Chapter Summaries

Li Changjiang fought Dong Ping and Liu Changfeng at the Giant Whale Gang gathering, revealing overwhelming spear skills before Dong Ping exposed rumors of his qi deviation. As Duan Yu joined the conflict, Zhang Mazi and Yang Yinghao intervened, and Li Changjiang recognized Zhang Mazi as Yang Erlang, whose allies had died helping him.

• Liu Changfeng blocked Li Changjiang from reaching Dong Ping and challenged him, and Dong Ping joined Liu in attacking with hidden weapons.
• Li Changjiang shattered their assault with his Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix spear technique, then demanded that Dong Ping cut off an arm and return what he had learned from Chain Wharf.
• Dong Ping accused Li Changjiang of suffering qi deviation, prompting the gathered martial artists to consider whether Chain Wharf was vulnerable.
• Duan Yu intervened and attacked Zhang Mazi, but Zhang Mazi blocked his Blade Qi, while Yang Tiansheng revealed Duan Yu's connection to Prince Ning.
• Yang Yinghao confronted Duan Yu after he attacked again, and Zhang Mazi struck at him; Li Jincheng then identified Zhang Mazi as Yang Erlang and told Li Changjiang that his relatives had died helping him.
• Li Changjiang approached Dong Ping, while Yang Yinghao challenged Liu Changfeng to a fight.

Yang Ge defeated Duan Yu in a duel of their ultimate saber techniques, earning the title of Saber Hero while badly wounded. The battle ended with Yang Yinghao killing Liu Changfeng, and a mysterious companion arrived to help treat Yang Ge.

• Yang Ge and Duan Yu traded devastating saber attacks before agreeing to settle the fight with their final techniques.
• Yang Ge's fine, luminous Blade Qi cleaved through Duan Yu's crimson strike and fatally cut him, and Duan Yu gave Yang Ge the Cold Moon Saber.
• Li Changjiang killed Dong Ping, while Yang Yinghao took advantage of Liu Changfeng's distraction to stab and kill him.
• Cloud Dream Manor's fighters clashed with Li Jincheng's group from Chain Wharf as the onlookers scattered.
• Yang Tiansheng reached the wounded Yang Ge, but a newcomer offered him medicine; Yang Ge chose Yang Tiansheng's silver bottle, and the newcomer congratulated him as Saber Hero Zhang Mazi.

After helping Chain Wharf defeat the Giant Whale Gang, Yang Ge left Hangzhou with Wei Heng and explained why he would not confront the Jiangzhe Three Offices: keeping his blade hidden would leave corrupt officials afraid to exploit the people. He headed back to the capital, while Wei Heng promised to do what he could to keep him alive.

• Li Jincheng welcomed Yang Ge, Yang Tiansheng, and the Yang family after the Giant Whale Gang became a branch of Chain Wharf, and he pledged to purge corrupt members from the wharf.
• Yang Ge vowed that the Heavenly River Sword Sect would answer for the deaths of Chain Wharf's Third Uncle and Sixth Uncle, while Yang Yinghao and Li Changjiang offered to help confront the sect.
• Yang Ge urged Li Jincheng to restore Chain Wharf's rules, then left with Wei Heng and his men without inspecting the Jiangzhe Three Offices.
• Yang Ge told Wei Heng that keeping away from the Jiangzhe Three Offices would make corrupt officials fear his unseen blade and restrain their abuses even after he left Jiangzhe.
• Wei Heng promised to protect Yang Ge and rode with him toward the capital.

Yang Ge’s execution of corrupt officials fueled public support in Luoyang, while Emperor Xiping resisted the court’s efforts to punish him and broke up the officials’ united protest. Yang Ge returned to Luting stripped of his rank, where he and Shen Fa argued over the consequences of his actions and parted on bitter terms.

• News of Yang Ge’s executions spread through Luoyang, and public support prevented court factions from openly attacking him.
• Emperor Xiping published charges against Song Shen and resisted officials who knelt outside the palace, then accepted Geng Jingzhong’s resignation and appointed Meng Ziqian as Minister of Revenue.
• The officials’ protest collapsed after Meng Ziqian persuaded the Qi Faction to leave, and the court’s confrontation with Emperor Xiping subsided.
• Yang Ge returned to Luting, where Shen Fa delivered an edict stripping him of his rank and demoting him to cook at the Upper Right Office.
• After the procession departed, Shen Fa punched Yang Ge and argued that his actions had worsened the conflict between ruler and ministers.
• Yang Ge defended his actions, declared that he would no longer concern himself with official business, and walked away as Shen Fa watched him go.

