan.
• Hu Mu threw the Deer Gate Marquis toward Fang Yun’s dragon, which killed him, then Hu Mu used sacred aspect power to escape as the other dragon unleashed dragon flame.

Fang Yun slew the Deer Gate Marquis’s forces’ enemies, then executed Wei Changxian for disrupting military morale and settled in to consolidate his newly advanced Grand Academician cultivation. He examined his expanding Literary Palace and the Myriad-People Literary Platform before the army prepared to march on Lotus Mountain Pass.

• Fang Yun’s True Dragon burned Barbarian King Hu Mu to ash, and Fang Yun took the Literary Qi Jade from the Deer Gate Marquis’s Lake-Containing Shell.
• Xun Tianling and the human forces routed the remaining barbarians, and Fang Yun ordered the army to prepare for a night march to Lotus Mountain Pass.
• Wei Changxian accused Fang Yun of murdering the Deer Gate Marquis and colluding with the barbarians, so Fang Yun invoked the marshal’s wartime decree and beheaded him.
• Fang Yun ordered the army to cook and rest while the scholars absorbed Literary Star Light and he consolidated his power inside his Literary Palace.
• Fang Yun inspected his six clouds of Literary Qi and the Myriad-People Literary Platform, reflecting on how it would support his Sacred Way.

After advancing to Grand Academician, Fang Yun considered what kind of second literary platform to forge but decided to postpone the choice. He explored his new investigative-realm abilities, then looked at the cracked Literary Star and found that he could not explain its cause or predict its consequences.

• Fang Yun weighed literary platforms from several schools and ancient demon lineages, seeking one that would strengthen his offense or defense, but set the decision aside.
• Fang Yun planned to use his consolidation period to study and write, and to collect fourteen Literary Platform Awls after returning to the Saint Origin Continent.
• Fang Yun examined a soldier with his newly awakened Eye of Investigating Things and recognized signs of several ailments by connecting visible details with his medical knowledge.
• Fang Yun looked up at the cracked Literary Star and worried that its rift might grow until the star collapsed.

Mountain Bearer left the Summit of Myriad Stars determined to find Fang Yun and reclaim the ancient demon inheritance. After capturing Lotus Mountain Pass, Fang Yun organized its defenses and began writing the History of the Ancient Demons, confident it would become an official history.

• Mountain Bearer decided to search for Fang Yun and recover the complete ancient demon inheritance he had lost.
• Fang Yun led the reduced Deer Gate Army and Pearl River Army to Lotus Mountain Pass, where the barbarians had fled before their arrival.
• Fang Yun opened the gates and led the army into the empty pass, celebrating the successful capture.
• Fang Yun and the generals assigned Wang Li to command Lotus Mountain Pass while Fang Yun planned to return to Pearl City with the rest of the Pearl River Army.
• Fang Yun wrote the History of the Ancient Demons and reflected on the qualities that determined whether a history became an official history.

Fang Yun returned to Pearl City after the Pearl River Army’s victory at Lotus Mountain Pass, then asserted control over the city and began rebuilding his forces. The chapter left him preparing to reinforce the army with soldiers from the Deer Gate Army as troubling news arrived.

• Fang Yun led the Pearl River Army back to Pearl City, where residents welcomed its restored banner and celebrated its victory over the barbarians.
• Fang Yun learned that the King of Chu had halted discussion of an official commendation, while Zhu Fengqiong reported that Fang Yun might be sent to Two Worlds Mountain.
• Fang Yun submitted a memorial to the court and used a banquet to establish himself as Pearl River City’s sole ruler.
• Fang Yun ordered the confiscation of eleven lineages’ property and imprisoned their leaders, then began reorganizing the Pearl River Army.
• Fang Yun ordered Wang Li to select fifty thousand elite Deer Gate Army soldiers for the Pearl River Army, and a series of troubling reports reached him the next afternoon.

Fang Yun defied the King of Chu’s order to return to Jingzhou and used the Great Scholars’ Hall and public opinion to obstruct the investigation into the Lotus Mountain Pass Battle. He left the King of Chu under growing pressure after Zhang Qingfeng’s article and Fang Yun’s poem implicated the court in a plot against Zhang Longxiang.

• Fang Yun refused to return to Jingzhou, telling the King of Chu’s envoy that he would remain in Pearl City to guard against a barbarian counterattack.
• After the King of Chu ordered an investigation, Fang Yun appealed to the Great Scholars’ Hall and invited the Zhou Dynasty and other kingdoms to send observers.
• The Great Scholars’ Hall barred Chu officials from entering Pearl City and announced that an international delegation would arrive in fifteen days.
• Fang Yun had Zhang Qingfeng publish an article hinting that the King of Chu had colluded with the Barbarian Race to kill Zhang Longxiang.
• Fang Yun posted his poem “Long Night,” prompting scholars to condemn the King of Chu and readers to connect the poem’s long night to his actions.
• Fang Yun learned through unofficial channels that the King of Chu had smashed another table.

