Chapter Summaries

Yang Ge recreated Old Six Ma’s flood-inspired saber strike and realized it could open the way to the third level of saber arts: intent. He then practiced the Primordial Unity Stance and understood how true qi differed from inner qi, leaving him with a new insight into the Return to the True Realm.

• Yang Ge recalled Old Six Ma’s strike, recognized the flood behind it, and tried to imitate it with an Ox-Tail Saber.
• Yang Ge imagined facing the Flash Flood Passage and unleashed a strike that briefly parted the river, then fell into the water from exhaustion and had to be rescued by the Strongmen.
• Yang Ge reflected on the levels of saber arts and concluded that the third level required giving the saber a meaning uniquely his own.
• Yang Ge practiced the Primordial Unity Stance and realized that inner qi was an external force stored within the body, while true qi worked like vitality that could also nourish and sustain it.

Yang Ge reached the Return to the True Realm but struggled to perfect a decisive saber slash. After arriving in Jiangdu Prefecture and discovering officials were driving poor families from the city, he resolved to face the danger and named his newly understood slash No Return.

• Yang Ge unleashed a massive saber strike on the river, but judged it flawed and cracked Fang Ke’s Ox-Tail Saber.
• Three days later, Yang Ge and his men reached Jiangdu Prefecture and planned to enter separately to investigate the Long Wind Gang.
• Yang Ge and Fang Ke saw soldiers expelling impoverished families, and Fang Ke explained that the authorities had begun clearing them out several days earlier.
• Yang Ge grew angry at the officials’ treatment of the poor, but Fang Ke warned him that acting without authorization could leave them blamed for the consequences.
• Yang Ge questioned Fang Ke about the risks, realized his hesitation was what weakened his saber strike, and named the slash No Return.

Yang Ge gathered intelligence on the Long Wind Gang and prepared the Upper Right Office to strike despite the gang’s powerful local connections. Yang Tiansheng then revealed himself, and the two friends discussed the gang and whether they would join forces again.

• Gu Tong and the Junior Banner Officers reported that the Long Wind Gang had eight suspected Qi Sea Realm experts, more than eighty skilled enforcers, and hundreds of lackeys, while Yang Ge ordered them to keep investigating and plan a swift strike.
• Liu the Stonemason described how the gang backed land seizures and how deputy leader Chai Li killed Xie Fuwu, earning praise from Yang Ge.
• Fang Ke revealed that the gang leader’s daughter had married into Prefect Yang Yuting’s family, warning that local officials and military forces might obstruct the operation; Yang Ge said they would proceed cautiously and move within two days.
• Yang Ge discovered Yang Tiansheng on the roof and invited him inside, where they traded insults and discussed Yang Ge’s recent breakthrough.
• Yang Tiansheng explained that he had followed reports of Yang Ge’s fight at the Chain Wharf, and Yang Ge told him the Upper Right Office planned to take down the Long Wind Gang for its crimes against the people.
• Yang Ge invited Yang Tiansheng to join the Twin Fiends of Ice and Fire on another adventure, but Yang Tiansheng resisted.

Yang Ge joined forces with Yang Tiansheng to raid the Long Wind Gang, arresting its officials and uncovering a hidden struggle behind the gang. The chapter ended with Yang Ge defeating the gang leader, Xiong Jun, and confronting a powerful Linen-Clad Elder.

• Yang Ge persuaded Yang Tiansheng to help attack the Long Wind Gang, and Yang Tiansheng asked to visit Hangzhou afterward to witness the clash between Dong Ping and the Chain Wharf.
• Yang Ge and Yang Tiansheng waited in disguise as the Upper Right Office arrived in Jiangdu, then Yang Ge signaled his men to seal the city and surround the Long Wind Gang headquarters.
• Yang Tiansheng smashed open the headquarters doors, while Yang Ge ordered Fang Ke and the Embroidered Uniform Guard to arrest officials who tried to obstruct the raid.
• Yang Ge watched the Embroidered Uniform Guard arrest the officials, but the Yangzhou prefect did not appear, leaving him to worry about the consequences of proceeding without evidence against him.
• Yang Ge rushed into the headquarters after hearing Yang Tiansheng’s roar, struck the Linen-Clad Elder through the courtyard, and defeated Xiong Jun as the elder rose to fight again.
• Yang Ge learned that the fallen man was Xiong Jun and suspected the Linen-Clad Elder had been sent by whoever backed the Long Wind Gang.

