Chapter Summaries

Fang Yun’s purge of Taihe Prefecture sparked fierce debate until Yan Yukong condemned the officials’ betrayal and prompted the Wu Lord to promise protections for citizens. Meanwhile, Fang Yun entered seclusion and forged a Blood Radiance Literary Platform containing a miniature Bloodmang Realm, though the effort drained power from Mountain Bearer.

• Officials and scholars debated Fang Yun’s order to purge Taihe Prefecture and Deer County, with most criticizing his methods.
• Yan Yukong denounced the officials for valuing their own positions over the people, silencing the debate and prompting officials to reconsider Fang Yun’s actions.
• The Wu Lord promised strict laws to protect citizens, and officials began apologizing as the affair drew wider public attention.
• Fang Yun entered the Flood Dragon Sage Palace to cultivate, then spent seven days in the Bloodmang Realm forging a Blood Radiance Literary Platform.
• A miniature Bloodmang Realm settled atop Fang Yun’s new platform, while Mountain Bearer cried out that Fang Yun was stealing his power.

Fang Yun learned that the Grass Barbarians had captured Zhang Poyue, conquered Northern Wei City, and advanced toward Ning'an City with the Heaven-Burning Furnace. He arrived at Jing Kingdom's imperial court to find the kingdom on the brink of collapse and began coordinating defenses and aid.

• Fang Yun received urgent messages reporting that the Grass Barbarians had burned Northern Wei City with the Heaven-Burning Furnace, captured Zhang Poyue, and advanced toward Ning'an City.
• Fang Yun teleported to the capital, sent orders for his troops to march toward Ning'an City, and arrived at the Golden Throne Hall.
• General Li briefed Fang Yun on Jing Kingdom's severe losses, while many officials argued over whether to defend the kingdom or relocate the capital.
• Fang Yun ordered Ao Huang to lead the Yangtze River Water Race to fortify the Yishui River, and Ao Qingyue explained that the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace could not directly counter the Heaven-Burning Furnace.
• Prominent families, the Crafts Hall, the Sacred Academy, and a thousand women from the Heroine Academy mobilized supplies, mechanisms, and medical aid for Ning'an City.

Fang Yun returned to court as the Jing Kingdom faced a looming barbarian invasion and officials argued over whether to resist or flee. He silenced the Left Prime Minister Faction’s insinuations and left the court united behind him, while the kingdom’s military crisis and Zhang Poyue’s fate remained unresolved.

• General Li reported that the Three Frontiers had fallen and that the barbarians had surrounded the Three-Linked War Fortresses, leaving the Jing Kingdom’s remaining elite troops in grave danger.
• Officials in the Golden Throne Hall argued over whether the Jing Kingdom should resist the barbarians or abandon its capital and seek refuge elsewhere.
• Sai Zhixue proposed hearing Fang Yun’s views, but officials of the Left Prime Minister Faction flattered him while insinuating that he might seize the kingdom.
• Fang Yun rebuked the faction and declared that he remained a subject of the Jing Kingdom, silencing its officials with his authority.
• The Jing Lord joked that Fang Yun could take the throne and then admitted he was tired, but Fang Yun ordered him to remain seated.

Fang Yun challenged the Jing court’s arguments for abandoning territory and relying on other kingdoms, while asking its leaders why they fought the Barbarian Race. The debate continued as he drew out the soldiers’ and scholars’ reasons for defending the Jing Kingdom.

• Fang Yun asked Grand Marshal Chen Zhixu whether the Jing Kingdom should advance or retreat, and Chen said it had to fight before retreating.
• Liu Shan argued that the Jing Kingdom was certain to lose and should withdraw behind the Yangtze River under the protection of the Qing or Wu Kingdom.
• Fang Yun agreed with Liu Shan’s assessment of the kingdom’s weakness but blamed internal traitors and treacherous ministers, arguing that purging them could unite the kingdom to fight.
• Gu Mingzhou supported Liu Shan’s plan, while Sai Zhixue and General-in-Chief Zhou Junhu challenged their position.
• Fang Yun asked Zhou Junhu, General Li, and Sai Zhixue why they fought the Barbarian Race, and each explained his reasons.

