Chapter Summaries

Yang Ge left Little Yellow and his poultry with Liu Mang before traveling south by river, where he discovered that the Jiangdong Xiang Family had blocked the waterway with chained boats and was extorting passing vessels. He confronted the Xiang Family’s men and faced a spear-wielding figure who challenged his words about the Hegemon-King of Western Chu.

• Yang Ge entrusted Liu Mang with Little Yellow, his chickens and ducks, and the key to his home, then departed south with the Cold Moon Saber.
• During six days on the riverboat, Yang Ge cultivated the first level of Five Elements Returning to Origin Qi and gained greater control over his Metal True Qi and Cold Moon Saber.
• At Chain Wharf, Yang Ge learned that chained boats had blocked the river and that the men responsible had killed boatmen and burned their vessels.
• Yang Ge went downstream, found the boats, and used a palm strike to drench the men before demanding to meet their leader.
• Gong Cheng identified himself as a steward of the Jiangdong Xiang Family, and Yang Ge slapped him aside for acting arrogantly while Xiang Wudi was absent.
• A burly man carrying a great spear confronted Yang Ge over his remark about the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, and Yang Ge warned him not to try to intimidate him.

Yang Ge forced the Jiangdong Xiang Family to free the river, compensate the boatmen, and surrender the men responsible for murder and arson, killing Xiang Feilong when he challenged him. After the culprits were delivered to the Huai'an County Yamen, Yang Ge continued south, leaving the Xiang Family to reckon with its defeat.

• Yang Ge cut down the mast beneath Xiang Feilong and demanded that the Xiang Family clear the river, surrender the murderers, and compensate the boatmen’s families.
• Xiang Feilong tried to recruit Yang Ge to the Xiang Family’s side, but Yang Ge rejected his offer and forced him to accept the demands.
• Xiang Feilong attacked Yang Ge with Overlord Dismounts His Armor, but Yang Ge killed him with a single saber strike.
• Yang Ge ordered Gong Cheng to carry out the demands within two hours and told him to send Xiang Wudi a challenge to find him in Hangzhou.
• Gong Cheng freed the chain-linked boats and handed over the boatmen’s killers, whom Yang Ge questioned and delivered to the Huai'an County Yamen.
• After the yamen sentenced the criminals, Yang Ge returned to his riverboat and continued south, confident that the Xiang Family would not soon trouble the Chain Wharf.

Yang Ge reunited with Yang Tiansheng in Hangzhou and learned that Geng Jingzhong had framed him. Determined to kill Geng Jingzhong at Goodwater Garden, Yang Ge left the Bright Cult out of the plan and infiltrated the residence, where a guard kept giving him misleading directions.

• Yang Ge reached Hangzhou, gave the boatman silver, and met Yang Tiansheng on the wharf.
• Yang Tiansheng told Yang Ge that Geng Jingzhong had set him up, and Yang Ge decided to go after Geng Jingzhong at Goodwater Garden.
• Yang Ge knocked Yang Tiansheng unconscious and had Wei Xin send the Bright Cult members away while Ma Gan guided him to Goodwater Garden.
• Yang Ge changed into a dirty outfit, covered his face, entered the garden, and captured a young guard to find Geng Jingzhong.
• The guard falsely pointed Yang Ge toward the study before claiming Geng Jingzhong was receiving a guest in Righteous Vitality Tower, then gave Yang Ge a suspicious name.

Yang Ge infiltrated Goodwater Garden and killed Geng Jingzhong and his son, then returned to his lodgings and surprised Yang Tiansheng with the news. Word of the killings reached Lan Guang, who feared Yang Ge would target him and decided to flee to the capital.

• Yang Ge knocked out Zhuang Chu, left him hidden in a passage, and entered Goodwater Garden alone.
• Yang Ge killed the Japanese pirate in the reception hall, rejected Geng Jingzhong’s offer of a powerful post, and beheaded him.
• Geng Jingzhong’s son ordered his guards to kill Yang Ge, but Yang Ge crippled the guards and beheaded the son before escaping with both heads.
• Yang Ge returned to his lodgings and ate in Yang Tiansheng’s clothes; when Wei Xin reported that the two heads had been preserved, Yang Tiansheng attacked Yang Ge in anger for acting without him.
• A chief constable told Lan Guang that Yang Ge was suspected of killing Geng Jingzhong and his son, prompting Lan Guang to panic and decide to return to the capital.

