Chapter Summaries

Yang Ge crushed an attack by the Five Poisons Cult at the East City Gate and ordered Fang Ke to escort Zhao Miao home. He saw Zhao Cha off the next morning, promising to visit her in the Capital City early next year, then watched her convoy disappear into the mist.

• Yang Ge disarmed and killed the Five Poisons Cult attackers assaulting the East City Gate, then killed their leader, Yuchi Zhen.
• Yang Ge questioned Fang Ke about the attackers’ threat and ordered him to gather the fallen, hang the attackers’ heads on the wall, and escort Zhao Miao to the Capital City.
• Yang Ge returned to the inn and cooked Zhao Cha a farewell meal while Xiao Baoqi and the others praised his supposed way of winning people over with virtue.
• Before dawn, Yang Ge packed Zhao Cha provisions and money and promised to visit her in the Capital City early next year.
• Yang Ge watched Fang Ke’s convoy carry Zhao Cha away and remained alone after it vanished into the mist.

Shen Fa warned Yang Ge that the Five Poisons Divine Sect was testing him and that a powerful figure might stand behind it, but Yang Ge explained that he had hung the sect members’ heads to demand an apology. Yang Ge planned to leave the conflict simmering while he went to face five masters from the Imperial Stables Directorate, and he assigned Shen Fa to watch over the inn and the Liu Family.

• Shen Fa arrived at Yang Ge’s courtyard before dawn, and Yang Ge knocked him into the snow before warming him with his martial arts.
• Shen Fa warned Yang Ge that the Five Poisons Divine Sect was testing him, but Yang Ge said he had killed the intruders to enforce his rules and was waiting for the sect’s leaders to explain themselves.
• Shen Fa suspected that a powerful figure stood behind the Five Poisons Divine Sect and urged Yang Ge to be cautious, while Yang Ge said he could escape unharmed if the man proved too strong.
• Yang Ge told Shen Fa that he was confident against the five masters from the Imperial Stables Directorate and explained that he was letting the conflict with the Five Poisons Divine Sect simmer.
• Yang Ge asked Shen Fa to watch the inn and the Liu Family while he left, and Shen Fa agreed after Yang Ge glared at him.

Yang Ge set out from Luting intending to find Yang Tiansheng in Hangzhou, but his poor sense of direction led him to a Five Poisons Cult gathering in the mountains. He crashed into the festival and confronted Lei Hong, the Scorpion Hall master, asking where he was.

• Shen Fa became close friends with Xiao Baoqi and his three companions while working at the Welcome Inn.
• After waiting half a month for the Five Poisons Cult to respond, Yang Ge decided to head south and settle the matter.
• Yang Ge’s friends watched him fly away, then worried that he would lose his way; Shen Fa explained that Yang Ge had a terrible sense of direction.
• Yang Ge tried to travel toward Hangzhou but lost his way and flew through remote mountain forests until he found a bonfire and a Five Poisons Cult gathering.
• Yang Ge dropped into the crowd, knocked the festivalgoers down with the impact, and pressed the Cold Moon Saber against Lei Hong’s neck.
• Lei Hong later remembered that Yang Ge’s first question had been, “Where is this?” and that he had answered, “Guilin, Guangxi.”

Yang Ge forced Lei Hong to reveal the Five Poisons Cult's headquarters and destroyed the mountain entrance to flush out its leaders. He pursued Yan Shijun through the forest after cutting down Wu He, while Lei Hong watched in awe.

• Yang Ge spared Lei Hong after learning that Yang Tiansheng had once passed safely through his territory, then removed the Blood God Gu controlling him.
• Lei Hong revealed the Five Poisons Cult's locations and secrets, identified its headquarters near Jiujiang, and agreed to guide Yang Ge there.
• At dawn, Yang Ge flew with Lei Hong to the headquarters and split open the mountain with a saber strike.
• Yan Shijun and the cultists emerged from the damaged mountain, and Yan Shijun tried to flee after Yang Ge attacked.
• Yang Ge killed Wu He and pursued Yan Shijun through the forest with blade qi as Lei Hong watched from afar.

Yang Ge pursued Yan Shijun to the Five Poisons Cult’s hidden elder, killed Yan Shijun, and fought the white-haired swordsman in a battle that ended with Yang Ge escaping underground, badly injured. The elder departed after praising Yang Ge, while Yang Ge blamed Shen the Second for misleading him about the old man’s strength.

