Chapter Summaries

Jia Huan uncovered a link between Commanding Commissioner Jiang Wuyuan and the White Lotus Cult Leader, then set a trap by directing an inquiry through the Experiences Office. After confirming a possible lead in Northern Mang, he prepared loyal forces and martial allies for a covert move toward the capital.

• Jia Huan told Scholar and Twin Whips that Jiang Wuyuan and the White Lotus Cult Leader were likely twin brothers who had sold Central Plains martial arts secrets to Northern Mang, and he ordered an investigation designed to draw Jiang’s attention toward an old case.
• Jia Zheng urged Jia Huan to submit to Jiang Wuyuan and wait for his eventual death, but Jia Huan rejected his advice.
• Jia Huan shared intimate moments with Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai, then drew Wang Xifeng and An Xuan'er into the night as well.
• Scholar reported that the Former Prince of Beijing, Shui Rong’s birth father, had fled to Northern Mang twelve years earlier, and confirmed that he had consulted the Experiences Office’s case files.
• Jia Huan ordered Scholar to gather fifteen hundred loyal men and leave the capital in batches, while asking An Xuan'er to summon three top-ranked martial experts from Misty Rain Tower.
• Duan Qingwu disguised herself in a Flying Fish Uniform and rode with two hundred Embroidered Uniform Guard out of the Divine Capital late at night.

Jia Huan and Duan Qingwu reached Shangdu City and reunited with Duan Rong, who revealed where the Zhishi Martial Branch cultivated and helped Jia Huan locate an Abyss Key. Jia Huan left for Tai'an Tower to find its owner, the Blood Butcher, while Duan Qingwu followed.

• Duan Qingwu and Jia Huan searched Shangdu City until she found Duan Rong working in a blacksmith's shop.
• Duan Rong gave Jia Huan a map showing the Zhishi Martial Branch's secret cultivation site, the Abyss, and warned that it required a key to enter.
• Duan Rong gathered intelligence and learned that the Blood Butcher of the Tiele Family possessed an Abyss Key and frequented Tai'an Tower.
• Jia Huan took the Blood Butcher's portrait and left for Tai'an Tower, with Duan Qingwu riding after him.

Jia Huan killed Blood Butcher in Tai'an Tower and took the tiger-bone key before escaping toward the Zhishi Abyss. Goshu Lan identified him, and Northern Mang’s emperor used the incident to justify a planned invasion of the Central Plains while ordering a citywide hunt for Jia Huan.

• Jia Huan sent Duan Qingwu back to the inn, entered Tai'an Tower, killed Blood Butcher, and took a tiger-bone key.
• Jia Huan escaped Tai'an Tower, while Goshu Lan recognized him and hurried to report the sighting to the Sanctioning Official.
• The Sanctioning Official told Northern Mang’s emperor that Jia Huan had been seen in the city and proposed using the killing as a cause for war.
• The emperor ordered a citywide hunt for Jia Huan and agreed to summon the Golden Families’ leaders and prepare an invasion of the Central Plains.

After Northern Mang declared war over Jia Huan’s actions, the court ordered him to oversee Northern Liang’s defense and hold the frontier until reinforcements arrived. Jiang Wuyuan and Xuanyuan Zhigu saw the appointment as a chance to ruin Jia, while officials doubted the frontier could withstand the invasion.

• The Beiliang Governor-General received Northern Mang’s denunciation and declaration of war and sent an urgent report to the capital.
• Emperor Jingde and the Retired Emperor learned that 160,000 Northern Mang heavy cavalry threatened Northern Liang and ordered its commanders to hold for twenty days.
• Grand Secretary Yan proposed that Jia Huan return from Northern Mang to oversee the defense, arguing that his reputation would strengthen the frontier troops’ morale.
• Emperor Jingde issued an edict and two gold-token orders commanding Jia Huan to oversee Northern Liang’s troops and prevent any loss of territory.
• Jiang Wuyuan and Xuanyuan Zhigu discussed using Jia Huan’s appointment and any battlefield mistakes to destroy his reputation and punish the Jia Family.
• Officials across the Imperial City privately predicted that Northern Liang could not withstand Northern Mang’s invasion and blamed Jia Huan for provoking the war.