After Geng Jingzhong and his son were executed, Yang Ge and Yang Tiansheng planned how to defend the coast from a large pirate invasion while keeping their cooperation secret from the Court. Gu Tong brought intelligence about the pirates’ forces and landing routes, and Yang Ge began organizing a cautious response.

• Hangzhou residents learned that Geng Jingzhong had colluded with Japanese pirates and pelted his and his son’s heads with mud and stones, while some recognized Ding Xiu as Yang Ge’s alias.
• Yang Tiansheng asked Yang Ge to command the Bright Cult’s five thousand men, but Yang Ge proposed that Yang Tiansheng lead while he advised secretly.
• Gu Tong arrived at the Old Yu Tea House and reported that Wang Zeng commanded eight thousand pirates within a coalition of twenty to thirty thousand planning three coastal landings before Grain Rain.
• Yang Ge ordered an investigation of Wang Zeng and reviewed the pirates’ positions, advising small engagements to limit casualties and avoid provoking the Court.
• Yang Ge told Yang Tiansheng that the coastal people would remember his efforts kindly, then went outside to buy sesame flatbreads from Liu Dalang.

Yang Ge’s forces wiped out most of the first wave of Eastern Isles ronin while Jiangzhe’s people thwarted efforts to discredit him. As a larger invasion approached, Yang Ge heard Wang Zeng’s account of his ties to Geng Jingzhong and Prince Ning, then offered him amnesty in exchange for helping gather the remaining pirates for a decisive attack.

• Yang Ge and Yang Tiansheng used the Bright Cult’s intelligence network to destroy nearly all of the two thousand-odd ronin who had first landed, while locals protected Yang Ge’s reputation from the Zhejiang Faction’s schemes.
• With the main Japanese Pirate force approaching and his forces stretched thin, Yang Ge decided to seek help from the Jiangzhe Regional Military Commission, but Wang Zeng arrived to meet him first.
• Yang Ge suspended his planned operations against Wang Zeng and heard his account of working with Prince Ning and Geng Jingzhong, including Geng’s use of Wang Zeng’s name to conceal attacks by genuine Japanese pirates.
• Yang Ge offered to seek amnesty for Wang Zeng and a Hundred-Household Commander post if he gathered the remaining pirate bands on Zhoushan or Shuangyu so their forces could destroy them together.
• Wang Zeng accepted Yang Ge’s terms, and Yang Ge spread out a map to plan the operation.

Yang Ge weighed Wang Zeng’s schemes and chose to set the ambush at Fierce Harbor while keeping Wang Zeng’s ambitions in check. Meanwhile, the Xiang Family’s young master decided to join Yang Ge and Yang Tiansheng in fighting Japanese pirates before challenging Yang Ge to restore his family’s honor.

• Yang Ge explained to Yang Tiansheng how Wang Zeng’s plans could benefit Wang Zeng, then decided to use Fierce Harbor because Shuangyu Port was too risky to attack and too valuable to destroy.
• Yang Ge told Yang Tiansheng that they should act for the people and do what they believed right, even if the Zhao Family could not hold the realm together.
• At the Flowing Cup Tavern, the Xiang Family’s young master rejected attacking the Bright Cult directly and proposed joining Yang Erlang’s campaign against the Japanese pirates before challenging him openly.
• The Xiang Family’s young master ordered Uncle Fu to bring all three hundred elite soldiers from Kuaiji to Hangzhou, where they would prepare to join Yang Erlang and Yang Tiansheng.

Prince Ning Zhao Liang arranged for the White Lotus Cult to target Yang Erlang and sought to recruit Wang Zhi, while Wei Heng and Shen Fa devised ways to manage Yang Ge’s actions in Jiangzhe without provoking him. The chapter left Wei Heng and Shen Fa arguing over whether Wei Heng would travel south to help contain the upheaval.

• Zhao Liang ordered Zheng Shiquan to add Liu Dongjun to the White Lotus Cult’s plan to kill Yang Erlang and to offer Wang Zhi the terms Geng Jingzhong had promised.
• Zhao Liang told Zheng Shiquan to keep officials patient while he waited for a better moment to claim the throne.
• Wei Heng confronted Shen Fa over the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s inability to control Yang Ge, and Shen Fa explained that they could not safely reprimand or restrain him.
• Shen Fa proposed letting Yang Ge act while they suppressed complaints in the capital, and Wei Heng suggested sending protection to the Welcome Inn and dispatching Yang Ge’s thousand Upper Right Office men to Jiangzhe.
• Wei Heng proposed intercepting the surviving officials from the Jiangzhe Three Offices and personally going south, but Shen Fa refused to let him leave alone.