Fang Yun defeated Gu Mingzhou’s argument for retreating from the Jing Kingdom and declared that he would lead an army north to rescue Zhang Poyue. He proposed abandoning the Three-Linked War Fortresses and making Ning'an City the stronghold for the final battle.

• Fang Yun argued that the Jing Kingdom had to resist the barbarians rather than flee, and Gu Mingzhou maintained that surrendering territory to the Wu or Qing Kingdoms would save lives.
• Fang Yun turned Gu Mingzhou’s proposal against him, revealing that the Qing Kingdom would not accept the Jing Kingdom joining the Wu Kingdom, and concluded that retreat was not an option.
• Liu Shan challenged Fang Yun to go to the Three-Linked War Fortresses, and Fang Yun announced that he would head north to rescue Zhang Poyue.
• The Empress Dowager, Jiang Hechuan, and other officials objected, but Fang Yun insisted on going, while Jiang Hechuan and Chen Zhixu offered to accompany him.
• Fang Yun said the Three-Linked War Fortresses had fulfilled their purpose and proposed withdrawing to Ning'an City for the final battle.

Liu Shan urged the Jing Lord to lead the campaign in person, then proposed that Fang Yun travel north with only his private troops while the empress dowager went to Ning'an City. The empress dowager agreed to go in the Jing Lord’s place, leaving Fang Yun facing Liu Shan’s demand to reach the Three-Linked War Fortresses with inadequate support.

• Liu Shan asked the Jing Lord to travel to Ning'an City and lead the campaign, provoking furious objections from the officials and Fang Yun.
• Liu Shan argued that the Jing Lord’s presence would bolster the army, while Fang Yun warned that the ten-year-old ruler could face catastrophe on the journey.
• Liu Shan and Gu Mingzhou rallied their faction behind the proposal, and the national fortune appeared to support the Jing Lord leading the campaign.
• The empress dowager offered to go to Ning'an City instead, and Liu Shan accepted her offer.
• Liu Shan demanded that Fang Yun take only his private troops to the Three-Linked War Fortresses, while Zhou Junhu and Chen Zhixu condemned the restriction.

Fang Yun rejected Liu Shan’s proposal to send inexperienced infantry and announced that he would personally lead his private troops north to rescue Zhang Poyue. As he prepared to leave for Spring Garden, he focused on the danger of the retreat route and the limited Demon Iron Cavalry available to support it.

• Chen Zhixu threatened to lead troops north to escort Fang Yun, prompting Liu Shan to propose sending the Jade River Army and Azure River Army instead.
• Gu Mingzhou argued that Jing Kingdom could not risk upheaval during the barbarian invasion, while Liu Shan defended his refusal to prioritize Fang Yun.
• Fang Yun’s anger brought thunder and rain across the capital region, and he announced that he would take only his private troops to the Three-Linked War Fortresses to rescue Zhang Poyue.
• Chen Zhixu promised to beat the drums at Fang Yun’s military review, and Fang Yun told Liu Shan to guard Ning'an and welcome him back.
• Fang Yun rode in the Minister of Literature’s carriage after calming its eighteen Flood Dragon Horses with a glance.
• Fang Yun considered how to retreat from the Three-Linked War Fortresses and noted that his two thousand Demon Iron Cavalry troops were approaching Ning'an City by way of the Eastern Sea and Yishui River.

Fang Yun encountered grieving families abusing wounded soldiers who had returned from the Three Frontiers and intervened by striking two of the elders. The crowd recognized him as a Void Sage, but the old woman he slapped accused him of murder.

