Chapter Summaries

Zhang Yuan broke free from a coordinated ambush, killed the Sixth Order Expert and four Fifth Order martial artists, then returned to Upper Scene Heaven and learned he had been appointed a Dao General. The chapter left him facing the scrutiny of the crowd gathered around the Sect Edict bearing his name.

• Zhang Yuan broke through the talismans' restraints and the Five-Sha Sword Array, then impaled the Sixth Order Expert with the Overlord Halberd and survived four swordsmen's attacks unscathed.
• Zhang Yuan killed the four Fifth Order martial artists with the Taotie Saber and gained nearly ten thousand points of Source Essence along with their mystic weapons.
• Zhang Yuan summoned the Gray-Toothed Lynx, returned to Upper Scene Heaven the next afternoon, and turned in his mission at the Martial Pavilion's Merit Hall.
• Zhang Yuan received Mo Huaian's Talisman Letter confirming he was among nine newly appointed or replacement Dao Generals, and he replied to Mo Huaian in appreciation of the Mo Clan's support.
• Zhang Yuan saw his name on the Sect Edict at the Martial Pavilion the next morning, where the gathered crowd reacted with shock, envy, jealousy, and hatred.

Zhang Yuan traveled from Upper Scene Heaven to Western Plains City to take up his post as Dao General. The local Dao Official, Fei Hongming, refused to receive him that night, leaving Zhang Yuan to lodge at the Dao Barracks and face a hostile welcome.

• Mo Huaian sent Zhang Yuan a Crimson Hare Horse before Zhang Yuan left Upper Scene Heaven for Western Plains.
• Zhang Yuan rode through the rain and reached Western Plains City the following evening without incident.
• Squad Leader Luo Shuo recognized Zhang Yuan's Identity Token and escorted him through the city to the Dao Yamen.
• Gatekeeper Sun Bo told Zhang Yuan that Fei Hongming had instructed him to return the next day, then shut the gates in his face.
• Zhang Yuan chose to stay at the Dao Barracks and recognized that Fei Hongming did not welcome his arrival.

Zhang Yuan took command of the undermanned Western Plains City Dao Barracks and learned that his predecessor had died after fighting Western Regions Horse Bandits. While dining with Deputy General Feng Hui to assess the local situation, Zhang Yuan heard an unruly group force their way upstairs.

• Zhang Yuan reviewed the Dao Barracks' records and found it had only half its authorized troops and far fewer officers than required.
• Zhang Yuan ordered Feng Hui to assemble all troops for drills and an inspection the next morning.
• Feng Hui invited Zhang Yuan to Spring River Tower, where he concealed his resentment while trying to ingratiate himself.
• Zhang Yuan used his Perception and Spiritual Sense to see through Feng Hui's schemes, then asked him about Western Plains City's situation.
• A group of young men and women rushed up to the fifth floor, and Feng Hui's expression changed.

Zhang Yuan’s meeting with Fei Yuxuan and three Seven Swords Sect disciples at Spring River Tower ended in a tense exchange, while Liu Qingmei recognized the depth of Zhang Yuan’s strength. Fei Yuxuan was left speechless after she warned her fellow disciples not to provoke him.

• Fei Yuxuan arrived at Spring River Tower’s top floor with Seven Swords Sect disciples Liu Qingmei, Zhuo Chengping, and Zhuo Chengan, then rebuked Zhang Yuan for remaining seated.
• Feng Hui introduced Zhang Yuan as Western Plains’ newly appointed Dao General, but Fei Yuxuan dismissed him as one of his father’s subordinates.
• Zhang Yuan ignored Fei Yuxuan’s insult and prepared to leave with Feng Hui, while Liu Qingmei apologized and gave him the Seven Swords Sect’s Sword Salute.
• Liu Qingmei told Zhuo Chengping and Zhuo Chengan that Zhang Yuan’s cultivation was close to the Divine Realm and warned them not to offend him.
• Fei Yuxuan realized that Zhang Yuan had disdained him, but Liu Qingmei’s warning left him unable to respond.