After returning from Jiangnan, Yang Ge settled into a quiet life at home and reunited with Liu Mang and Shopkeeper Liu, while keeping his martial strength secret. He worked as a cook at the Upper Right Office and received a secret manual from Jiang Kui, which reached him on the fourth day of the first month in the fourteenth year of Xiping.

• Yang Ge cleaned and warmed his dusty courtyard, bathed, drank tea, and relaxed into sleep.
• Yang Ge reunited with Little Yellow, Liu Mang, and Shopkeeper Liu, then learned Liu Mang had opened his qi sea and formed his Iron Fist Martial Hall.
• Yang Ge told Liu Mang he had witnessed the deaths of three Return to the True experts in Jiangnan and persuaded him to keep a low profile.
• Yang Ge refused Liu Mang's offer to make him deputy hall master, asking instead for a raise and a discounted purchase of his courtyard.
• Yang Ge settled into a quiet routine and cooked for the Strongmen at the Upper Right Office three days a month, while its officers avoided challenging him.
• Jiang Kui sent Yang Ge the secret manual “Five Elements Returning to Origin Qi,” which arrived on the fourth day of the first month in the fourteenth year of Xiping.

Fang Ke brought Yang Ge New Year gifts, including a secret martial arts manual from Jiang Kui, and urged him to return to his former post. As Yang Ge learned that Shen Fa had arranged for the Xie Family to live next door, he realized Shen Fa had intended to draw him into the affair and vowed to go to Capital City to beat him.

• Fang Ke delivered New Year gifts from the palace, Shen Fa, himself, and Jiang Kui, whose gift to Yang Ge was the secret manual Five Elements Returning to Origin Qi.
• Fang Ke told Yang Ge that the guard might soon make a major move and that the brothers hoped Yang Ge would return to lead them, but Yang Ge said he would refuse even an imperial edict.
• While preparing glutinous rice meatballs, Yang Ge learned that the family next door was the Xie Family, which had colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country.
• Fang Ke explained that Shen Fa’s investigation had uncovered only a few decision-makers in the Xie Family, and Yang Ge decided that staying out of the matter was best.
• Fang Ke admitted Shen Fa might have settled the Xie Family next door to give Yang Ge something to do, and Yang Ge realized Shen Fa had used his principles to draw him into the affair.
• Yang Ge declared that he would go to Capital City the next day to beat Shen Fa, while Fang Ke pleaded with him to keep the plan secret.

Yang Ge studied Jiang Kui’s Five Elements Returning to Origin Qi manual, began cultivating it, and discovered that metal true qi greatly strengthened his saber strike. The next morning, he set off on foot for Capital City to confront Shen Fa after Fang Ke took all the horses.

• Yang Ge learned that River-Taming Dragon Lei Heng had created Five Elements Returning to Origin Qi, and decided to repay Jiang Kui by sending grain to Lei Heng and Liu Meng.
• Yang Ge studied the cultivation diagrams and concluded that the Return to the True Realm involved harmonizing one’s true qi with the primordial qi of heaven and earth.
• At dusk, Yang Ge practiced the first stage with the Cold Moon Saber and used metal true qi to cut a smooth piece from an ornamental rock.
• Yang Ge left Little Yellow with Shopkeeper Liu, then discovered Fang Ke had transferred every horse out of the Upper Right Office.
• Yang Ge threatened to break Fang Ke’s legs and ran toward Capital City, while Fang Ke watched from the city wall and feared Yang Ge’s return.

Yang Ge reached Luoyang, witnessed the Capital City’s Embroidered Uniform Guards abusing their authority, and waited outside the Northern Pacification Office for Shen Fa. When Shen Fa arrived, Yang Ge attacked him over a young woman and Shen Fa’s schemes, leaving the surrounding guards stunned by their apparent personal history.

• Yang Ge raced ahead of a scholar’s carriage on the road to the Capital City, and the scholar recognized him as the renowned Yang Erlang and asked his attendant to invite him to visit.
• Yang Ge entered Luoyang, sampled the city’s food, and followed a squad of Embroidered Uniform Guards after seeing them extort vendors and accept payments from local thugs.
• Yang Ge waited outside the Northern Pacification Office for Shen Fa, then covered his face and confronted him when he arrived with an escort.
• Yang Ge deflected the guards’ blades and arrows with his true qi, knocked Shen Fa off his horse, and beat him over the young woman next door and Shen Fa’s schemes.
• Shen Fa recognized Yang Ge and shouted for him to go easy, prompting the surrounding Strongmen to realize the two men had a personal dispute.