• Yang Ge chased Yan Shijun northeast, repeatedly beating him until Yan Shijun led him toward his ancestor.
• Yang Ge cut off Yan Shijun’s arms and legs, took his sword, and killed him when the white-haired old man arrived.
• The old man revealed his interest in Yang Ge’s supreme ultimate true intent, and the two launched into a fierce battle across the sky and mountains.
• Yang Ge’s crimson-black blade qi and the old man’s lightning-charged sword qi reached a stalemate, so Yang Ge detonated his attack and was thrown backward by the blast.
• The old man searched for Yang Ge, praised him, and departed; Yang Ge emerged from a pit and cursed Shen the Second for misleading him about the old man’s power.

After losing to a mysterious elder on Dragon-Tiger Mountain, Yang Ge reached Fengyang and reunited with the Yang Family. He and Yang Yinghao suspected the elder was the long-lived former Celestial Master Zhang Xuansu, who had helped bring down Zhou Tang.

• Yang Ge learned that the forest where the white-haired elder defeated him was Dragon-Tiger Mountain, ancestral seat of the Orthodox Unity lineage.
• Yang Ge arrived in Fengyang and startled the city gate guards by asking for the Yang Family, then reunited with Yang Tiansheng and gave him Yan Shijun’s sword, Water-Cutter.
• At Yang Family Manor, Yang Ge told Yang Yinghao he had lost to the person behind the Five Poisons Cult and said the man was likely connected to the Zhang Family.
• Yang Yinghao linked the elder to rumors that Zhang Xuansu had brought down Zhou Tang, and Yang Ge concluded the elder might be Zhang Xuansu himself.
• Yang Tiansheng returned from helping his mother with his face and hands bruised, while Yang Ge and Yang Yinghao stopped discussing Dragon-Tiger Mountain.

Yang Ge told Yang Tiansheng he would confront the Five Poisons Cult to recover five million taels, refusing to retreat despite the dangers. Meanwhile, two Tower Beyond Towers investigators concealed evidence of his defeat at Dragon-Tiger Mountain and decided he was too dangerous to provoke.

• Yang Ge rejected Yang Tiansheng’s suggestion that he marry his sister, then learned Yang Tiansheng would marry Xiang Jing next year.
• Yang Ge said he planned to demand the missing five million taels from the Five Poisons Cult and explained that showing fear would invite hidden enemies to attack.
• Yang Ge and Yang Tiansheng discussed fishing in Lotus Pond after Yang Tiansheng admitted he had blasted the pond while practicing.
• Two Tower Beyond Towers investigators found scraps of Yang Ge’s clothing and a pit at the site of his battle near Dragon-Tiger Mountain.
• One investigator proposed filling the pit and reporting their findings honestly, and his companion helped conceal the evidence.
• The investigators concluded that Yang Ge had become the foremost man of his age and warned that they could not afford to provoke him.

Yang Tiansheng told Yang Yinghao he would compete for the Bright Cult's next leader, then received a Five Poisons Cult envoy who came to settle Yang Erlang's grievance over stolen silver. When the envoy threatened him, Yang Ge arrived, demanded the full debt, and chased the man away.

• Yang Tiansheng told Yang Yinghao that he would compete for the Bright Cult's next leader because he resented how Yang Potian had treated him and his family.
• A Five Poisons Cult envoy calling himself Yan Futou arrived at the Yang residence seeking Yang Erlang, and Yang Tiansheng agreed to meet him.
• Yan Futou offered to settle the conflict by returning three million taels, but Yang Tiansheng corrected him that five million had been stolen.
• Yan Futou threatened Yang Tiansheng, and Yang Ge appeared from the secluded chamber, startling the envoy.
• After Yang Tiansheng said the offer was three million taels, Yang Ge angrily pursued Yan Futou when he fled through the pavilion roof.

Yang Ge returned Yan Futou to the Five Poisons Cult, then confronted the white-haired old man at Dragon-Tiger Mountain and fought him with a relentless, explosive style. As Yang Ge raised his saber for a decisive strike, the old man’s will to survive finally snapped and he embraced the danger.

