Chapter Summaries

Yang Ge traveled to Ninghai and secretly prepared to assassinate Prince Ning, while Shen Fa learned of Yang Ge’s likely target and feared the consequences. The chapter left Shen Fa convinced that Prince Ning was in grave danger.

• Li Jincheng ordered Uncle Wang Er to keep three hundred capable men in Hangzhou on standby before returning to the wharf.
• Yang Tiansheng gave Yang Ge intelligence about Prince Ning’s residence, and Yang Ge revealed that his hometown was the same as Gan Ning’s.
• Yang Ge traveled in disguise to Ninghai and hid in an abandoned house while studying the residence and waiting for a chance to strike Prince Ning.
• Shen Fa intercepted Fang Ke and questioned him about Yang Ge’s whereabouts, then whipped him for returning without Yang Ge.
• Fang Ke told Shen Fa that Yang Ge had mentioned Prince Ning and laughed coldly three times, leading Shen Fa to realize Yang Ge might be going after him.

Yang Ge disguised himself as a foreign sailor and staged a public lecture about the wider world to draw Prince Ning out. At the market, he recognized the graying man who had stopped beside him as the target he had been trying to lure into meeting him.

• Yang Ge decided against attacking or sneaking into Prince Ning's Residence and planned to lure Prince Ning out with knowledge of foreign lands.
• After meeting two foreign sailors, Yang Ge realized he could pose as an overseas returnee and attract Prince Ning's attention.
• Yang Ge stole a Spanish captain's clothes, disguised himself as a foreigner, and returned to Ninghai County.
• Yang Ge delivered a public lecture about geography, foreign powers, maritime trade, and Great Wei's ban on seafaring, then asked the crowd for traveling money.
• A burly, graying man stepped on a coin beside Yang Ge, and Yang Ge recognized him from Prince Ning's portrait.

Yang Ge revealed himself to Prince Ning, killed him and his guards, and completed his new saber technique, which he named Eternal Vastness. He left the scene carrying Prince Ning’s severed head as the second volume ended.

• Zhao Liang introduced himself as Prince Ning and tried to recruit Yang Ge, but Yang Ge revealed his identity and stabbed him with a guard’s saber.
• Prince Ning offered Yang Ge wealth and status to spare his life, but Yang Ge demanded the dead famine victims and Zhoushan warriors be brought back to life.
• Yang Ge cut Prince Ning into four pieces, then used his metal true qi to rain the guards’ sabers down on the attacking crowd.
• Yang Ge killed one of the three Return to the True experts and drove the other two to flee.
• Yang Ge realized his new saber technique had taken shape, named it Eternal Vastness, and cut off Prince Ning’s head.

After Yang Ge killed Prince Ning and exposed his crimes, Emperor Xiping ordered a nationwide hunt for Yang Erlang while privately regretting losing such a valuable ally. Shen Fa and Wei Heng realized the emperor’s wording left room to spare Yang Ge and planned to protect the Welcome Inn as the chapter ended with Wei Heng accidentally revealing that he had taught Yang Ge the Golden Bell Shield.

• Yang Ge displayed Zhao Liang’s head on Ninghai’s western wall, warned Zhao Hao and his troops away, and stayed on the battlements until the next dusk.
• News of Prince Ning’s crimes and Yang Erlang’s actions spread across Jiangzhe and beyond, turning the public against Zhao Liang and praising Yang Erlang.
• Emperor Xiping ordered a wanted notice for Yang Erlang, a reward of one hundred thousand taels, and a coordinated effort to capture him within three months.
• Emperor Xiping read Yang Ge’s memorial about opening one’s eyes to the world and lamented that he had to punish the man who had killed Prince Ning.
• Shen Fa and Wei Heng interpreted the emperor’s decree as targeting Yang Erlang rather than Yang Ge and resolved to protect the Welcome Inn while avoiding a direct confrontation.
• Wei Heng accidentally revealed to Shen Fa that he had taught Yang Ge the Golden Bell Shield.

After Yang Erlang killed Prince Ning, the Court ordered a joint manhunt, and Fang Ke hurried to protect Yang’s friends and relatives in Road Pavilion. Fang Ke confronted Eastern Factory agent Ying Baili, while Gu Tong escorted the Liu family and the old innkeeper toward safety by boat.