Fang Yun consolidated the Pearl River Army while the King of Chu’s investigation and decree failed to weaken his support. As fighting at Two Worlds Mountain intensified, the King of Chu ordered the Pearl River and Qishan armies to march there under Gou Bao.

• Scholars across Sage Kong's Literary World condemned the King of Chu, while Fang Yun’s poem “Long Night” continued to circulate and draw praise.
• A delegation from the Great Scholars' Hall investigated the Five Barbarians War and the death of the Deer Gate Marquis, concluding that Zhang Longxiang had saved the situation but concealed his strength and wrongly killed Wei Changxian.
• The King of Chu issued a decree denying Zhang Longxiang rewards, prompting Pearl River Army soldiers and Pearl City residents to denounce him as unjust.
• Fang Yun strengthened the Pearl River Army through intensive training, improved pay and meals, and continued writing History of the Ancient Demons.
• Fang Yun refused the King of Chu’s renewed order to go to Jingzhou, while officials impeached him and his hereditary title protected his command.
• As Two Worlds Mountain suffered heavy casualties, the King of Chu ordered the Pearl River and Qishan armies to deploy there under Qishan Marquis Gou Bao.

Fang Yun addressed the Pearl River Army before it departed for Two Worlds Mountain, explaining the battle’s history and the terrible odds. He left the assembled soldiers and citizens shouting their resolve for victory.

• Fang Yun gathered 210,000 Pearl River Army soldiers in the Literary Academy’s plaza, where their families and Pearl City residents watched.
• Fang Yun described Two Worlds Mountain as the Demon Realm’s vast entrance and recounted the horrific losses in the previous battle.
• Fang Yun told the army that only about 8,000 of them might return and admitted he could not promise to bring them home.
• Fang Yun urged the soldiers to fight so their descendants could live, declaring that those who entered Two Worlds Mountain would become nobler than others.
• A young soldier, followed by the army, scholars, and townspeople, shouted, “Victory forever!”

Fang Yun led the Pearl River Army through Sage Kong's Literary World gateway to Two Worlds Mountain, where he carefully reviewed and signed the required documents. The army then followed two Literary World Office clerks toward its barracks, awaiting orders from Two Worlds Mountain.

• Fang Yun rallied the Pearl River Army, planted its banner, and declared that he would make the world remember the Pearl River Army.
• Fang Yun entered the gateway to Sage Kong's Literary World, followed by the army of two hundred and ten thousand soldiers.
• Fang Yun met Pang Zhong and reviewed the Literary World Office's documents before signing and stamping them, despite pressure to hurry.
• Pang Zhong left Qu Tong and Jie Bingzhi to escort the Pearl River Army to its quarters.
• Zhang Qingfeng asked Qu Tong and Jie Bingzhi about their posts, and Qu Tong reminded the army to follow Two Worlds Mountain's rules.

Fang Yun and the Pearl River Army arrived at Two Worlds Mountain, where Jie Bingzhi explained its zones, defenses, and training. At the drill ground, Fang Yun faced Gou Bao, who demanded the return of the Qishan Army Banner and hinted that he had also gained power from the Literary Star Rift.

• Zhang Qingfeng invited Qu Tong and Jie Bingzhi to discuss poetry and prose, then asked them to explain Two Worlds Mountain.
• Jie Bingzhi described the Combat Zone, War-Preparation Zone, Residential Zone, and the mountain range’s defenses, and said the Pearl River Army would likely enter battle within a month.
• Fang Yun and the Pearl River Army saw over a million people drilling at an enormous training ground.
• Gou Bao approached with the reorganized Qishan Army and asked Fang Yun to return the Qishan Army Banner.
• Fang Yun refused, saying he would keep the banner safe for the Gou Household, and Gou Bao warned that Fang Yun was not the only one who had benefited from the Literary Star Rift.

Fang Yun took the Pearl River Army to its barracks at Two Worlds Mountain, where he imposed grueling training despite learning that the Literary World Army was far weaker than the other forces. After the army earned a commendation for its resolve, it received orders to enter the Combat Zone and fight on the wall within three days.

• Fang Yun ignored Gou Bao's demand for the Qishan Army Banner and led the Pearl River Army away, while Gou Bao threatened to stake the Pearl River Army Banner in a literary battle.
• Qu Tong and Jie Bingzhi escorted the Pearl River Army to its barracks and explained the divisions of the camp and the dire losses suffered by Chu Kingdom's armies.
• Jie Bingzhi explained that the Literary World Army earned far less military merit than the Main Force Army, Saint Origin Army, and Ancient Land Army.
• Fang Yun organized a training plan, and the Pearl River Army began punishing drills and nightly lessons under strict military overseers.
• The Pearl River Army received a commendation for its resolve, and Fang Yun later learned that it would move to the Combat Zone and fight on the wall within three days.