Yang Ge left Luoyang after beating Shen Fa and intervened in a battle between the White Lotus Cult and Pei Jixun’s constables at a post station. After defeating several cult fighters and accepting payment from Pei Jixun, Yang Ge continued his journey, while Shen Fa received a new painting that reflected Yang Ge’s departure.

• Yang Ge battered Shen Fa, warned him to stop scheming, and ran home while Shen Fa ordered a painter to make a new portrait.
• Yang Ge lost his way at night and discovered the White Lotus Cult attacking Pei Jixun and his Court of Judicial Review constables at a post station.
• Yang Ge fought the cult’s masked assassins, killed several of them, and persuaded their leader to withdraw with his forces.
• Pei Jixun gave Yang Ge a stack of banknotes for his help, and Yang Ge introduced himself as Ding Xiu, courtesy name Very Smooth, the Money-Adding Layman.
• Shen Fa examined the painter’s new work, titled Wanderer's Journey, and decided Yang Ge had become too dangerous to target with underhanded tricks.

Yang Ge confronted Young Master Meng when he harassed the Xie sisters, then advised Miss Xie to make amends for her guilty conscience. The Meng Family was later paraded and punished, while Yang Ge received Chain Wharf envoys at the Welcome Inn and discussed moving grain north before hearing of ronin gathering in Jiangzhe.

• Yang Ge intervened when Young Master Meng and his servants surrounded the Xie sisters, and drove them away after trading insults with the young master.
• Yang Ge urged Miss Xie to make amends for her guilt and suggested she could help restore the Xie Family’s reputation.
• Fang Ke led the Meng Family through Road Pavilion in chains after their crimes were exposed, while Yang Ge ignored Young Master Meng at the Welcome Inn.
• Two headmen from Chain Wharf visited Yang Ge on Jin Cheng’s behalf, and Yang Ge agreed to host them and discussed shipping grain beyond the frontier in installments.
• The Chain Wharf headmen warned Yang Ge that many ronin from the Eastern Isles had appeared in Jiangzhe, and asked for his opinion.

Yang Ge learned that ronin from the Eastern Isles were landing in Jiangzhe and Jiaodong, and suspected the raids were part of a larger struggle between Emperor Xiping and his ministers. After vowing to report the danger, he returned to the Upper Right Office, where he uncovered Deputy Thousand-Household Commander Qin’s mishandling of deadly incidents in Jiangzhe and sent him to Shen with a report.

• Two Chain Wharf men told Yang Ge that ronin were landing in Jiangzhe and Jiaodong with help from local backers, while their young wharf master sought his advice.
• Yang Ge suspected the ronin crisis was a political scheme aimed at Emperor Xiping and asked the Chain Wharf to monitor Jiangzhe as he reported the matter to the Court.
• Yang Ge went to the Upper Right Office, recalled Deputy Thousand-Household Commander Qin from leave, and ordered staff to gather recent Jiangzhe reports, patrol records, and Court Gazettes.
• Yang Ge confronted Qin over reports of assassinations and other problems in Jiangzhe that Qin had minimized, struck him with an inkstone and teacup, and demanded that he answer for his failures.
• Yang Ge wrote a report on the ronin and Qin’s conduct, then ordered Qin to deliver it to Shen in person; Qin left with the document.

Yang Ge sent Gu Tong’s platoon to Jiangzhe to investigate the Eastern Isles ronin and prepared to keep the Upper Right Office under watch. In Capital City, Emperor Xiping ordered Shen Fa to replace Ma Dai as commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, pushing the struggle between emperor and ministers into open confrontation.

• Yang Ge arranged for copies of Qin’s letter to be sent to the Northern Pacification Office and sent a separate letter to Jiang Kui in Liaodong.
• Gu Tong agreed to lead the First Company’s First Platoon on a dangerous mission to Jiangzhe, and Yang Ge instructed them to gather intelligence on the ronin and their collaborators while avoiding combat.
• Yang Ge promised promotions to Gu Tong and Fang Ke, ordered Zuo Jing back to work, and left the Upper Right Office.
• Shen Fa asked Emperor Xiping to restore Yang Ge to office and warned that the ronin threat could destabilize Jiangzhe and Jiaodong.
• Emperor Xiping refused to restore Yang Ge, ordered Shen Fa to deal with Ma Dai and Qin Feng, and promised Shen Fa the command of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
• Shen Fa recognized the order as a declaration of the emperor’s confrontation with the ministers and resolved to keep Yang Ge from coming to Capital City.