• A Northern Pacification Office messenger told Fang Ke that the Court had ordered Eunuch Huang to lead a three-month search for Yang Erlang.
• Fang Ke went to the Welcome Inn and told Liu Mang that the Eastern Factory would target Yang’s associates, then arranged to evacuate Liu Mang, his family, Little Yellow, and the old innkeeper.
• Fang Ke drove an ox cart toward the East City Gate, but Ying Baili and Eastern Factory eunuchs blocked his way and accused him of harboring Yang’s associates.
• Two hundred Upper Right Office Strongmen surrounded Ying Baili’s group, and Fang Ke demanded that the Eastern Factory produce proper paperwork before inspecting the cart.
• Gu Tong and Wu Eryong escorted the Liu family and the old innkeeper to the wharf, where they prepared to take them to safety by boat.

Shen Fa and Wei Heng accompanied Huang Jin as the Eastern Factory searched Yang Ge’s home for him, unaware that Yang Ge had already chosen Black Wind Stronghold for a decisive battle. After the agents uncovered an empty grave bearing Yang Ge’s name, Shen Fa and Wei Heng fled, while Huang Jin ordered the search to continue and the Yang family to be investigated.

• Shen Fa and Wei Heng defused a confrontation between the Eastern Factory and the Upper Right Office, then exposed Fang Ke’s carriage as containing prostitutes rather than an imperial fugitive.
• Huang Jin led officials and Eastern Factory agents to Firewood Gate Street to search Yang Ge’s home.
• Guo Zhongtang showed Shen Fa a report stating that Yang Ge had defeated the Five Ghosts of Jiangdong and seized Black Wind Stronghold; Shen Fa realized Yang Ge was waiting there for his pursuers.
• Eastern Factory agents ransacked Yang Ge’s home and dug up a grave whose inscription listed Yang Ge, but found the grave empty.
• Shen Fa and Wei Heng hurried away, while Huang Jin ordered the agents to dig three feet deep and investigate the entire Yang family.

After a dream of his late grandfather, Yang Ge left Black Wind Stronghold and headed northwest, while Li Jincheng and Yang Tiansheng each resolved to support him against the Court’s move to arrest him. Yang Tiansheng prepared to act with the Yang Family and Bright Cult, though his father planned to consult the Cult Leader first.

• Yang Ge dreamed of his grandfather, woke in tears as sabers across Black Wind Stronghold rang out, and ordered the bandits to surrender or abandon their crimes before leaving northwest.
• Li Jincheng told Li Changjiang he intended to stand with Yang Ge, and Li Changjiang encouraged him to act while he still could.
• Yang Tiansheng demonstrated that he had mastered the third level of the Blazing Sun Divine Skill, then learned that the Court was targeting Yang Ge and his family.
• Yang Tiansheng argued that the Yang Family and Bright Cult should not yield to the Court and said he would go help Yang Ge even alone.
• Yang Yinghao agreed to consult the Cult Leader, then told Yang Tiansheng he would help hold up the sky alongside him.

Emperor Xiping realized Huang Jin’s attack on Yang Ge’s family grave could drive Yang Ge to retaliate against the Court, while Shen Fa and Wei Heng feared they could no longer talk him down. As the Court’s Six Offices sailed south, Chain Wharf repeatedly attacked the Eastern Factory’s force, and Li Jincheng gained reinforcements just as the fleet confronted his Iron-Chain Boats.

• Emperor Xiping learned that Huang Jin had provoked Yang Ge by exposing his family’s empty grave and set out to stop Yang Ge from reaching the Capital City.
• The Six Offices’ fleet reached Suzhou Wharf, where a fire destroyed the Eastern Factory’s five ships, and Shen Fa and Wei Heng suspected Chain Wharf was responsible.
• Shen Fa explained that Yang Ge had created the grave as his last reason to keep living and feared he would cut his way to Huang Jin.
• Chain Wharf obstructed the fleet with Iron-Chain Boats at Huai'an, and Huang Jin ordered the Eastern Factory to charge.
• Li Jincheng prepared to face the Eastern Factory until a masked man arrived with a large force of red-scarved fighters, and the two exchanged playful shouts.