Jia Huan entered the Zhishi Golden Family’s secluded abyss and fought its disciples and elders after they demanded he kneel to their ancestor. Revealing his peak Profound Insight Realm cultivation, he overwhelmed the elders’ combined defenses and continued advancing across the lake.

• Jia Huan used the Tiger Bone to open the hidden entrance to the Zhishi Family’s abyss and descended into its secret cultivation grounds.
• Two Zhishi prodigies demanded that Jia Huan kneel to their ancestor, and he struck them into the black lake.
• Fifteen elders confronted Jia Huan, and he injured Zhishi Seven with a golden Buddha’s Palm.
• Jia Huan revealed his peak Profound Insight Realm cultivation, frightening the elders into joining their strength to form a water-curtain barrier.
• Jia Huan repelled the elders’ combined attack with his Purple Cauldron and advanced across the lake, striking with the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms and Buddha’s Palm.

Jia Huan defeated the Zhishi elders in the Extreme Cold Abyss and forced the surviving one-eyed man to reveal evidence of Jiang Wuyuan’s collusion with the Zhishi Clan. After collecting the letters and a lead on a former Embroidered Uniform Guard subordinate, Jia Huan left for the Northern Liang Border, determined to confront Jiang Wuyuan.

• Jia Huan defeated the Zhishi elders and threatened to keep killing the Zhishi Family unless the one-eyed old man answered his questions.
• Jia Huan gained the Eight Hundred Blades Crying in Unison reward and recovered his inner qi.
• The one-eyed old man showed Jia Huan secret letters proving Jiang Wuyuan had traded for martial arts and requested twin infants, and revealed an address linked to Jiang’s former subordinate.
• The one-eyed old man said the silver-masked man was Jiang Wuyuan’s twin younger brother, then killed himself.
• Jia Huan burned the manuals, kept the Great Method of Absorbing Power for his trusted men, destroyed the abyss’s stairs, and rode toward the Northern Liang Border.

Jia Huan reached Northern Liang as its border faced an invasion by 160,000 Northern Mang cavalry and took command under a court order that threatened to punish him for failure. After visiting the passes and rallying the troops, he ordered an offensive despite his commanders’ objections and began preparing a special battle formation.

• Scholar told Jia Huan that Northern Mang had invaded Northern Liang and the court had ordered him to take command, leaving him caught between a costly defense and charges of failure.
• Jia Huan accepted the Tiger-Shaped Military Token from Zhang Xuanji and rallied the soldiers at the border pass, promising to defend their land and drive out the barbarians.
• Jia Huan visited the passes and fought alongside the troops for four days, while ministers in the capital praised the army for holding the frontier.
• Jia Huan ordered Zhang Xuanji and Qi Shanguo to take the offensive, but Zhang condemned the order and Qi left worried.
• Jia Huan told his followers that the passes would fall within four days if they stayed on defense, then ordered Scholar to prepare 800 Kirin Office Embroidered Uniform Guards to drill a battle formation.

Jia Huan ordered Northern Liang to abandon its defensive strategy and led a successful attack from Gourd Mouth, while the other passes suffered repeated defeats. As the defenses neared collapse, Jia Baoyu and Wang Ziteng celebrated the reports, convinced Jia Huan had doomed the campaign.

• Jia Huan overruled Zhang Xuanji and ordered Qi Shanguo to command the other passes while he led an advance from Gourd Mouth.
• Jia Huan charged at the head of Northern Liang's veterans, who won a major victory and forced the Tatar troops to withdraw.
• Jia Huan ordered another advance despite reports that Nine-Coil Pass, Barbarian-Repelling Pass, and Whitehead Pass had suffered defeats.
• Reports over the next two days said the other passes were close to falling, and Northern Liang's soldiers lost their will to fight.
• Wang Ziteng told Jia Baoyu that Jia Huan had marched out to attack and predicted certain defeat.
• An official reported that Northern Liang had lost three battles and suffered devastating casualties, and Wang Ziteng and Jia Baoyu rejoiced.

After Jia Huan lost three battles in Northern Liang, the court, the Retired Emperor, and the Jia Family condemned him as a disgrace. His supporters in the mansion worried about his fate, while Jia Baoyu welcomed the public outrage; the chapter left Jia Huan’s return uncertain.