Zhang Yuan reviewed the Western Plains Dao Barracks’ problems, requested reinforcements from the Mo Clan, and cultivated with a Blazing Sun Vermillion Fruit. After inspecting his undermanned troops, he ordered the absent soldiers seized and executed.

• Feng Hui reported on Fei Hongming and his family, while Zhang Yuan judged Feng Hui too unreliable to trust as a close aide.
• Zhang Yuan sent a Talisman Letter to the Mo Clan requesting experienced Deputy Generals and elite martial artists to reinforce the Dao Barracks.
• Zhang Yuan consumed a quarter of a Blazing Sun Vermillion Fruit and cultivated through the night, improving both his Six Harmonies Qilin Body and Mixed Origin Heavenly Astral Righteous Art.
• Zhang Yuan inspected the Dao Soldiers and Auxiliary Soldiers and learned that three Dao Soldiers and five Auxiliary Soldiers were absent.
• Zhang Yuan ordered the absent soldiers seized and executed on the spot.

Zhang Yuan executed six Dao Soldiers who had disobeyed orders, then announced a generous pay increase funded from his own wealth. He won over the Dao camp while signaling that he would not defer to Fei Hongming.

• Feng Hui admitted he had failed to find one Dao Soldier, and Zhang Yuan praised him before ordering him to execute the six captured offenders.
• Feng Hui beheaded his young relative Ziming and the other five Dao Soldiers as the assembled soldiers watched.
• Zhang Yuan raised Dao Soldiers' monthly pay by ten taels and Auxiliary Soldiers' by five taels, earning their gratitude and respect.
• Feng Hui warned that the increase required approval from Fei Hongming, but Zhang Yuan said he would pay for it himself.
• Zhang Yuan declined to visit Fei Hongming, and Feng Hui realized his superior was deliberately refusing to show the Dao Official deference.

Dao Official Fei Hongming tried to assert his control over the newly appointed Dao General Zhang Yuan by denying him an audience and withholding the Dao Camp’s military funds. Zhang Yuan waited for the Mo Clan’s promised support, and the chapter ended when Liu Qingmei arrived at the camp to see him.

• Fei Hongming learned that Zhang Yuan had not returned to visit him and heard how Zhang Yuan had taken charge at the Dao Camp.
• Fei Hongming ordered the Dao Yamen to hold back the Dao Camp’s military funds and told his steward to keep Fei Yuxuan out of trouble.
• Rumors spread that Fei Hongming and Zhang Yuan were at odds while Zhang Yuan inspected troops and reviewed case files at the Dao Camp.
• Zhang Yuan waited for support from the Mo Clan, whose reply confirmed that aid was on the way.
• Liu Qingmei arrived at the Dao Camp and requested an audience with Zhang Yuan, who agreed to meet her.

Liu Qingmei asked Zhang Yuan to help find Ling Xiaohua, the thief who stole a mystic weapon from the Seven Swords Sect. She revealed that the Horse Bandits who attacked the Western Plains Trade Route may have belonged to the Savage Sand Army, raising Zhang Yuan’s suspicions about Fei Hongming and the Fei Family.

• Liu Qingmei told Zhang Yuan that she and the Zhuo brothers had tracked Ling Xiaohua to Western Plains City and asked for his help finding him.
• Zhang Yuan read the Seven Swords Sect’s dossier and learned Ling Xiaohua was a Fifth Order Peak martial artist who may have had an accomplice inside the sect.
• Zhang Yuan agreed to have his men investigate Ling Xiaohua once the Dao Barracks’ vacancies were filled.
• Liu Qingmei warned Zhang Yuan that Ling Xiaohua might be connected to the Savage Sand Army and that the Horse Bandits who attacked the trade route may have been one of its forces.
• Liu Qingmei said Fei Yuxuan had disclosed the Horse Bandits’ connection, and Zhang Yuan suspected Fei Hongming had concealed the threat from him.