Yang Ge attacked the government fleet after learning the Eastern Factory had dug up his grandfather’s grave, killing hundreds and terrifying the other agencies. When a Grandmaster from the Imperial Horse Office confronted him, Yang Ge refused to stop, and the two prepared to fight.

• Yang Tiansheng told Yang Ge that the Eastern Factory had dug up his ancestral grave, so Yang Ge charged the Eastern Factory ships.
• Yang Ge killed two Return to the True experts and destroyed the Eastern Factory fleet, slaughtering more than five hundred agents.
• Yang Ge attacked the Censorate and Ministry of Justice ships while Shen Fa and Wei Heng tried to avoid confronting him.
• A gray-haired Imperial Horse Office Grandmaster fought Yang Ge and struck him into the river.
• Yang Ge emerged from the river with five-colored pillars of light, rejected the Grandmaster’s offer to end the conflict, and raised his saber to fight.

Yang Ge defeated the purple-robed elder in a devastating clash on the river, forcing the Court’s forces to retreat and collapsing the joint operation. His attack on the Court’s power reshaped Great Wei’s political climate, while his family returned to Luting County and Little Yellow continued waiting for him.

• Yang Ge and the purple-robed elder unleashed their strongest attacks, and both were gravely wounded when their strikes collided.
• Wei Heng ordered the government forces to retreat, while Yang Ge urged Chain Wharf to press its attack before collapsing from his injuries.
• The Court abandoned serious attempts to capture Yang Erlang, and fear of his retaliation eased factional conflict and helped Wang Jiangling’s Single Whip Law take effect.
• Emperor Xiping celebrated the projected tax revenue from the new law and planned three palaces, while officials across Great Wei became more cautious about exploiting the people.
• In early June, Shopkeeper Liu’s and the Deng family returned to Luting County and resumed their businesses, as Little Yellow waited for Yang Ge to come home.

Jiang Kui received grain and supplies from Yang Ge’s allies, sent five exceptional horses as gifts, and learned that Yang Ge was recovering in seclusion at Hongze Lake. Yang Ge emerged after three months with a transformed cultivation and reached the Quasi-Peerless Grandmaster realm.

• Jiang Kui welcomed Wu Eryong at Ji Prefecture’s docks and accepted a shipment of grain, salt, and cloth from the Chain Wharf and Yang Tiansheng’s Greenwood Hall.
• Jiang Kui gave five prized horses to Wu Eryong for Yang Ge and the Zhoushan Five Heroes, including the untamed Ten-Thousand-Mile Cloudlight.
• Wu Eryong told Jiang Kui that Yang Ge had escaped a fight with a Peerless Grandmaster-level palace eunuch but had entered Hongze Lake alone to heal; Jiang Kui invited him to seek refuge beyond the frontier.
• Yang Yinghao visited Yang Tiansheng at Hongze Lake and asked him to approach Yang Ge about joining the Bright Cult, while Yang Tiansheng warned that Yang Ge would likely refuse.
• Yang Ge emerged from seclusion as the Cold Moon Saber and five pillars of light announced his return, and he realized his rebuilt Five-Element cultivation had brought him to the Quasi-Peerless Grandmaster realm.

Yang Ge declined the Bright Cult's invitation to Bright Summit, explaining to Yang Tiansheng that he would not help provoke a war that harmed the common people. Meanwhile, the Dao Venerable ordered Yang Ge's ranking revised and arranged a battle between him and Li Qing.

• Yang Ge reunited with the Bright Cult's Greenwood Hall elites and cooked a feast for them beside the lake.
• Yang Ge told Yang Tiansheng that Tong Ying was likely dead and refused to meet the Bright Cult's leader because he would not risk becoming a cause of war.
• Yang Yinghao accepted Yang Ge's decision, and the group shared a lively meal beneath the night sky.
• At Pure Serenity Monastery, the Dao Venerable and Seven Envoys debated revising the Heroes' Ranking and learned Yang Ge had emerged from seclusion with suspected mastery of Five Elements Returning to Origin Qi.
• The Dao Venerable ranked Yang Ge above the Seven Heroes as a quasi-Peerless grandmaster and ordered a battle between 'Qin Hero' Li Qing and 'Han Hero' Yang Erlang.