• Emperor Jingde blamed the ministers for recommending Jia Huan, ordered Zhang Xuanji and Qi Shanguo to take command, and summoned reinforcements from Datong and Xuanfu.
• The Retired Emperor denounced Jia Huan’s defeats and warned that his name would be disgraced if the frontier forces could not expel the barbarians.
• Jiang Wuyuan and Pacification Commissioner Xuanyuan mocked Jia Huan for attacking again after each defeat.
• Jia Mu and Jia Zheng grieved over the dishonor Jia Huan had brought upon the Jia Family, while Jia She angrily went to honor the ancestors.
• A servant told Jia Baoyu that Imperial College students had surrounded the mansion and demanded the Jia Family remove its military-honors plaque; Jia Baoyu went out to face the crowd.
• Lin Daiyu and the other young women worried about Jia Huan, while Concubine Zhao defended him and hoped he would return soon.

Jia Huan deliberately provoked the Tatars into concentrating their forces against Gourd Mouth Pass while secretly preparing a larger plan. The chapter ended with his troops readying themselves for an attack by more than sixty thousand enemies.

• Jia Huan ordered Gourd Mouth Pass to sortie while the other passes held their positions, despite Qi Shanguo’s objections.
• The Tatar generals found black blades along the route Jia Huan had pursued them and suspected he was planning another raid on their rear camp.
• The Tatar commander decided to concentrate overwhelming forces against Gourd Mouth rather than risk leaving the rear camp exposed.
• Water Skimmer reported that more than sixty thousand Tatars, including eight thousand Iron Pagoda Cavalry, were marching toward Gourd Mouth.
• Jia Huan issued secret orders to Scholar Twin Whips, Qi Shanguo, the Embroidered Uniform Guards, and the veterans as he prepared for the coming battle.

Jiang Wuyuan and Jia Huan’s enemies used accusations of bribery, deceiving the sovereign, insulting the emperor and empress, and mistreating his family to build a case against him while he was blamed for three consecutive military defeats. Jia Zhen’s accusations entered the Censorate as a formal political matter, and the chapter ended as an official rushed over with a notice.

• Jiang Wuyuan told the Grand Secretariat that Jia Huan had bribed his way into the Embroidered Uniform Guard, then presented the Retired Emperor with a confession accusing Jia Huan of framing Dai Quan’s family and deceiving the sovereign.
• Jia Yucun impeached Jia Huan before Emperor Jingde, claiming he had insulted the emperor and called the empress a vile woman.
• Wang Ziteng brought Jia Zhen and Jia Baoyu to the Censorate, where a Kong clansman accused Jia Huan of threatening Duke Yansheng’s lineage and demanding an apology.
• Jia Zhen submitted written accusations that Jia Huan had cursed his ancestors, bullied his elders, humiliated his lawful mother, and beaten relatives, making the matter a formal political affair.
• Jia Zheng and Jia Mu arrived too late to stop the accusations; Jia Zhen defended his decision by blaming Jia Huan for bringing disgrace on the family through his military failures.
• As Wang Ziteng prepared to answer Jia Mu, an official hurried over with a notice and a horrified expression.

An Embroidered Uniform Guard notice accused Jia Huan of stealing credit for the Northern Mang camp raid, turning the Capital and the Guard against him. Jiang Wuyuan forced Commissioner Ouyang to resign, while Ouyang returned home to await the consequences of his failed gamble.

• Wang Ziteng and the Jia family read a notice claiming Jia Huan had learned of a Northern Mang mutiny, abducted the Imperial Prince, and fabricated his heroic charge into the camp.
• Jia Zhen, Jia Baoyu, and Wang Ziteng condemned Jia Huan, while Jia Mu and Jia Zheng struggled to accept the accusation.
• The notice spread through the Capital, and Embroidered Uniform Guards largely accepted a Hundred-Household Commander's defense of Jiang Wuyuan and lost faith in Jia Huan.
• Jiang Wuyuan confronted Commissioner Ouyang over helping Xia Shouzhong and ordered him to resign and wait at home for Xia's return.
• Commissioner Ouyang submitted his resignation, left the Southern Office, and returned to the Ouyang Residence without regretting his loyalty to Jia Huan.

At Gourd Mouth Pass, Jia Huan and eight hundred Embroidered Uniform Guards faced a massive Northern Mang cavalry assault. By channeling their strength through their swords, they killed thousands of attackers, and the battle continued as the Northern Mang army charged again.