Zhang Yuan welcomed the Mo Clan’s reinforcements and reorganized the Western Plains Dao Barracks, leaving Feng Hui sidelined. Feng Hui then pledged his allegiance to Zhang Yuan and was tasked with searching for Ling Xiaohua as news of the changes spread through the city.

• After spending two days reviewing Dao Barracks records, Zhang Yuan received a letter and went with Feng Hui to meet the Mo Clan’s incoming force.
• Mo Wei and Sun Yujiang arrived with two fifth-rank warriors, ten fourth-rank warriors, and 150 third-rank martial artists to reinforce the Dao Barracks.
• Zhang Yuan appointed Mo Wei and Sun Yujiang as Deputy Generals, reorganized the Dao Soldiers, and left Feng Hui out of the process.
• Feng Hui realized his secret dealings with the Dao Yamen had cost him influence and chose to pledge himself fully to Zhang Yuan.
• Zhang Yuan gave Feng Hui Liu Qingmei’s information about Ling Xiaohua and ordered him to search Western Plains City for the man.
• News of the changes at the Dao Barracks spread throughout Western Plains City.

Zhang Yuan trained the Western Plains Dao Soldiers into a disciplined cavalry force while the Dao Yamen continued withholding their military funds. He paid the barracks from his own pocket and began considering other ways to finance it, leaving Mo Yan Chang uneasy about what Zhang Yuan might do next.

• Zhang Yuan led three hundred Dao Soldiers through archery, cavalry, and spear drills, then returned with them to Western Plains City.
• The Dao Barracks’ Military Commandant, Mo Yan Chang, reported that the Dao Yamen had again refused to allocate military funds and that only a small amount remained in the accounts.
• Zhang Yuan gave Mo Yan Chang one hundred thousand taels in Fu Ji Bank notes to cover the barracks’ expenses as a loan.
• Zhang Yuan said he expected Fei Hongming to keep delaying the allocation and planned to wait him out.
• Zhang Yuan told Mo Yan Chang that the Dao Barracks needed other sources of military funds, making Mo Yan Chang sense his killing intent.

Zhang Yuan led an attack on Lianyun Stronghold, where Mo Wei’s two hundred Dao Soldiers defeated the bandits with almost no casualties and seized their accumulated wealth. Zhang Yuan returned to Western Plains City with the spoils and displayed the bandits’ heads outside the gates, openly demonstrating against Fei Hongming.

• Zhang Yuan assigned Mo Wei two hundred Dao Soldiers to capture Lianyun Stronghold while keeping casualties under ten.
• Mo Wei’s forces seized the three checkpoints, stormed the stronghold, and killed its chiefs as the bandits’ resistance collapsed.
• Zhang Yuan found the stronghold’s stores of provisions and valuables, praised Mo Wei, and let the surviving elderly, weak, women, and children leave with food and silver.
• Zhang Yuan had the stronghold burned and returned to Western Plains City with the spoils and preserved bandit heads.
• Zhang Yuan displayed the heads outside the city gates, alarming the common people and signaling his challenge to Fei Hongming.

A Western Regions caravan arrived in Western Plains City and learned how Zhang Yuan had rebuilt the Dao Barracks, crushed local bandits, and raised a Jingguan as a challenge to Fei Hongming. The bearded caravan leader chose to stay neutral but considered whether to join Zhang Yuan’s upcoming auction.

• A Western Regions caravan stopped outside Western Plains City when its horses were frightened by the Jingguan at the gate.
• The bearded caravan leader entered the city, saw the mound of heads, and questioned the innkeeper about recent events.
• The innkeeper told him that Zhang Yuan had reorganized the Dao Barracks, defeated bandit strongholds, and raised the Jingguan for Fei Hongming to see.
• The bearded man learned that Fei Hongming was still withholding military funds and decided the caravan should remain neutral.
• The innkeeper asked whether the caravan would participate in Zhang Yuan’s auction of seized bandit goods at the beginning of next month.