• Fang Yun learned that grieving families had gathered outside the Ministry of War offices to accuse returning soldiers from the Three Frontiers of desertion.
• Fang Yun entered the crowd and saw seven wounded soldiers being cursed and beaten by elderly people whose sons had died in battle.
• A richly dressed old man repeatedly slapped a young soldier who insisted that the troops had withdrawn after a defeat.
• Fang Yun stepped between the old man and the soldier and knocked the old man to the ground with a slap.
• Fang Yun warned the elderly crowd that he would keep striking anyone who cursed the soldiers, then slapped an old woman who charged at him.
• The old woman rolled on the ground and accused Fang Yun of murdering the elderly while the crowd reacted with anger and confusion.

Fang Yun defended seven veteran soldiers from elderly people who had beaten and humiliated them, then returned to his official duties and reviewed school texts. He found something troubling in the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars.

• Fang Yun ordered the seven soldiers to stand and condemned them for kneeling, then lowered each man's merit rating by one grade for allowing it.
• Fang Yun rebuked the elderly troublemakers for taking their grief out on soldiers and led the veterans toward Spring Garden.
• The crowd condemned the elderly people, who eventually dispersed in disgrace.
• Fang Yun arranged treatment for the soldiers, visited Yang Yuhuan in Jiangzhou, and prepared to review the Capital Army before heading north to rescue Zhang Poyue.
• Fang Yun reviewed books submitted by the Prefectural Academy and reacted with alarm when he reached the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars.

Fang Yun replaced the story of Guo Ju burying his son in the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars and forbade its promotion, then led his barbarian troops toward the Great Parade Ground. On the road, he confronted Liu Shan, who urged him to abandon Jing Kingdom and join Saint Zong; Fang Yun rejected Liu Shan’s praise of his teacher.

• Fang Yun removed Guo Ju’s story from the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars, replaced it with a story of a young man supporting his family through hard work, and issued a decree against promoting the old tale.
• Fang Yun gathered a thousand of his private barbarian troops and rode with them toward the northern road.
• A Horse Barbarian Marquis ordered Fang Yun’s force to stand aside for Liu Shan’s convoy, and Fang Yun struck at him with the world’s vital energy before Liu Shan intervened.
• Fang Yun and Liu Shan proceeded toward the Great Parade Ground together, and Liu Shan urged Fang Yun to retreat from Jing Kingdom and seek another ruler.
• Liu Shan praised Saint Zong as the Human Race’s future Second Saint and offered Fang Yun power and succession if he became Saint Zong’s disciple.

Fang Yun rejected Liu Shan’s offer to follow his Sacred Way, prompting Liu Shan to initiate a deadly contest that split the Jing Kingdom’s national fortune. At the northern military review, Fang Yun took command of the army and began composing a departure lyric before marching north.

• Fang Yun refused Liu Shan’s invitation to join his honored teacher’s path, and Liu Shan declared that he would sever Fang Yun’s Sacred Way.
• Liu Shan’s challenge tore apart the Jing Kingdom’s national fortune, and he announced that he and Fang Yun could not coexist.
• Fang Yun arrived at the Great Parade Ground, rallied the troops, and reviewed the capital garrison’s forces, including the Literary Strategy Battalion.
• The ruler bestowed armor and a tiger tally on Fang Yun, and Chen Zhixu dressed him in golden armor and northern winter gear.
• Fang Yun raised his brush at the end of the review and announced that he would compose a departure lyric to send the army north.

Fang Yun wrote “The River All Red” as a Grand Academician Expedition Poem, drawing the army souls of Jing Kingdom into its power. The poem strengthened soldiers across the kingdom to a degree that could transform the balance of future battles against the demon barbarians.

• Fang Yun wrote “The River All Red” in the Ink Forms Bone calligraphy realm, expressing his resolve to reclaim Jing Kingdom’s lost lands.
• Crimson pillars of light rose from Jing Kingdom’s armies and converged above the Northern Capital Grand Drill Ground.
• Fang Yun’s poem gathered army souls, human figures, and Literary Heart Fish, manifesting Wei Qing behind him.
• The poem’s power entered the people present, while Wei Qing’s phantom merged into Fang Yun and strengthened his body and mind.
• The officers realized the poem could raise ordinary soldiers’ toughness to the level of Demon Generals and last at least half a year.