Yang Erlang’s rise to the top of the Heroes Ranking sparked a bitter north-south dispute over whether he or Li Qing was stronger. Meanwhile, Shen Fa and Wei Heng discussed how the Court could counter Tower Beyond Towers, and Shen Fa agreed to approach Yang Erlang if the Sovereign approved.

• Tower Beyond Towers ranked Yang Erlang first among the heroes after he killed Tong Ying, while martial artists argued over whether he surpassed Li Qing.
• Wei Heng confronted Shen Fa, demanding that the Embroidered Uniform Guard help the Western Factory deal with Tower Beyond Towers.
• Shen Fa made Wei Heng acknowledge that the Western Factory needed to ask the Embroidered Uniform Guard for assistance.
• Shen Fa outlined plans to petition the Sovereign for a joint campaign, expose Tower Beyond Towers, or persuade Yang Erlang not to oppose the Court.
• Shen Fa offered to approach Yang Erlang himself if the Sovereign approved, and Wei Heng left to report the proposals to the Sovereign.

Yang Ge told Chain Wharf’s heir why he was refusing to act against the factions stirring up conflict in the martial world, and the two discussed how to use the delay to strengthen Chain Wharf. Their tea gathering was interrupted by a White Lotus Cult woman and then her husband, leaving Yang Ge caught between the pair as they arrived to speak with him.

• Yang Ge explained that Tower Beyond Towers had likely started the unrest and that multiple factions were exploiting it to expand their power.
• Yang Ge said he would remain publicly inactive so the conspirators could not use his actions to plunge the Court and martial world into chaos, then settle accounts with them later.
• The Chain Wharf heir recognized that Yang Ge’s restraint would buy his faction time to prepare, and Yang Ge urged him to use it well.
• A woman from the White Lotus Cult arrived to lobby Yang Ge, but he refused to help her faction and warned her not to involve him in its schemes.
• A scarred man carrying an Ox-Tail Saber arrived, recognized the woman as his wife, and glared at Yang Ge after hearing him joke about having the surname Cao.

Yang Ge and Shen Fa discussed the Court’s attempt to use Yang Ge against Tower Beyond Towers, then Yang Ge declared that he would leave for the Eastern Isles and sever his ties with the Court. After returning his Gilt Waist Token, Yang Ge received a wild black horse as a gift and set about taming it.

• Yang Ge and Shen Fa exchanged thanks and regrets over the Welcome Inn, then argued about whether Yang Ge’s presence threatened Great Wei and its people.
• Shen Fa explained that Tower Beyond Towers had been stirring conflict to pit the martial world’s Four Elders against the Court, and described the Court’s proposed strategies for dealing with it.
• Yang Ge agreed to help by stepping away, but told Shen Fa he would travel to the Eastern Isles to punish the Japanese Pirates’ homeland and warned that foreign invaders must pay for attacking Divine Land.
• Yang Ge told Shen Fa that he and the Court owed each other nothing from then on, returned his Gilt Waist Token, and said he would be known as Yang Erlang rather than Yang Ge of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
• Wu Eryong told Yang Ge that Hero Jiang had sent him a wild Dragon-Blooded Steed, and Yang Ge mounted the horse and struck its forehead when it tried to throw him.

Yang Ge subdued the savage black horse, named it Erhei, and began organizing an expedition to the Eastern Isles for revenge and riches. He set a small, skilled crew to gather at South Sand Bay and left Wu Eryong hoping to earn a place on the voyage.

• Yang Ge endured the black horse's rampage, then tossed it over Hongze Lake until it surrendered and accepted his green wood true qi.
• Yang Ge named the horse Erhei and announced that he and Li Jincheng would prepare an expedition to the Eastern Isles, leaving in early September with no more than twenty skilled men.
• Yang Ge told Shen Fa he would not tolerate the Court luring Wang Zeng to the capital under amnesty and killing him, then set South Sand Bay as the meeting place.
• Wu Eryong pleaded to join the expedition, and Yang Ge suggested Li Jincheng help him advance his cultivation; Li Jincheng agreed, leaving Wu Eryong eager to train before they sailed.

Yang Ge left his lakeside cabin and headed toward Zhoushan, but the White Lotus Cult intercepted him and tried to recruit him for his journey to the Eastern Isles. He accepted Tang Qing’s Twelve Earthly Branches as helpers, severed his friendship with Liu Dongjun, and learned that Yang Potian was waiting for him in Hangzhou.