Yang Ge defeated the Linen-Clad Elder and moved to expose the corrupt officials tied to the Long Wind Gang, while explaining the political timing behind his actions to Yang Tiansheng. The chapter left him bargaining with the wounded Xiong Jun for information in exchange for mercy toward his descendants.

• Yang Ge killed the Linen-Clad Elder with a powerful saber slash, and Yang Tiansheng praised his strength.
• Yang Ge ordered Fang Ke to lock down the Prefectural Yamen and arrest its officials, then directed Deputy Thousand-Household Commander Qin to investigate the Long Wind Gang and its ties to the Three Great Grain Merchants.
• Yang Ge told Yang Tiansheng that the burned ledgers might have implicated powerful court officials and explained how he had timed the Archives Repository fire to give Emperor Xiping a chance to strike at corruption after the campaign against the Grasslands.
• Yang Tiansheng accepted Yang Ge's reasoning, and Yang Ge asked the wounded Xiong Jun to cooperate in return for sparing his descendants.

After Xiong Jun helped Yang Ge expose Jiangzhe’s corruption network, Yang Ge faced coordinated resistance from officials, wealthy households, and armed forces while trying to keep Yangzhou’s government functioning. Yang Tiansheng returned wounded after escorting Fang Ke through an ambush, and Yang Ge warned that the conspirators might now target the imprisoned officials and challenged the martial world to stay out of the case.

• Xiong Jun cooperated with Yang Ge, enabling the Upper Right Office to seize evidence and arrest Yangzhou officials and local power brokers.
• Lower-ranking officials obstructed Yang Ge with urgent paperwork, so he forced jailed senior officials to work in cangues and arrested the most disruptive functionaries.
• Wealthy households sent impoverished laborers and tenants to protest, and Yang Ge dispersed the crowd by force after spotting an agitator.
• Yang Ge’s requests for troops were refused, and messengers carrying reports to the Northern Pacification Office were robbed of their horses and documents.
• Yang Tiansheng returned wounded and revealed that two Chain Wharf masters had died protecting Fang Ke from an ambush by skilled fighters, including members of the Heavenly River Sword Sect.
• Yang Ge suspected the conspirators would target the jailed officials and asked Yang Tiansheng to spread a warning that he would pursue anyone interfering in the case to the death.

Yang Ge stood by his mass arrests in Yangzhou, while Fang Ke reported their consequences to Shen Fa in the capital. Shen Fa decided to seek an audience with His Majesty before the Zhejiang Faction could strike, leaving Yang Ge's fate uncertain but suggesting he might welcome losing his post.

• Yang Ge told Yang Tiansheng that he would not retreat after Chain Wharf's Third and Sixth had died, and Yang Tiansheng agreed to act quickly.
• Fang Ke told Shen Fa that Yang Ge had arrested most of Yangzhou Prefecture's officials and made the imprisoned presiding officials continue governing in shackles.
• Shen Fa feared the Embroidered Uniform Guard had crossed a dangerous political line by acting without His Majesty's orders and provoking the Zhejiang Faction.
• Fang Ke explained that Yang Tiansheng and Chain Wharf's seven chiefs had helped escort him to the capital, though Chain Wharf lost two chiefs.
• Shen Fa took Fang Ke to seek an audience with His Majesty, planning to tell the truth and seize the initiative before the Zhejiang Faction attacked.
• Fang Ke and Shen Fa wondered whether Yang Ge had anticipated the consequences and accepted the possibility of losing his rank.

Emperor Xiping appointed Yang Ge an Imperial Envoy with sweeping powers to investigate corruption in Yangzhou, while privately warning Shen Fa that Yang Ge’s sharp edge could get him killed. Back in Yangzhou, Yang Ge learned that rumors and the Tower Beyond Towers might complicate the case, but remained confident that no great martial expert would come to assassinate him.

• Emperor Xiping asked Shen Fa whether Yang Ge had sufficient evidence against the arrested officials, then appointed Yang Ge Imperial Envoy with an Imperial Sword and authority to execute first and report afterward.
• Shen Fa offered to take responsibility for Yang Ge, but Emperor Xiping warned that Yang Ge’s ambition and heavy killing intent could lead him to a bad end; he told Shen Fa to conceal Yang Ge’s sharp edge after the case.
• Yang Ge cooked beef with scallions, and he and Yang Tiansheng argued over the food while discussing rumors that officials were framing martial artists over the Long Wind Gang case.
• Yang Tiansheng told Yang Ge that Tower Beyond Towers, an assassin association, had appeared around Jianghuai, and explained the martial-world rankings and the realm of Peerless grandmasters.
• Yang Ge asked whether assassins from Tower Beyond Towers might target him, and Yang Tiansheng assured him that none of the top-ranked experts would; Yang Ge concluded that he would survive if no one that powerful came.