Zhang Yuan met Jia Jiade, a powerful merchant representing the Tuda Tribe, who sought to discuss the Dao Barracks’ auction and offered him a rare Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure. Zhang Yuan accepted the gift but directed Jia Jiade to discuss the auction with Mo Yan Chang, leaving Jia Jiade surprised by how difficult it was to approach him.

• Zhang Yuan’s auction of seized bandit goods drew widespread attention, while the exhausted Dao Soldiers rested and prepared to sell their haul.
• A sentry announced that Jia Jiade of the Tuda Tribe had come to meet Zhang Yuan, and Mo Yan Chang identified him as a great Western Regions merchant.
• Jia Jiade entered the White Tiger Hall with a veiled young woman and asked Zhang Yuan about the auction.
• Jia Jiade presented Zhang Yuan with a crimson gemstone containing Qian Yang, which Zhang Yuan recognized as a valuable Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure.
• Zhang Yuan accepted the gift and referred Jia Jiade to Mo Yan Chang for auction matters, surprising Jia Jiade, who had come mainly to befriend Zhang Yuan.

Zhang Yuan oversaw an auction and market that sold goods seized during the bandit suppression campaign, earning more than a million taels while keeping prices low enough to attract future buyers. After the sale, he gave the remaining stock to the Tuda Merchant Association and ordered Mo Yan Chang to prepare one million taels in banknotes for Deputy General Mo Wei.

• Zhang Yuan instructed the auctioneer to sell stolen goods at a steep discount so merchants would profit and return to future auctions.
• The auctioneer quickly sold a large lot of Sichuan Brocade for ten thousand taels, and Zhang Yuan explained his pricing strategy to Mo Yan Chang.
• As buyers recognized that the goods were bargains, bidding became more measured while stalls selling lower-value seized goods drew crowds at the Dao Camp.
• Mo Yan Chang reported that the auction and stall sales brought in 1,167,953 taels and six qian, with about ninety percent of the stock sold.
• Zhang Yuan gave the remaining goods to the Tuda Merchant Association and ordered Mo Yan Chang to prepare one million taels in banknotes and invite Deputy General Mo Wei for an important task.

Fei Hongming learned that Zhang Yuan had offered Upper Scene Heaven one million taels of silver and submitted a report of his duties, earning his master's rebuke and one final chance. Meanwhile, Jia Jiade brought Zhang Yuan twenty-five thousand taels of gold and asked for his help concerning the Savage Sand Army.

• Fei Hongming met his senior brother, who revealed that their master knew of the Western Plains dispute and had sent a disciplinary ruler as a warning.
• The white-robed Daoist told Fei Hongming that Zhang Yuan had offered Upper Scene Heaven one million taels of silver and submitted a report of his duties, making Fei Hongming's accusation look foolish.
• Fei Hongming admitted his mistake and received one final chance from his master, then sat alone with a cold expression after the white-robed Daoist vanished.
• Jia Jiade visited Zhang Yuan and presented twenty-five thousand taels of gold from the sale of the remaining goods.
• Jia Jiade asked Zhang Yuan for help and brought up the Savage Sand Army.

Zhang Yuan weighed Jia Jiade’s request to join forces against the Savage Sand Army, then gathered intelligence while strengthening the Western Plains Dao Barracks with sect rewards and delayed military funds. He rewarded the troops and granted them leave, then went out alone in plain clothes.

• Jia Jiade explained the Savage Sand Army’s attacks on the Tuda Tribe and asked Zhang Yuan to help protect the trade routes, but Zhang Yuan said he needed time to consider.
• After Jia Jiade left his Gold Bills behind, Zhang Yuan asked Mo Yan Chang for his opinion and ordered him to collect information on the Savage Sand Army.
• Mo Wei returned with supplies, sect rewards, and a three-word letter from Ancestor Mo praising Zhang Yuan’s work.
• Zhang Yuan distributed rewards to the Dao Soldiers and Auxiliary Soldiers, and the Dao Yamen transferred the military funds it had withheld for two months.
• Zhang Yuan ordered Mo Yan Chang to demand the next month’s funds and gave the Dao Barracks three days off.
• Zhang Yuan declined company, changed into plain clothes, and left the Dao Barracks alone.