Yang Ge remained frustrated by the Capital City's silence until Shopkeeper Liu guided him through recreating a meaningful dish, after which Yang Ge accepted that he could do nothing by fretting. At the Upper Right Office, Fang Ke was promoted but was also ordered to keep Yang Ge from entering the capital again.

• Yang Ge checked Shopkeeper Liu's health and made him Sizzling Pork Kidney, but Liu rejected the first two versions and urged him to recall how he had cooked the dish before.
• Yang Ge remembered the improvised ingredients he had used on a lonely New Year's Eve, cooked the pork kidneys in the same simple manner, and earned Shopkeeper Liu's approval.
• Yang Ge decided there was no point in worrying over the missing response and went to clean the inn's front hall.
• Thousand-Household Commander Gu informed Fang Ke that he had been promoted to Deputy Thousand-Household Commander because of Yang Ge's influence and warned the officials not to trouble Yang Ge or Lord Shen.
• Gu told Fang Ke that his main duty was to stop Yang Ge from entering the capital, while Fang Ke explained that Yang Ge had once run there on foot after Fang moved the office's horses away.

Yang Ge’s fame surged after Tower Beyond Towers linked his identities as Yang Erlang and Zhang Mazi, while Fang Ke visited him at the Welcome Inn with news of his promotion and Shen’s new position. Yang Ge explained why he would not send the Upper Right Office into Jiangzhe, then resolved not to bear the burden of the crisis alone.

• Tower Beyond Towers published rankings that identified Yang Erlang as Zhang Mazi and named him Saber Hero, making Yang Ge the martial world’s foremost sensation.
• Fang Ke visited Yang Ge at the Welcome Inn, where Yang Ge served him hot pot and learned that Shen had become Commanding Commissioner and Fang Ke had taken Qin Feng’s position.
• Yang Ge inferred that Shen’s appointments were meant to keep him from disrupting the Court and warned Fang Ke that sending the Upper Right Office into Jiangzhe would put its men in grave danger.
• Fang Ke praised Yang Ge’s conscience and said he believed the emperor would not dare employ him; Yang Ge promised not to stir up trouble while Fang Ke had just taken office.
• After Fang Ke left, Yang Ge drank to the west and decided that everyone should share the burden of Jiangzhe’s crisis.

Yang Ge resolved to challenge powerful figures and used his connection to Chain Wharf to send a letter to Yang Yinghao. After returning home to cook for the old fisherman, he found the old man had died before they could share their meal.

• Yang Ge decided he would give the self-important powerful men a lesson rather than settle into a comfortable life.
• Yang Ge visited the Bian River docks, where Boss Wu recognized his status and introduced himself as Wu Eryong.
• Yang Ge gave Wu Eryong a sealed letter to deliver securely to Yang Yinghao, the Bright Cult's Right Emissary of Light, and asked him to look after Old Man Lu.
• Yang Ge returned to the old fisherman's home with rice and beef, then prepared a meal while the old man chatted with him in the courtyard.
• Yang Ge found the old fisherman asleep against the wall with Little Yellow and realized the old man had died; Yang Ge fell to his knees in tears.

After Yang Ge’s adoptive father died, Yang Ge struggled to bring his coffin home, but friends and former colleagues rallied to help prepare a proper funeral. That night, Hu Qiang arrived disguised as Zhang Mazi and claimed to be the old man’s adoptive son, leaving Liu Mang astonished by Yang Ge’s supposed sworn brotherhood with Hero Zhang.

• Fang Ke learned that Yang Ge’s adoptive father had died and sent a messenger to inform Shen Fa in the capital.
• Fang Ke ordered officers to wear mourning clothes and accompany him to pay their respects, while Hu Qiang arranged for more of the men to attend.
• Yang Ge struggled to haul the coffin until Liu Mang and disciples from the Iron Fist Martial Hall arrived to help him.
• Fang Ke and the Embroidered Uniform Guard officers joined the procession, helped carry the coffin, and prepared the mourning hall as villagers came to pay respects.
• Hu Qiang arrived wearing a Nine of Diamonds Mask, claimed to be Zhang Mazi and the old man’s adoptive son, and arranged mournful music for the funeral.
• Liu Mang asked Yang Ge whether he was sworn brothers with Hero Zhang, and Yang Ge admitted he had only learned of it that day.