Yang Ge rejected Prince Ning’s envoy and suspected the prince was behind the corruption in Jiangzhe. A force of masked attackers stormed the Yangzhou Prefectural Yamen, where Yang Ge confronted a gigantic black-robed monk who claimed he would deliver him to Buddhahood.

• Yang Tiansheng spread Yang Ge’s account of the Yangzhou corruption case, and Emperor Xiping appointed Yang Ge Imperial Envoy to oversee the investigation.
• Zheng Shiquan, an emissary for Prince Ning, offered Yang Ge rewards to stop investigating; Yang Ge refused and dismissed him after he made a veiled threat.
• Yang Ge learned that Prince Ning held his fief in Zhejiang and ordered Gu Tong to investigate the prince’s background.
• A firework signaled the arrival of hundreds of masked attackers, who broke into the Prefectural Yamen; Yang Ge ordered his companies to protect the officials and prison.
• Yang Ge’s saber strike checked the attackers, but a towering black-robed monk shattered his Blade Qi and fought him hand to hand.
• The monk praised Yang Ge’s merit and declared that he would deliver him to transcendence and Buddhahood on the spot.

Yang Ge fought off Tower Beyond Towers' attackers at the Prefectural Yamen, then went to the prison and joined Yang Tiansheng against a disguised Sect Master Yu. When Liaochen returned and overwhelmed Yang Ge, Yang Tiansheng's father arrived to face Yu Cangshan, leaving Yang Ge to fight the mad monk.

• Yang Ge used Wind Howls Through the Valley to blast Liaochen away, then ordered the Embroidered Uniform Strongmen to fire on the masked assassins.
• After Liu Yongguang took command, Yang Ge went to the prison and rescued Yang Tiansheng from the black-clad attackers.
• Yang Tiansheng identified the black-clad saber wielder as Yu Cangshan, and Yang Ge attacked him while the mad monk suddenly joined the fight.
• The mad monk and Yu Cangshan wounded Yang Ge and Yang Tiansheng, and Yang Tiansheng recognized the monk as Liaochen, a former Shaolin Dharma Hall head.
• Yang Ge challenged Yu Cangshan to face his final strike, but Yang Tiansheng's father appeared and took Yu on while Yang Ge prepared to face Liaochen.

Yang Ge killed Liao Fan with a devastating saber strike after Yang Yinghao drove Yu Cangshan away, then collapsed from exhaustion. Yang Yinghao treated him and praised the younger generation before taking Yang Ge and Yang Tiansheng home.

• Yang Yinghao struck at Yu Cangshan with overwhelming force, forcing him to flee, while Yang Ge and Yang Tiansheng watched in amazement.
• Yang Ge tried to reason with Liao Fan, but the mad monk insisted on killing him to sever his karmic ties and deliver him to Buddhahood.
• Yang Ge unleashed a powerful saber strike that split Liao Fan in two and cut through a building, then collapsed after coughing up blood.
• Yang Tiansheng gave Yang Ge medicine and rallied the Embroidered-Clad Strongmen, who drove the black-clad assassins into retreat.
• Yang Yinghao checked Yang Ge, gave him medicine, and told Yang Tiansheng to bring both Yang Ge and the Five-Elements Wanderer home.
• Yang Tiansheng suggested Yang Ge as a match for his little sister, and Yang Yinghao cursed him before leaving.

After recovering from his injuries, Yang Ge learned that the court had appointed him Imperial Envoy Minister and authorized him to investigate corruption in Jiangzhe. He decided to use his new authority to seize control of the regional forces and attack corrupt officials, while urging Yang Tiansheng to stay clear; the chapter ended with Yang Ge accepting that he would break open the crisis and leave its resolution to the emperor and court.