As Jiangzhe’s competing forces gathered, Yang Ge used his growing influence and confidence to rethink the nature of martial cultivation and nearly fell into cultivation deviation. He discovered a new path centered on his own will, transformed Five Elements Returning to Origin Qi into the Five Directions Five Emperors Deity-Transforming Art, and left Yang Tiansheng and the Bright Cult stunned by the resulting golden tornado.

• Yang Ge organized intelligence and military preparations across Jiangzhe as Prince Ning's Residence, the White Lotus Cult, martial wanderers, Japanese pirates, and Wang Zeng stirred the region.
• Yang Ge reasoned that martial cultivation should strengthen and express the self rather than let martial arts reshape the practitioner, then nearly succumbed to cultivation deviation while seeking the answer.
• Yang Ge realized that his martial way should follow what he wanted to cultivate, and his conviction transformed his metal true qi into a miniature image of himself.
• Yang Ge developed the Five Directions Five Emperors Deity-Transforming Art and drew in vast amounts of metal qi, creating a golden tornado around his room.
• Yang Tiansheng and Wei Xin watched the tornado in alarm as dozens of sabers flew from nearby rooms and planted themselves before Yang Ge's door.

After dispersing and restoring his cultivation, Yang Ge gained the ability to kill Wang Lin and reunited with Yang Tiansheng. He then met Wang Zeng and proposed an ambush at South Sand Bay to destroy the invading Japanese pirates.

• Yang Ge awakened after restoring his cultivation, demonstrated control over dozens of sabers, and told Yang Tiansheng that he could now kill Wang Lin.
• Yang Ge and Yang Tiansheng discussed the White Lotus Cult and arranged for Wang Zeng to meet them before Grain Rain.
• Yang Ge met Wang Zeng outside Hangzhou and showed him a map of Jintang Island and the surrounding reefs.
• Yang Ge proposed drawing the pirates to a deep-water shoal, landing them at South Sand Bay, and attacking from both land and sea.
• Wang Zeng accepted Yang Ge's plan and promised to make the arrangements for the ambush.

Yang Ge and Yang Tiansheng prepared the Bright Cult’s forces to face more than twenty thousand Japanese pirates, while a White Lotus Cult leader’s surprise visit turned into a fight. The chapter ended with the woman fleeing after claiming she knew Shen Fa, leaving Yang Ge to wonder whether he had beaten up Shen Fa’s wife.

• The eldest son warned his father that Yang Erlang was a dangerous opponent, but his father insisted on fighting him to break through to the grandmaster realm and told Sen'er to contact Liu Dongjun.
• Yang Ge assigned the Bright Cult’s troops, arranged medical supplies and provisions, and told Yang Tiansheng to build fortifications and traps against the Japanese pirates.
• Yang Ge planned to seek Red-Coat Cannons from the Jiangzhe Command Regional Military Commission, even if he had to threaten its officers.
• A woman in a lilac cloak entered the corridor, and Yang Ge insulted her before she attacked him with a Golden Whip.
• Yang Ge shattered her whip with Defy Snow and Frost and battered her through the ruins until she claimed she knew Shen Fa, then escaped while he held one of her shoes.
• Yang Tiansheng identified the woman as Liu Dongjun, the White Lotus Cult’s holy maiden, while Yang Ge wondered if she was Shen Fa’s wife and whether Shen Fa would seek revenge.

Yang Ge pressured Chen Du to reform the Jiangzhe Regional Military Commission’s corruption and help prepare for an impending Japanese pirate invasion. Chen Du agreed to transfer the commission’s cannons and provide two thousand recruited soldiers, but Yang Ge learned that many cannons were rusted and their ammunition damp.

• Yang Ge entered the Jiangzhe Regional Military Commission headquarters with Gu Tong and confronted Chen Du about corruption among the officers.
• Yang Ge ordered Chen Du to make amends for the commission’s abuses, warning that those who refused to act would die.
• Yang Ge urged Chen Du to mobilize troops against twenty thousand Japanese pirates, but Chen Du claimed regulations prevented him from doing so before they landed.
• Yang Ge proposed taking the commission’s Red-Coat Cannons to prepare for the invasion, and Chen Du agreed to transfer them and provide two thousand recruited soldiers.
• Yang Ge learned the commission stored seventy-eight Red-Coat Cannons and over two thousand cannonballs, but nearly half the cannons were rusted and the ammunition was damp.