Yang Ge received an imperial title and funeral honors for Zhang Laojiu, whose funeral drew mourners from across Road Pavilion. Meanwhile, Yang Tiansheng persuaded Yang Yinghao to support a risky Bright Cult campaign against the Japanese Pirates.

• Mourners from Road Pavilion gathered to honor Zhang Laojiu, and Yang Ge received an imperial edict granting his adoptive father a fifth-rank title, funeral honors, and silver for the funeral.
• Shen Fa paid his respects to Zhang Laojiu, encouraged Yang Ge to be patient, and teased Hu Qiang while treating him as the masked Zhang Mazi.
• Yang Ge placed the edict before Zhang Laojiu’s coffin and mourned the old fisherman after the guests left.
• Yang Tiansheng read Yang Ge’s letter and argued that the Bright Cult should act against the Japanese Pirates despite the risks of angering the Court and other powers.
• Yang Yinghao agreed to support Yang Tiansheng’s campaign with all the Bright Cult’s strength.

After the old innkeeper’s funeral, Yang Ge admitted to Liu Mang that he was Yang Erlang and Zhang Mazi, explained his rise through the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and planned to protect their families by distancing them from his past. He arranged for Liu Mang’s martial arts school to find work, then said he would travel to Jiangnan to confront trouble from the Eastern Isles, leaving Liu Mang eager to join him.

• At the old innkeeper’s funeral, Liu Mang helped Yang Ge smash the earthenware basin to mark the separation of the living and the dead.
• Three days later, Yang Ge confirmed to Liu Mang that he had been the Embroidered Uniform Guard commander, the grain robber, the killer of corrupt officials and Duan Yu, and the martial artist Yang Erlang and Zhang Mazi.
• Yang Ge explained that his exceptional physique and his acts to protect the people had led to his Guard career, and said he had kept his identities secret to protect the innkeeper and Liu Mang’s family.
• Yang Ge proposed buying the inn and arranging protection for the innkeeper and Liu Mang’s wife, while Liu Mang asked him to help his martial arts school find work through Chain Wharf.
• Yang Ge told Liu Mang to arrange the inn’s sale and said he would go to Jiangnan to deal with Eastern Isles trouble; Liu Mang begged to go along, but Yang Ge challenged him to withstand a strike from his chopsticks.

Yang Tiansheng led Bright Cult fighters to Osmanthus Flat and fought the Japanese Pirates, killing their leader and the ninja who ambushed him. He found only eight children alive in the devastated village and called for reinforcements, determined to keep fighting.

• Yang Tiansheng charged into Osmanthus Flat with his fighters and killed a Japanese Pirate who had skewered an infant on his sword.
• Yang Tiansheng fought off an underground ninja and battled a middle-aged Japanese Pirate, ultimately cutting him in two with Compete with the Sun's Brilliance.
• Yang Tiansheng took his internal-injury medicine and ordered his fighters to chop up the remaining Japanese Pirates and search for survivors.
• Yang Tiansheng discovered that only eight children had survived and grieved over arriving too late to save the villagers.
• Yang Tiansheng sent signals to every Bright Cult hall and branch, requesting reinforcements to continue the fight.

Prince Ning ordered his agents to raise taxes in Jiangxi and enlist the White Lotus Cult in Jiangzhe. After receiving Yang Tiansheng's urgent warning about an ambush, Yang Ge prepared to sail south to help him, while Shen Fa resolved to suppress the censorial officials to keep the emperor from learning about the crisis.

• Prince Ning ordered Zheng Shiquan to double or triple Jiangxi's taxes and seek the White Lotus Cult's help in Jiangzhe.
• Yang Ge thanked Wu Eryong for delivering Yang Yinghao's reply, which confirmed the Fengyang Yang Family would send forces against the Japanese pirates.
• Yang Ge read Yang Tiansheng's urgent letter about a trap and an ambush by Eastern Isles ninja and Japanese pirates, then decided to sail south that night.
• Wu Eryong offered Chain Wharf's men, but Yang Ge declined for now and asked him to arrange a ship.
• Shen Fa found no evidence linking Yang Ge to the Bright Cult's intervention, then decided to deal with the censorial officials to keep the matter from reaching the emperor.