• The eight hundred Embroidered Uniform Guards took their positions at Gourd Mouth Pass as Northern Mang’s Iron Pagoda Cavalry and tens of thousands of troops approached.
• Jia Huan asked whether they believed man could conquer heaven, and the guards answered that they did before drawing their blades and channeling their internal power into him.
• The guards’ eight hundred Embroidered Spring Sabers flew into the air, killed ten Finger Black Tortoise Martial Artists, and cut down nearly nine hundred riders in a single attack.
• The Northern Mang commander ordered nearly thirty thousand troops to charge, but the swords freed themselves from the fallen soldiers and formed up in the air again.
• Jia Huan urged the guards to give everything, and their sweeping blades slaughtered the charging troops as the commander watched in terror.

At Gourd Mouth Pass, Jia Huan used the eight hundred Embroidered Spring Sabers to devastate the Northern Mang army, then faced its final cavalry charge alone and routed it with another overwhelming strike. Exhausted and gravely injured, he sent secret letters by goshawk as reinforcements arrived and attacked the fleeing barbarians.

• The eight hundred Embroidered Uniform Guards unleashed a synchronized saber strike that slaughtered the Iron Pagoda Cavalry, then collapsed from exhaustion.
• The Northern Mang commander forced his troops to reform and attack after learning the guards had fallen, while Jia Huan descended from the pass to face their charge.
• Jia Huan invoked Burial Annihilation, killing the heavy cavalry at the front and sending the Northern Mang army into a rout.
• Jia Huan returned to the battlements, vomited blood, and dispatched secret letters to other passes by goshawk before praising his fallen comrades as heroes.
• Nearly five hundred veteran cavalrymen reached Gourd Mouth, witnessed the battlefield, and charged into the wounded and fleeing barbarians.

Jia Huan’s plan turned Northern Liang’s desperate defense into a decisive victory, as his reported triumph at Gourd Mouth threw Northern Mang’s forces into chaos. Northern Liang’s army drove the barbarians from its territory and celebrated a vast victory beside a grassland lake, leaving Jia Huan revered by the frontier soldiers.

• Scholar delivered Jia Huan’s order for Northern Liang’s troops to advance, and Qi Shanguo reluctantly sent the army out despite widespread anger.
• Qi Shanguo’s forces routed the disorganized barbarians, then learned that Jia Huan and eight hundred Embroidered Uniform Guards had defeated Northern Mang’s main force at Gourd Mouth.
• Qi Shanguo praised Jia Huan’s victory, rallied his soldiers with promises of rewards, and ordered them to pursue the panicked enemy.
• Northern Liang’s army fought eighteen battles over two days, killing more than seventy-three thousand barbarians and capturing warhorses, livestock, supplies, and weapons.
• The victorious army reached a vast lake and celebrated Jia Huan, whose reputation among Northern Liang’s soldiers had become secure.

Emperor Jingde and the court condemned Jia Huan after Northern Liang reported that he had slaughtered more than seventy thousand barbarians, a claim they believed was fabricated. Unable to understand Jia Huan and Qi Shanguo’s motives, the court sent Jia Zhen and Jia Baoyu to persuade Jia Huan to return to the Capital while promising not to punish the Jia clan for his defeat.

• Emperor Jingde ordered the garrisons of Datong and Xuanfu to march on Liangzhou and arrest Jia Huan, but Wei Yuansu reported Qi Shanguo’s claim that Jia Huan had defeated Northern Mang and killed more than seventy thousand barbarians.
• Emperor Jingde and the Retired Emperor rejected Qi Shanguo’s battle report as an outrageous deception and wondered what Jia Huan and Qi Shanguo were trying to achieve.
• Chief Grand Secretary Yang urged Emperor Jingde to placate Jia Huan rather than punish his family, and Emperor Jingde summoned Jia Zhen and Jia Baoyu.
• Emperor Jingde assured Jia Zhen and Jia Baoyu that Jia Huan’s defeat would not implicate their family and ordered them to persuade his relatives to write to him and urge his return to the Capital.
• Jia Baoyu rejoiced when Emperor Jingde promised to put him to important use, while Emperor Jingde remained convinced Jia Huan had insulted the entire realm.