The Hall Baptism descended after Fang Yun's poem, strengthening the scholars and their Literary Palaces. Fang Yun began forging a Temple of King Wucheng Martial Temple Literary Platform, and the chapter ended with him discovering that his battle poem had become eternalized.

• A convergence of sacred treasures and Sacred Books unleashed the Hall Baptism over those affected by "The River All Red: Wrath Bristling Beneath My Crown."
• Fang Yun's Literary Palace and its powers absorbed the baptism, while the Literary Palace Coiled Dragon merged into the palace walls.
• Fang Yun's Blood Radiance Literary Platform absorbed an extraordinary share of the baptism and grew stronger.
• Fang Yun began forging a School of War Temple of Sages Literary Platform, placing a Temple of King Wucheng at its center, but did not complete it before the baptism ended.
• Fang Yun examined the changes in himself and realized that his battle poem had become eternalized.

Fang Yun’s review of Jing Kingdom’s army gave all three hundred thousand soldiers Hall Baptism and eternalized The River All Red, while awakening his unprecedented Army Soul Power. He then began composing a poem dedicated to Liu Shan as he prepared to depart.

• The soldiers and officials discovered that The River All Red had been eternalized for the entire army, granting them lasting enhancements and stirring hopes for their future children.
• Observers praised Fang Yun and noticed that Liu Shan’s faction and several other people had received none of the blessings, prompting suspicion that they were spies.
• Fang Yun discovered that his Army Soul Power let him perceive the soldiers’ details and issue hundreds of thousands of commands at once with little effort.
• Gu Mingzhou urged Fang Yun to depart, and Fang Yun announced that he would dedicate a poem to Liu Shan.
• Fang Yun used a Sage Page and sacred blood to begin writing a poem titled Marching North to Pacify the Barbarians, with a Dedication to Prime Minister Liu.

Fang Yun wrote a war poem that summoned the ghostly city of Fengdu, then set out north with a thousand barbarian soldiers after apparently striking both himself and Liu Shan with its power. He reached Ning'an City, where its people and assembled forces awaited him.

• Gu Mingzhou threatened Fang Yun, but Fang Yun finished writing Heading North to Subdue the Barbarians, with a Poem for Chancellor Liu, whose lines declared he would keep fighting even after death.
• The poem summoned Fengdu, whose gates opened and sent two smoke chariots to strike Liu Shan and Fang Yun before the city vanished.
• Fang Yun told Gu Mingzhou to consult the poem, mounted his Dragon Horse, and led a thousand barbarian private soldiers north as the crowd saw him off.
• Jiang Hechuan announced that people under forty and below Metropolitan Graduate rank would leave their posts and enter the Jing Kingdom Academy.
• Fang Yun and his cavalry reached Ning'an City, where residents, scholars, soldiers, naval troops, Ao Huang, Hu Li, and thousands of cavalry awaited him.

Fang Yun led ten thousand cavalry north from Ning'an City to rescue Zhang Poyue, while Ao Huang stayed behind to defend the city. After learning that the Barbarian Emperor had arrived at the Three-Linked War Fortresses, Fang Yun ordered the army to prepare to retreat.

• Fang Yun left Ning'an City with Hu Li, Chen Youdao, and ten thousand cavalry, then ordered Ao Huang to guard the city and its water forces.
• Fang Yun organized scouts and used The River All Red to strengthen the company as it traveled north.
• A scout reported that the Three-Linked War Fortresses were under pressure and that Zhang Poyue remained determined despite his exhaustion.
• The scout revealed that the Barbarian Emperor had arrived, and Fang Yun's companions warned that the barbarians were likely targeting him.
• Fang Yun ordered Ying Cang to carry his command for the Three-Linked War Fortresses to prepare for a retreat beginning the next day.