• Yang Ge brought the unconscious Yan Futou back to Yang Yinghao and Yang Tiansheng, explained that he would take him to the Five Poisons Cult, and left for Dragon-Tiger Mountain with the Cold Moon Saber following him.
• Yang Ge reached Dragon-Tiger Mountain, summoned the white-haired old man, and killed Yan Futou after the old man threatened him.
• Yang Ge and the old man exchanged powerful blade and sword attacks, and Yang Ge used the recoil to press a relentless assault.
• Yang Ge recalled that his previous defeat came from competing with the old man’s deeper true qi and superior techniques, so he focused on explosive attacks instead.
• After pursuing the old man through the sky and mountain forests, Yang Ge leaped high and raised his saber for a final strike.
• The old man felt death approach, welcomed the sensation, and let his long-suppressed will to survive break free.

Yang Ge fought the white-haired old man to a costly draw, then threatened him over the money he was owed. Six days later, the Welcome Inn learned that Yang Ge had settled his score with the Five Poisons Cult and that the cult was returning five million taels of silver.

• Yang Ge cut through the white-haired old man's Thunder Sword Qi with his strongest blade technique, and both men were injured in the ensuing explosion before fleeing in opposite directions.
• Yang Ge threatened the white-haired old man to repay every coin within half a month, while the two continued trading insults as they ran.
• At the Welcome Inn, Shen Fa worried that Yang Ge had suffered a setback and ordered Fang Ke to investigate, but Flea revealed that Yang Ge had attacked the Five Poisons Cult and killed Yan Shijun at Dragon-Tiger Mountain.
• Flea said the Five Poisons Cult had returned three million taels of silver, and Shen Fa concluded that Yang Ge must be going back to Dragon-Tiger Mountain to settle the score.
• Lei Hong of the Five Poisons Cult arrived with three million taels and promised another two million; Shen Fa ordered Fang Ke to count the money carefully.

Yang Ge confronted Zhang Xuansu over the Heavenly Master Mansion’s actions and the possibility of ties to the Eastern Isles, then fought him to test a powerful new saber technique. Zhang Xuansu revealed that the stars foretold great turmoil and a possible change of dynasty, while Yang Ge left for Road Pavilion determined to oppose anyone who threatened the people’s hope.

• Yang Ge shared roast pheasant with Zhang Xuansu, demanded answers about the Heavenly Master Mansion, and warned him to investigate possible ties to the Eastern Isles.
• Yang Ge and Zhang Xuansu fought in the sky, where Yang Ge used Snow Drifts Across the Mortal World to freeze the forest and impress Zhang Xuansu.
• Zhang Xuansu told Yang Ge that the stars foretold great turmoil, citing a similar alignment he had witnessed 180 years earlier.
• Yang Ge rejected the prediction and condemned accepting heaven’s will if it meant crushing the people’s hope of filling their bellies.
• Yang Ge returned to Road Pavilion after warning Zhang Xuansu to restrain his followers and not provoke him again.

Yang Ge returned to the Welcome Inn, beat Shen Fa, and warned him that a powerful Fifth Realm expert named Zhang Xuansu might be behind Former Tang’s fall and foresee another era of chaos. He urged Shen Fa to prepare the Court, border, and Eastern Isles while keeping the warning from the emperor, and pledged his support for Great Wei so long as its rulers served the people.

• Yang Ge returned to the Welcome Inn and lured Shen Fa into the courtyard, where he beat him for supposedly knowing about the danger at Dragon-Tiger Mountain.
• Shen Fa swore he had known nothing about Yang Ge’s trip, and Yang Ge continued beating him before asking about Court affairs, the northern tribes, and the Eastern Isles.
• Yang Ge told Shen Fa that Zhang Xuansu was an extraordinarily powerful Fifth Realm martial artist who might have caused Former Tang’s fall and predicted another period of chaos.
• Yang Ge ordered Shen Fa to keep the warning from the emperor, urged Chancellor Wang to advance reforms gradually, and called for stronger border defenses and a decision on the Eastern Isles.
• Yang Ge promised to fight for Great Wei’s rulers if they served the people, but warned he might oppose them if another ruler could provide the people a better life.

Shen Fa reported Yang Ge’s encounter with Zhang Xuansu to Emperor Xiping, prompting secret orders against the Five Poisons Cult and rewards for Yang Ge and Shen Fa. After revealing Yang Ge’s warning about the Eldest Princess’s return, Shen Fa carried his advice on reform to Wang Jiangling, who agreed to consider it.

