Recaps

Li Chen traveled incognito to Cold Iron Pass, where he punished abusive nobles and officers while steering the border forces toward a stronger response to Great Luo. His identity was gradually recognized by the powerful figures he had angered, who submitted to him, while the garrison awaited the consequences of his orders.

• He Ying and the women from the Eternal Day Empire discovered that Li Chen was Heavenly Strategy’s emperor, while the Floating Immortal Isles project advanced and officials presented him with the Sky Throne.
• Li Chen observed the political struggle between Charles and the Holy See, then left the capital with Tuoba Anyu to inspect the northern frontier under the alias Cheng Li.
• At Cold Iron Pass, Li Chen confronted Chu Xiang and Chu Pengzhan over their treatment of soldiers, then beat and imprisoned Chu Xiang despite pressure from the garrison’s leaders.
• Li Chen beat Huyan Xun after the noble threatened a young woman from Mount Sumeru Skyward Pavilion, then imprisoned Han Zhen after he caused trouble at the Entertainment Bureau.
• Xu Zifeng recognized Li Chen and followed his direction to retaliate against Great Luo incursions without giving it an obvious cause for complaint.
• Li Chen confronted Zhou Liang at the Worry-Free Tavern, while Chu Jingsong realized Cheng Li was Li Chen and warned Chu Pengzhan to keep the emperor’s identity secret.
• Huyan Lan recognized Li Chen, apologized for Huyan Xun, and pledged to secure the northern border, and he later beat Huyan Xun in the jail and ordered him to serve his sentence.
• Han Wu submitted to Li Chen and beat Han Zhen for his misconduct, while news of powerful figures’ humiliation spread through Cold Iron Pass.

Li Chen infiltrated Great Luo as Master Urge and used Sergei’s defeat and ambition to build him a loyal army and position him for power. After uncovering Vasily’s role as Emperor Ivan’s spy, Li Chen planned to use him in Sergei’s rise and returned to find Vasily threatening Yekaterina.

• Tuoba Anyu introduced herself as Cheng Li’s lawful wife, then kept Lianxing and Lü Mumu for a meal with Ren Ling, where the guests became intoxicated and spent the night with Li Chen.
• Li Chen accompanied Lü Mumu to Mount Sumeru Skyward Pavilion, where True Person Ice Lotus agreed she could stay with him, and Lü Mumu learned that he was Emperor Li Chen.
• Li Chen studied Great Luo shamanic arts and, disguised as Master Urge, rescued Sergei from an Icefield Giant Rhino before accepting him as an honorary disciple.
• Li Chen encouraged Sergei to attack Cold Iron Pass, where Xu Zifeng’s ambush destroyed most of Sergei’s cavalry, then persuaded Sergei that he could still gain power and support.
• Sergei returned to Winterhold and sought Li Chen’s help, and Li Chen advised him to oppose the war, gain support in the fief, and ransom the captured soldiers at a high price.
• Li Chen arranged for Han Wu to charge Sergei an enormous ransom, and Sergei used the nearly twenty thousand returning soldiers to build a force loyal to him.
• Li Chen uncovered that Vasily was Emperor Ivan’s planted spy and decided to use Vasily to help put Sergei on Daluo’s throne.
• Yekaterina rejected Vasily’s advances, and Li Chen returned to Winterhold and asked whether she wanted to vent her anger.

Li Chen backed Sergei’s rebellion, uncovered his elven imperial bloodline, and became Witch Ancestor of the northern tribes. As the Great Luo Dynasty faced invasion and civil war, Li Chen refused to help Ivan unless the emperor came to beg him himself.

• Li Chen helped Sergei turn against Ivan, rallying Andrei’s supporters and leading a quarter million troops north while Ivan’s forces failed to stop them.
• Li Chen traveled with Yekaterina, Anastasia, Darya, and Katrian to the Frostwolf Tribe, where the Bloodline Tracing Stone revealed his ancient elven imperial bloodline.
• Canggu asked Li Chen to inherit the Witch Ancestor’s position, and Li Chen accepted after learning the title would help him explore other elven-blooded tribes.
• Li Chen awakened the Words of the Stars scepter, opened the sealed grotto-heaven, and gained the loyalty of the Frostwolf Tribe and neighboring delegations.
• Li Chen inspected the Moonlight Lake Tribe and brought Yelena and her sisters into the secret realm for cultivation and private instruction.
• Li Chen authorized ten daily places in the grotto-heaven, and tribal leaders competed to secure access for their women.
• Vladimir waited for Li Chen to meet him, then explained that Ivan faced both the Heavenly Strategy invasion and Sergei’s rebellion.
• Li Chen told Vladimir that Ivan must come and beg him, then overwhelmed Vladimir’s saint realm pressure when he threatened him.

Li Chen used his authority as the Witch Ancestor to draw the Northern Lands and Matvei under his influence while exploiting Daluo’s crises and Imperial Palace factions. The arc left Ivan weakened, Matvei reshaping the court with Li Chen’s backing, and Romanov unable to meet Li Chen face-to-face.

• Li Chen killed Vladimir, established a hierarchy among his Northern Lands followers, and agreed to lead an uprising against Ivan.
• Sergei sought Li Chen’s backing, while Li Chen rejected Romanov’s proposed truce and demanded that Daluo produce Andrei, Tuoba Zhen, and proof of the Imperial Court’s innocence.
• Romanov persuaded Ivan to abdicate to Matvei and clear Andrei’s name, and Li Chen accepted Matvei as his Named Disciple after making him submit at the Witch Ancestor Sacred Land.
• Li Chen traveled with Matvei to the Holy Capital, defended him from a contemptuous guard commander, and took up residence beside him in the Sacred Palace.
• Li Chen secretly taught Matvei courtcraft and used Vorontsova, Yulia, and other Imperial Consorts to secure support, while Ivan and Romanov mistakenly believed the consorts’ service would win Li Chen’s backing.
• Li Chen instructed Matvei to use a three-day banquet and Yulia’s gatherings with noblewomen to build support for removing powerful ministers.
• Matvei dismissed or transferred five of Ivan’s key ministers, and Li Chen refused Romanov’s attempt to meet him in person behind a Mist Voice-Transmission Barrier.