• Yang Ge woke after a day and night of rest, learned that Fang Ke had returned, and found his injuries had healed far faster than expected.
• Fang Ke told Yang Ge that the court had appointed him Imperial Envoy Minister, given him an Imperial Sword, and granted him authority to investigate the Jiangzhe corruption case.
• Yang Ge ordered Fang Ke to take command of the Yangzhou Prefectural Army and Yangzhou Guard, detain senior officers, and later collect military records from guard garrisons across Jiangzhe.
• Yang Ge told Yang Tiansheng to go to Hangzhou and avoid involvement, explaining that the court had made him responsible for a sweeping campaign against Jiangzhe’s corrupt officials.
• Yang Ge said he would act as the court’s blade and leave balancing interests and repairing the resulting damage to the emperor and court officials.

Yang Ge received the imperial edict and Imperial Sword, then launched sweeping arrests across Jiangzhe while Wei Heng watched over him. As officials at court attacked the Embroidered Uniform Guard and Shen Fa faced a smear campaign, Shen Fa endured the pressure without contacting Yang Ge.

• Wei Heng delivered Yang Ge the imperial edict and Imperial Sword, and Yang Ge warned him not to interfere with the investigation.
• After Fang Ke reported that Lord Qin had arrested the Yangzhou Guard officers, Yang Ge ordered the inquiry to pursue the grain-transport route and arrest suspects across Jiangzhe.
• Yang Ge accepted Wei Heng’s offer to teach him protection and planned to seize cultivation manuals from the Mount Lu Sky River Sword School.
• Yang Ge used the Embroidered Uniform Guard to arrest officials throughout Jiangzhe, drawing panicked pleas from local factions and a flood of impeachment memorials at court.
• Emperor Xiping ignored the memorials and told the officials to wait for results, so they turned against the Northern Pacification Office.
• Shen Fa was targeted with fabricated accusations and besieged at the Northern Pacification Office, but he did not send Yang Ge a letter.

Yang Ge weighed whether to move against Jiangzhe’s Three Offices while the corrupt officials he had arrested remained under investigation. He sent Fang Ke toward Hangzhou as a decoy and resolved to take responsibility for a drastic action against the prisoners before they could escape justice.

• Yang Ge ordered Deputy Thousand-Household Commander Qin to intensify the interrogations of Liu Yaozu and Gong Qing, despite the risk that they might die.
• Fang Ke reported that all forty-seven members of the Wu Family in Jinling had been killed in an apparent military operation, which Yang Ge suspected was meant to provoke him.
• Yang Ge considered whether to pursue the cases against the arrested officials or risk moving against Jiangzhe’s Three Offices, while worrying that Wei Heng’s secret edict was meant to restrain him.
• Yang Ge ordered Fang Ke to disguise himself as Yang Ge and ride to Hangzhou with the Imperial Envoy Minister’s banner and token, drawing pursuers away and buying four days.
• Fang Ke realized Yang Ge was planning to kill the more than four hundred offending officials, but Yang Ge declared that he would accept whatever consequences the court imposed.

Yang Ge returned to the Prefectural Yamen after tricking Wei Heng into leaving Yangzhou, then ordered the Jiangzhe corruption case files reviewed for evidence involving deaths. He arranged meals for the accused officials, who realized from the guards’ mockery that they were facing execution rather than a return to the capital.

• Yang Ge concealed his departure from Yangzhou by splitting Fang Ke's Hundred-Household Office into groups and leaving Deputy Thousand-Household Commander Qin in charge.
• Wei Heng discovered Yang Ge was gone and rushed toward Hangzhou, while Yang Ge waited a day before returning to the Prefectural Yamen.
• Yang Ge threatened Qin into cooperating and ordered the Junior Banner Officers to identify case files involving deaths, warning them that favoritism would make them share the accused officials’ guilt.
• Yang Ge told Gu Tong to arrange meals for everyone whose name appeared on the list of death-related cases.
• Qin listened to Jiangdu residents doubt that the corruption investigation would bring justice, then considered how he might preserve himself and replace Yang Ge.
• The accused officials in prison assumed they would be sent back to the capital until a guard called their food their last meal, prompting them to panic and pound on their cell doors.

Yang Ge gave the condemned officials a final chance to confess, then reviewed the cases and confirmed that 327 of 456 detained officials were implicated in deaths. At the public executions in Jiangdu, he ordered Yang Yuting beheaded and began the execution of Mei Ren.

• Yang Ge silenced the imprisoned officials, told them that repentance would not erase their guilt, and offered wine and paper to those willing to confess.
• Lord Song asked for wine to write his confession, while the other prisoners struggled with fear, blame, and regret through the night.
• Yang Ge reviewed the case files of all 456 detained officials and confirmed that 327 were implicated in deaths.
• Yang Ge brought Yang Yuting before the crowd, had his crimes read aloud, and ordered him beheaded despite his protest that he had been wronged.
• Yang Ge ordered Mei Ren beheaded after officials read the charges against the former assistant prefect.