• Shen Fa told Emperor Xiping, Wei Heng, and Liu Xian that Yang Ge had fought Zhang Xuansu to a draw and believed him responsible for Zhou Tang’s downfall.
• Emperor Xiping ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Eastern Factory, and Western Factory to secretly eradicate the Five Poisons Cult, then revised Zhang Duanrui’s honors after Shen Fa warned against entangling the Court in the Buddhist-Daoist Conflict.
• Emperor Xiping ennobled Yang Ge as Marquis of Road Pavilion and Shen Fa as Count of Kaifeng, and Shen Fa reported that Yang Ge regarded the Eldest Princess as a sister.
• Emperor Xiping arranged to dine at the Palace of Eternal Spring to ensure the Eldest Princess would be treated well when she returned, and Shen Fa left with Wei Heng and Liu Xian to discuss official business.
• Shen Fa told Wang Jiangling that Yang Ge advised him to pursue the Single Whip Law and Performance Assessment Law gradually, warning that rushing the reforms could provoke resistance.
• Wang Jiangling accepted the advice and offered future cooperation, while Shen Fa withheld the details of the danger behind Yang Ge’s warning.

Yang Ge prepared for New Year’s Eve with his neighbors and friends, but his quiet gathering grew into a crowd of visitors bearing gifts. Wei Heng arrived with an Imperial Edict proclaiming Yang Ge a marquis, while Fang Ke reported that even more groups were still waiting outside.

• Yang Ge put up New Year couplets, invited Xie Yunzhi and You Niang to share a meal, and prepared his courtyard for the holiday.
• Yang Ge welcomed the old innkeeper, Liu Mang, and Liu Deng-shi, then teased Liu Mang while they enjoyed the sunny courtyard.
• Xiao Baoqi and the Four Bears of Welcoming Inn arrived with New Year’s greetings, followed by Wu Eryong and the Chain Wharf’s gift-bearing delegation.
• Wei Xin brought gifts from the Bright Cult, and Liu Dongjun arrived with gifts from the White Lotus Cult, prompting Yang Ge to reluctantly receive them.
• Wei Heng entered with Western Factory guards and an Imperial Edict proclaiming Yang Ge a marquis; Fang Ke revealed that many more groups were still waiting outside.

Yang Ge celebrated becoming Marquis of Road Pavilion in the town where its residents quietly protected his peaceful life. After the new year, Shen Fa visited with Zhao Miao and told Yang Ge he was heading to Liaodong to assess the Tartars and the Border Army, while Yang Ge warned him against using the Eastern Isles Auxiliary Army as the main force.

• Hu Qiang announced that Yang Ge had been named Marquis of Road Pavilion, and the townspeople celebrated throughout the county.
• Yang Ge watched the fireworks with Little Yellow and fell asleep beneath the grape trellis as Xiping Year Fourteen ended.
• Zhao Miao returned to the Welcome Inn with Shen Fa and reproached Yang Ge for not picking her up in the Capital City.
• Shen Fa told Yang Ge he was going to Liaodong to assess whether the Court should move against the Tartars and deploy the Eastern Isles Auxiliary Army.
• Yang Ge warned Shen Fa that the Auxiliary Army would likely rout if made the main force, and advised him to assess conditions before deciding on a campaign.

Yang Ge learned that Li Changjiang was dying and that the Brocade Sail Wharf was attacking the Chain Wharf, but Wu Eryong and Li Jincheng had tried to keep him out of the conflict. He reached the Chain Wharf headquarters after Li Changjiang’s death, paid his respects, and was joined by Yang Tiansheng and Xiang Wudi as the wharf faced encirclement.

• Flea told Yang Ge that the Brocade Sail Wharf, backed by the seven great families of Jiangdong and the Righteousness Alliance, was attacking Chain Wharf holdings.
• Yang Ge confronted Wu Eryong and learned that Li Changjiang was near death, then insisted on going to the Chain Wharf headquarters the next morning.
• At the mourning hall, Li Jincheng ordered the Chain Wharf’s outposts abandoned and broke down as he remembered his father’s final suffering.
• Yang Ge and Wu Eryong arrived at the headquarters to find Li Changjiang dead and the island surrounded by boats; Yang Ge slapped Li Jincheng before entering the mourning hall to pay his respects.
• Yang Tiansheng and Xiang Wudi arrived, and Wu Eryong announced their presence to the gathered Chain Wharf fighters.