Yang Ge brought cannons and government troops to South Sand Bay to prepare for an ambush against twenty thousand Japanese pirates. After Zhou Fu exposed flaws in Yang Ge’s plan and proposed a stronger deployment, Yang Ge entrusted him with commanding the seven thousand defenders as the pirates approached.

• Yang Ge requisitioned thirty-five Red-Coat Cannons, over six hundred cannonballs, and two thousand soldiers, then marched to South Sand Bay before dawn on Grain Rain.
• Yang Ge learned that the Japanese pirates would land at noon and ordered Zhou Fu to prepare the soldiers while Old Qin surveyed the terrain for cannon positions.
• Yang Ge described his defensive plan, but Zhou Fu warned that pirate artillery could break through the narrow passage and recommended meeting the first assault at the shore.
• Zhou Fu proposed drawing the pirates into a melee, sinking their ships, and then having his troops take over the passage and slopes to encircle the invaders.
• Yang Ge appointed Zhou Fu to command the seven thousand defenders and promised to petition the Court to reward him after the battle.
• Yang Tiansheng started to mention joining the Bright Cult if the battle went badly, but Yang Ge covered his mouth before he could finish.

Yang Ge and the Bright Cult ambushed the Japanese pirate fleet as its forces landed, while Wang Lin joined the battle disguised among the pirates. Yang Ge clashed with Wang Lin on the beach, and their fight began as the landing battle raged around them.

• Yang Ge and Yang Tiansheng joked with the Bright Cult members on the hillside, easing their tension before the Japanese pirates arrived.
• Wang Lin ordered Wang Sen to lead their men in the first landing wave and told him to retreat to Luanzhou if the battle could not be turned around.
• After nearly ten thousand pirates had landed, Yang Ge signaled the ambush, and Yang Tiansheng led the Bright Cult charge down onto the beach.
• Yang Ge leaped into the pirates and cut down large numbers of them, then returned cannonballs to a pirate ship, triggering an explosion.
• A bronze-fisted Wang Lin struck Yang Ge and drove him backward, but Yang Ge countered with Braving Frost and Dew.
• Yang Ge and Wang Lin identified each other and sprang into the air, attacking with saber and fist.

Yang Ge defeated Wang Lin and Wang Sen, then ordered Liu Dongjun to help kill the Japanese pirates while he recovered. As reinforcements led by Xiang Wudi and two other groups charged onto the beach, Yang Ge rallied them to fight.

• Yang Ge and Wang Lin fought to a stalemate until Yang Ge provoked Wang Lin into charging and killed him with No Return.
• Wang Sen led White Lotus Cult followers toward the escape boats, but Yang Ge killed him with the Cold Moon Saber and the remaining followers scattered.
• Liu Dongjun teased Yang Ge about his exhaustion, then agreed to kill Japanese pirates after he invoked Shen the Second.
• Yang Ge surveyed the battle and saw a Japanese pirate expert break through the recruits’ formation at the strait entrance.
• Xiang Wudi led his troops in a countercharge, followed by two more groups of reinforcements, and Yang Ge rallied the fighters to destroy the pirates.

Yang Ge and the five allied forces annihilated the Japanese pirate invasion, then gathered with their leaders to celebrate victory and discuss the grudges still waiting after the feast. The chapter ended with Yang Ge warning Liu Dongjun that he might target the White Lotus Cult, while the uneasy alliance shared drinks by the bonfires.

• The five forces, joined by Fang Ke and nearly a thousand Strongmen from the Upper Right Office, routed and slaughtered the Japanese pirates until dusk.
• Wang Zeng watched the pirates' defeat from offshore, then sent men to retrieve their corpses so he could prove the Five Peaks fleet had helped.
• The victors celebrated together on the beach, and Yang Ge introduced the leaders of the six forces before proposing a toast to victory.
• Yang Ge urged the leaders to set aside their conflicts for the night, but Li Jincheng's remarks about Xiang Wudi's father prompted laughter and a challenge from Xiang Wudi.
• Yang Ge refused to apologize for killing Xiang Feilong and warned Liu Dongjun that the White Lotus Cult might not escape his attention.

After the victory at Zhoushan, Yang Ge mourned the fallen, arranged compensation for their families and comrades, and led the survivors back to Hangzhou in a public procession. Their reception turned the leaders into the celebrated Zhoushan Five Heroes, while Wang Zeng regretted not opening fire during the battle.