• Yang Ge packed his belongings, said goodbye to his lakeside cabin, and rode Erhei toward Zhoushan.
• Outside Anji County, Yang Ge saw through a staged bandit attack and struck the actress when she insulted him, then demanded that the hidden White Lotus Cult reveal itself.
• Tang Qing emerged and offered Yang Ge the post of Eastern Heavenly King, along with men and ships, in exchange for joining the White Lotus Cult.
• When Yang Ge threatened to fight, Tang Qing offered him the Twelve Earthly Branches as companions for the journey to the Eastern Isles, and Yang Ge accepted them.
• Yang Ge ended his friendship with Liu Dongjun, warned her to stay away, and told her that Shen Fa owed him a beating.
• Tang Qing told Yang Ge that Yang Potian was waiting for him in Hangzhou, and the Twelve Earthly Branches followed him as he rode on.

Yang Ge avoided Hangzhou after learning Yang Potian was waiting for him, while Yang Potian and Yang Yinghao discussed the White Lotus Cult’s attempt to influence him and agreed to support his Eastern Expedition. News of the expedition spread across the martial world, and the Court’s proclamation restoring Yang Erlang to his post helped turn it into a massive public cause, with martial artists flocking toward Jiangzhe.

• Yang Ge diverted toward Yuhang to avoid a meeting with Yang Potian and possible conflict with Bright Cult members who had fought beside him.
• At the Old Yu Tea House, Yang Potian and Yang Yinghao learned that Tang Qing had planted people under Yang Ge’s command, and they wagered on whether the White Lotus Cult could win him over.
• Yang Potian agreed to send the Eight Guardian Vajras to accompany Yang Ge on the Eastern Expedition, despite Yang Yinghao’s concerns.
• Rumors of Yang Ge’s plan to avenge South Sand Bay spread, and rival factions circulated expedition rosters showcasing their fighters.
• The Court publicized South Sand Bay as the assembly point and restored Yang Erlang to his former post, prompting martial artists from across the country to head south for the expedition.

Yang Ge gathered a growing force of martial artists for an Eastern Expedition and established the rules they would follow on the mission. After their names were carved into a monument at South Sand Bay, he embraced the expedition as a vanguard for Yan and Huang.

• Yang Ge finished cultivating, checked his increased strength, and reflected that he needed to temper his mind before growing stronger.
• Yang Tiansheng and Li Jincheng arrived with a large group of recruits, including Xiang Wudi, Zhou Fu, and the White Lotus Cult's Twelve Earthly Branches; Yang Ge counted seventy-two fighters in all.
• Yang Ge learned that Shen the Second had helped spread the Eastern Expedition through the martial world, and Zhou Fu, Liu Tang, and Nangong Feiying explained their orders to join or gather intelligence.
• Yang Ge warned the recruits that the expedition would be deadly and required them to obey decisions and stand by one another; the assembled men unanimously agreed.
• Yang Ge ordered Yang Tiansheng to arrange ships and Li Jincheng to find a stone, then shaped it into a monument at South Sand Bay.
• Xiang Wudi carved Yang Ge's title and the expedition members' names into the monument as Yang Ge declared his willingness to serve as a vanguard for Yan and Huang.

Yang Ge led the Eastern Expedition to sea while martial-world spectators named the departing group the Seventy-Two Demon-Slashing Warriors. Aboard ship, he confronted Wang Cheng about his loyalties, then chose a route to invade the Eastern Isles and crush its powerful daimyos.

• The warriors sailed from South Sand Bay as the crowd left ashore discovered the inscribed roster and named its members the Seventy-Two Demon-Slashing Warriors.
• Wang Cheng hosted Yang Ge and the expedition leaders, identifying Hirado as a key port ruled by Matsuura Takanobu and offering to lead the attack there.
• Yang Ge warned Wang Cheng not to betray Great Wei or bargain away his people's interests, and Wang Cheng promised to remember his advice.
• Wang Cheng showed the leaders a silk map and described the Eastern Isles' capital, coastal ports, and powerful daimyos.
• Yang Ge declared that the expedition would land at Hirado and sweep through the central region and Kanto to crush the daimyos gathered there.