Fang Yun arrived at the Three-Linked War Fortresses and took command as the Wolf Sage Army approached. He began assessing the defenses and preparing to lead the garrison back to Ning'an, where he said he could deal with the pursuing forces.

• Fang Yun used the Heaven-Burning Furnace's power to disperse his storm clouds and kill the weaker Eagle Demons guarding the barbarians' approach.
• Fang Yun told Chen Youdao that the garrison must withdraw before the Wolf Sage Army arrived, but said he could defeat it on the outskirts of Ning'an City.
• Zhao Jingkong handed full authority over the Three-Linked War Fortresses to Fang Yun and left to sleep.
• Liu Hong briefed Fang Yun on the fortress's military situation and said the garrison could withdraw the next morning, though he had no way to handle the pursuers.
• Fang Yun ascended the bloodstained battlements and surveyed the defenses and soldiers after a recent battle.

Fang Yun faced Barbarian Emperor Lang Yuan at the Three-Linked War Fortresses while Zhang Poyue suffered captivity in the barbarian camp. Lang Yuan tortured Zhang to provoke Fang Yun into leaving the fortresses, but Fang Yun stayed his ground and vowed to avenge him.

• Fang Yun called out to the captive Zhang Poyue, who answered that the northern scenery was clear skies and boundless green grass.
• Lang Yuan introduced himself and declared that he had come to confront Fang Yun, but Liu Hong warned him that Fang Yun was only a Grand Academician and could not be challenged one-on-one.
• Lang Yuan revealed that Zhang Poyue was Fang Yun's friend, then severed Zhang's left leg with his golden axe.
• Fang Yun promised to bury ten million barbarians for Zhang, and Lang Yuan cut off Zhang's right leg and both arms as Fang Yun raised a storm that the barbarians dispelled.
• Fang Yun taunted Lang Yuan, who ordered salt rubbed into Zhang's wounds and vowed to keep him alive until he watched Fang Yun die.

Fang Yun and the generals planned the Three-Linked War Fortresses’ retreat while Zhang Poyue remained captive and was flogged by the barbarians. Fang Yun promised to weaken the Heaven-Burning Furnace and said an unnamed ally would rescue Zhang Poyue the next day, as the fortresses prepared to withdraw.

• Barbarian Emperor Lang Yuan ordered two Demon Kings to flog Zhang Poyue, and Fang Yun led the others away rather than make him endure their watching.
• Liu Hong warned that the Wolf Sage Army would arrive within three days and explained that the barbarians would pursue the retreating force relentlessly.
• Fang Yun proposed using Sacred Blood and Sage Pages to raise the stamina of more than a million people, and he said he was eighty percent confident he could weaken the Heaven-Burning Furnace.
• When the generals worried about rescuing Zhang Poyue, Fang Yun said someone already on the way would act the next day, but he did not reveal who.
• The generals continued planning, and the Three-Linked War Fortresses began preparing for the retreat.

Fang Yun negotiated with Lang Yuan for Zhang Poyue’s release, then used the Heaven-Viewing Mirror Projection to create an opening. Niu Shan arrived in Dragon Sage armor, rescued Zhang Poyue, and paid his respects to Fang Yun as the Moon Emperor.

• Fang Yun faced Lang Yuan as the Human Race prepared to retreat, while Zhang Poyue remained bound and asleep in the barbarian camp.
• Lang Yuan threatened to kill Zhang Poyue if anyone left the city and demanded the Heaven-Viewing Mirror Projection in exchange for him.
• Fang Yun threw the mirror toward Lang Yuan, and its golden light blinded both armies as the barbarians attacked Zhang Poyue’s position.
• A Bull Clan Great Barbarian King in Dragon Sage armor blocked the attacks, carried Zhang Poyue to the wall, and introduced himself as Niu Shan of the Moon Guard.
• Niu Shan paid his respects to Fang Yun as the Moon Emperor, and Fang Yun told him to rise.