Yang Ge confronted Zhuang Chu and Brocade Sail Wharf over their attack on Chain Wharf, setting limits on the conflict while leaving Li Jincheng to decide whether to ask for help. After Li Jincheng explained his father's final efforts to protect him, Yang Ge and his brothers promised their support, and Brocade Sail Wharf withdrew its boats and released its captives.

• Yang Ge challenged Brocade Sail Wharf's representatives and warned them not to disrupt Li Changjiang's funeral, use outside forces, or kill Li Jincheng.
• Zhuang Chu backed down, offered incense to Li Changjiang, and left after Yang Ge and Yang Tiansheng remarked on his potential.
• Yang Ge and Xiang Wudi discussed the Righteousness Alliance's Xie Yanping and his possible connection to the Xie Family of Kuaiji.
• Li Jincheng explained that he had kept quiet because his father had tried to help him in his final days, and Yang Ge urged him to focus on defeating Brocade Sail Wharf.
• Yang Ge, Yang Tiansheng, and Xiang Wudi promised to support Li Jincheng if he asked, and Brocade Sail Wharf's boats withdrew as its captives were released.

After burying Li Jincheng’s father, Yang Ge left him with Yang Tiansheng and Xiang Wudi and traveled to Road Pavilion. There, he agreed to support Chancellor Wang’s Jiangzhe tax reform pilot on strict conditions that officials and commoners be treated equally and the people be protected.

• Li Jincheng mourned his father, and Xiang Wudi tried to comfort him by offering to become his adoptive father before the two men ran off bickering.
• Yang Ge told Yang Tiansheng that he and Xiang Wudi should watch over Li Jincheng, then advised Yang Tiansheng to broaden his learning and understanding of martial arts.
• Yang Ge departed for Road Pavilion and met Wang Dashi, who came to discuss tax reform in Jiangzhe.
• Yang Ge agreed to lend his name to the pilot only if officials and commoners paid equally, taxes did not crush the people, and the revenue was used for public benefit.
• Wang Dashi vowed to oversee the reform personally, and Yang Ge agreed to help while warning him that failure could have grave consequences.

Yang Ge enjoyed his quiet life in Luting while the southern martial world descended into conflict and Li Jincheng and Yang Tiansheng grew stronger. When Shen Fa returned from Liaodong with news that a Golden Lineage survivor was uniting the northern grasslands, Yang Ge offered to find and kill him.

• Wang Dashi received Yang Ge’s plaque and headed south, while the spreading southern conflict fueled Luting’s growth and drew travelers north and south.
• Li Jincheng led Chain Wharf against Brocade Sail Wharf, and both factions gained strength as Zhuang Chu recruited fighters and Li Jincheng attracted southern refugees and martial experts.
• Yang Tiansheng fought the Five Poisons Cult in Jiangxi and grew powerful enough to face one of its Peerless Grandmasters for fifty exchanges.
• Shen Fa returned from Liaodong and warned Yang Ge that a Golden Lineage survivor had won recognition among the grassland tribes and might unite them.
• Yang Ge told Shen Fa to find the survivor so he could go cut him down.

Yang Ge and Shen Fa discussed managing the Eastern Isles auxiliary troops and moving Zhou Fu to the frontier, while Yang Tiansheng proposed a limited amnesty for willing Bright Cult members. Yang Yinghao questioned his motives, and Yang Tiansheng explained that he wanted to ease the suffering caused by the cult’s conflict with the Court.

• Yang Ge ordered Shen Fa to ensure the Eastern Isles auxiliary troops were worked hard, monitored, and not allowed to settle among Yanhuang people.
• Yang Ge asked Shen Fa to bring Zhou Fu back from the Eastern Isles and transfer him to the frontier, and Shen Fa reluctantly agreed to try.
• At a banquet, Yang Yinghao and Wei Heng discussed whether the Bright Cult would accept amnesty, while Yang Tiansheng mocked the Court’s emperor and interrupted their courtesies.
• Yang Tiansheng proposed that the Court grant amnesty first to Bright Cult members willing to submit, so their treatment could persuade others to follow.
• Wei Heng said he lacked authority to approve the proposal and would report it to the Court, while Yang Yinghao and Yang Tiansheng agreed they needed time to persuade the cult’s elders.
• Yang Tiansheng told Yang Yinghao that he cared more about reducing suffering and improving people’s lives than winning the position of Cult Master.