Yang Ge oversaw the public execution of Yangzhou’s corrupt officials, then knelt to acknowledge the people’s suffering and urged them not to lose hope. The crowd’s gratitude transformed him into a lasting legend associated with Manifest Sage True Lord Yang Jian.

• Yang Ge allowed Song Shen to confess his guilt before ordering his execution.
• Yang Ge continued executing corrupt officials, including Li Ziming and Liu Yaozu, as the people watched in fear and growing support.
• The people of Yangzhou knelt and begged Yang Ge to stop before he ruined his future, and Yang Ge knelt in return.
• Yang Ge told the crowd that the court had failed them, promised to return if their lives did not improve, and urged them to keep justice and hope in their hearts.
• Yang Ge resumed the executions, while stories spread that he was Manifest Sage True Lord Yang Erlang and his image became linked to Yang Jian.

After returning to Yangzhou, Wei Heng confronted Yang Ge over the executions and his plan to return confiscated wealth to the people. Yang Ge refused to leave before finishing the work, insisting that abandoning it would mean he had been wrong.

• Wei Heng rode into Yangzhou in the rain and forced his way into the Prefectural Yamen, where Yang Ge calmly received him.
• Yang Ge told Wei Heng he would finish his remaining work before returning to the Capital City and argued that the seized money and land should go back to their rightful owners.
• Wei Heng agreed to oversee the restitution in Yangzhou, taking Yang Ge's document to find Hundred-Household Commander Liu Yongguang.
• Fang Ke arrived drenched and challenged Yang Ge over his earlier words, but Yang Ge warmed him with true qi and said he could not leave because that would mean he had been wrong.

Yang Yinghao and the old eunuch assessed Yang Erlang’s strength after his massacre of corrupt officials, while debating whether his conviction made him a threat or a powerful ally. The chapter ended with Emperor Xiping weighing the eunuch’s advice as the court prepared to summon Yang Erlang to the capital.

• Yang Tiansheng celebrated Yang Erlang’s execution of more than three hundred corrupt officials, and Yang Yinghao said Yang Erlang’s saber strike had become powerful enough to kill him while leaving Yang Erlang lightly injured.
• Yang Yinghao explained that Yang Erlang’s resolve to pursue justice had strengthened his martial prowess, then urged Yang Tiansheng to help him if the Great Wei court moved against him.
• Yang Yinghao predicted that an imperial decree summoning Yang Erlang to the capital was already on its way, and Yang Tiansheng fled after another quarrel with his father.
• In Purple Tenuity Palace, the old eunuch told Emperor Xiping that confronting Yang Erlang would likely kill them both, and criticized the emperor for restraining capable officials.
• The old eunuch urged Emperor Xiping to trust Yang Erlang’s principles and use him to strengthen Great Wei, while warning that any attempt to eliminate him must succeed at once.
• Emperor Xiping said he would consider the advice further and left the old eunuch in the palace hall.

At the Giant Whale Gang’s founding banquet, Yang Yinghao and Yang Tiansheng watched tensions rise as Cloud Dream Manor arrived and the Bright Cult emissary suspected a setup involving Prince Ning. Li Changjiang then confronted Dong Ping over his departure from Chain Wharf, and their dispute erupted into a fight.

• Dong Ping welcomed Yang Yinghao and Yang Tiansheng to the Giant Whale Gang’s celebration, where the guests kept their distance from the Bright Cult delegation.
• Yang Tiansheng wondered why Li Changjiang had not arrived, and Yang Yinghao suspected Cloud Dream Manor’s Liu Changfeng and Liu Wuji were part of a setup tied to Prince Ning and Duan Yu.
• Liu Changfeng and Liu Wuji arrived, and Yang Yinghao and Yang Tiansheng discussed the threat to Li Changjiang.
• Dong Ping presented his recruited Qi Sea experts, but Li Changjiang’s arrival was announced by a chest decorated with funeral flowers that Dong Ping smashed with a punch.
• Li Changjiang accused Dong Ping of abandoning Chain Wharf after being taken in and taught martial arts, while Dong Ping defended his grievances and challenged him.
• Dong Ping attacked with a barrage of fist force, and Li Changjiang calmly deflected it with his spear and told him to use his signature skills.