• Yang Ge honored the 2,494 fallen by kneeling and calling on the survivors to wish them a peaceful journey.
• Yang Ge negotiated with Wang Zeng over the spoils and ordered half the proceeds reserved for the fallen fighters’ widows, with the rest divided among the disabled, wounded, and battle participants.
• Zhou Fu and the other leaders accepted Yang Ge’s distribution plan, and Yang Ge called for the fallen and wounded to be carried back to Hangzhou with banners flying.
• The survivors marched through Jiangzhe, where residents gradually welcomed them with food and drink before crowds greeted them in Hangzhou.
• The people named Yang Erlang, Yang Tiansheng, Xiang Wudi, Li Jincheng, and Zhou Fu the Zhoushan Five Heroes, and Yang Tiansheng angrily blamed Yang Ge for the attention.
• Wang Zeng heard the news at sea and regretted not having opened fire during the Binhai Battle.

After returning to Hangzhou, Yang Ge decided to kill Prince Ning for the deaths in Jiangzhe, despite Fang Ke and Yang Tiansheng warning him of the consequences. He sent Fang Ke away to protect him and began preparing for the confrontation, while keeping Yang Tiansheng and the Bright Cult out of it.

• Yang Ge confronted Yang Tiansheng for publicizing the Five Heroes of Zhoushan and learned that the Bright Cult had been negotiating with the Court for amnesty.
• Yang Ge told Fang Ke to leave, but Fang Ke refused and warned him against acting recklessly after realizing he intended to kill Prince Ning.
• Yang Ge explained that Prince Ning deserved to die for the many deaths in Jiangzhe and rejected the idea that imperial blood gave him the right to live.
• Fang Ke suggested hiding Yang Ge's identity to reduce the consequences for Shen Fa and the Upper Right Office, and Yang Ge agreed to consider it.
• Yang Ge urged Fang Ke to leave and asked him to look after the Liu father and son and Little Yellow; Fang Ke departed after they exchanged farewells.
• Yang Ge refused to let Yang Tiansheng join him, then told him to finish the accounts and summon Xiang Wudi for their fight.

Xiang Wudi arranged a duel with Yang Ge to avenge Xiang Feilong, while Yang Ge prepared for a possible pursuit by the Court and met Xiang Wudi at the Qiantang River. Their fifty-move contest left Xiang Wudi’s spear skills impressing Yang Ge, who asked to test a new move.

• Xiang Wudi set his duel with Yang Ge for three days later outside the city and acknowledged the danger of fighting someone as formidable as Yang Ge.
• Fang Ke returned to Road Pavilion with seventy-nine coffins, and Yang Ge, Yang Tiansheng, and Li Jincheng saw him off at Hangzhou’s docks.
• Yang Ge asked Yang Tiansheng and Li Jincheng to prepare hidden safe houses and supply boats in case the Court hunted him; they agreed to arrange them.
• Yang Ge and his friends traveled to the Qiantang River, where he and Xiang Wudi agreed to fight for up to fifty moves.
• Yang Ge and Xiang Wudi exchanged powerful saber and spear techniques until Xiang Wudi’s attack sent Yang Ge flying and knocked the Cold Moon Saber into the river, but Yang Ge landed without injury.
• Yang Ge retrieved his saber, praised Xiang Wudi’s original spear combination, and asked him to test a new move after their duel had reached forty-five moves.

Yang Ge defeated Xiang Wudi with a saber strike shaped by his memories of South Sand Bay, ending their enmity and leaving Xiang to reflect on cultivating oneself before martial arts. Aboard the skiff, Yang Ge discussed Chain Wharf’s uncertain future with Li Jincheng and Yang Tiansheng, then revealed his plans after killing Prince Ning and hinted at a possible voyage to the Eastern Isles.

• Yang Ge’s half-move overwhelmed Xiang Wudi’s spear strike, split the embankment, and sent Xiang’s spearhead falling into the crack.
• Yang Ge told Xiang Wudi that his spearwork was nearing true mastery, then made him take responsibility for repairing the embankment; Xiang declared their enmity settled.
• Spectators praised Yang Ge and discussed how his deeds and character had shaped his martial arts, while Xiang reflected on the idea of cultivating oneself before martial arts.
• Aboard the skiff, Li Jincheng said his injured father had only four or five years left, and Yang Ge warned that an ordinary return to the true practitioner might not protect Chain Wharf.
• Yang Ge told his companions that the emperor might negotiate with him if he gained the power to threaten the throne, and said he could flee to the Eastern Isles if necessary.
• Yang Tiansheng and Li Jincheng eagerly asked to join Yang Ge on a future voyage to the Eastern Isles, where they could seek riches together.