Zhang Yuan wandered through the lively streets of Western Plains City, where a group of assassins suddenly attacked him. He killed five attackers with ease, leaving the street in chaos as more danger remained unclear.

• Zhang Yuan enjoyed the night market, bought jasmine flowers from a little girl, and stopped at a restaurant for a candied hawthorn skewer.
• A white-haired old man attacked Zhang Yuan with the skewer while a peddler stabbed him from behind, but Zhang Yuan killed the peddler with a kick.
• Zhang Yuan crushed the old man's wrist and turned his poisoned needles back on him, killing him with his own weapons.
• Three more killers attacked Zhang Yuan with short blades and poison powder, but his protective gang qi stopped their blades and he killed them with blows to their heads.

Zhang Yuan defeated a second wave of assassins attacking him in Western Plains City and exposed an assassin disguised as Deputy General Mo Wei. He left the false Mo Wei alive for questioning after foiling his escape and suicide attempt.

• Zhang Yuan killed five assassins in the street, then deflected poisoned crossbow bolts back at assassins attacking from the rooftops.
• Zhang Yuan pursued the remaining attackers across the rooftops and captured one, though several escaped through alleys and drainage channels.
• Deputy General Mo Wei arrived and offered to interrogate the surviving assassins, but Zhang Yuan recognized him as an impostor by his aura and struck him down.
• The false Mo Wei tried to flee, but Zhang Yuan pinned both his legs with crossbow bolts and knocked the poison-filled tooth from his mouth before he could kill himself.

After Zhang Yuan survived an assassination attempt, his captives revealed they belonged to Blood Shadow Tower, an organization known for making three attempts on each target. Zhang Yuan prepared the Dao Camp and Dao Yamen for further trouble as a storm gathered over Western Plains City.

• Constables and Sun Yujiang arrived after Zhang Yuan defeated the assassins, and Mo Wei recognized that one attacker had impersonated him.
• Zhang Yuan handed the surviving assassins to Mo Wei and Sun Yujiang for interrogation, while the bodies were burned and the street was cleaned.
• Sun Yujiang reported that the assassins belonged to Blood Shadow Tower and had attacked after Zhang Yuan left the Dao Camp alone.
• Mo Yan Chang explained Blood Shadow Tower's reputation and warned that it would likely send stronger assassins after its failed attempt.
• Zhang Yuan ordered Mo Yan Chang to notify the sect, Mo Wei to cancel the Dao Soldiers' leave, and Sun Yujiang to watch the Dao Yamen.
• Zhang Yuan saw black clouds gathering over Western Plains City as a torrential downpour approached.

After Fei Hongming paid the Dao Camp’s expenses and sent Zhang Yuan an apology gift, Zhang Yuan accepted and ended their dispute. He led the Dao Soldiers to destroy a band of Horse Bandits, but as they camped afterward, the Red-Eyed Crow spotted a new threat approaching: iron-blue Walking Corpses.

• Fei Hongming paid the Dao Camp’s expenses in advance and sent Zhang Yuan a hundred thousand taels of silver as an apology, and Zhang Yuan accepted to settle their conflict.
• Zhang Yuan led three hundred Dao Soldiers into the Gobi Desert and wiped out a band of Horse Bandits with the help of the Red-Eyed Crow’s reconnaissance.
• Zhang Yuan and the Dao Soldiers celebrated their victory at a desert camp while Mo Wei admired Zhang Yuan’s Gray-Toothed Lynx.
• The Red-Eyed Crow spotted enemies approaching, and Zhang Yuan ordered the Dao Soldiers to mount up.
• Zhang Yuan led the mounted Dao Soldiers toward the threat and saw iron-blue Walking Corpses on the Gobi Desert.