The Great Qian court received corroborating reports that Jia Huan had won a devastating victory over Northern Mang after luring its main army into attacking Gourd Mouth. The officials struggled to believe the account, then marveled at the victory and awaited further confirmation.

• Mu Shou'en's report of Northern Liang's victory enraged the Directorate of Ceremonial's eunuchs, who suspected Jia Huan had seized control of the frontier troops.
• Grand Secretary Yang brought the ministers' doubts to the Court Deliberation Hall, where reports from Minister Wang and the Shaanxi Governor supported the victory.
• The Censor-in-Chief, the Ministers of Revenue and Works, and other officials presented matching reports from Northern Liang's scattered offices.
• The Retired Emperor ordered Mu Shou'en's detailed report read aloud, revealing that Jia Huan had baited Northern Mang into attacking Gourd Mouth with sixty-five thousand elite cavalry against eight hundred and one defenders.
• The report explained that the barbarians collapsed after the attack, allowing Northern Liang's forces to pursue them through twenty battles and take nearly seventy-four thousand heads.
• The Retired Emperor praised Jia Huan's achievement, while the court waited for further reports and Minister Zhuge hurried to inform Jia Cunzhou.

As Jia Mu and the Jia household grieved over Jia Huan’s supposed defeat and disgrace, Minister Zhuge arrived with news that he had won an astonishing victory against Northern Mang. The family was left awaiting the court’s official announcement, while Concubine Zhao and the women began to celebrate Huan’er’s triumph.

• Jia Baoyu urged Jia Mu and Jia Zheng to write Jia Huan and persuade him to leave Northern Liang, then revealed that he planned to volunteer to fight the barbarians for his own advancement.
• Minister Zhuge told Jia Zheng, Jia Mu, and Concubine Zhao that Jia Huan had defeated Northern Mang forces, reporting more than seventy-three thousand enemy troops slain and calling him a peerless war god.
• Jia Zheng and Jia Mu struggled to believe Minister Zhuge, who vouched for the victory and said the court would announce the news by the following afternoon.
• Madam Wang and Jia Baoyu saw Concubine Zhao leave the Warm Chamber in tears and assumed the news was disastrous.
• Concubine Zhao laughed with joy and told Wang Xifeng, Lin Daiyu, Xue Baochai, An Xuan'er, Qingwen, and Ping'er that Jia Huan had slaughtered the barbarian cavalry.
• Lin Daiyu and the other women were stunned by the news, and Concubine Zhao returned to her room to sleep until the official announcement.

Jiang Wuyuan reacted with fury to Jia Huan’s astonishing victory over Northern Mang, while news of the triumph swept the Divine Capital and turned Jia into a celebrated god of war. The court gathered at the Jia residence to decide how to reward him, though his Embroidered Uniform Guard office barred him from receiving a noble title.

• Jiang Wuyuan admitted he could no longer understand Jia Huan, then vented his rage by slaughtering prisoners in the Imperial Prison.
• Xu Jingchun told Ouyang Jin that Jia Huan had routed Northern Mang with only eight hundred men, and Ouyang celebrated the victory despite regretting his resignation.
• Jia Baoyu boasted that he would fight the barbarians, but the Grand Secretariat’s announcement of Jia Huan’s victory made him collapse and flee home in despair.
• A frontier soldier’s wife told a Divine Capital tavern that her husband had killed eighty-nine cavalrymen in Jia Huan’s victory, and the people erupted in pride and cheers.
• The Divine Capital celebrated Jia Huan as the court and both emperors gathered at the Rongguo Mansion to discuss rewards, while officials noted that his post barred him from receiving a noble title.

At the Central Court, the Retired Emperor and Emperor Jingde argued over how to reward Jia Huan for his victory against Northern Mang. Emperor Jingde proposed making Jia Huan a hereditary Dingguo Duke if he resigned and gave up all official power, leaving the court awaiting Jia Huan’s decision.

• The Retired Emperor praised Jia Huan’s victory as the ministers entered the Court Deliberation Hall, while Emperor Jingde endured the implied rebuke.
• Jiang Wuyuan admitted he had issued a public notice based on slander, and Emperor Jingde suspended his salary for five years.
• The Retired Emperor proposed making Jia Huan a marquis, but Emperor Jingde cited the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s ancestral rules against granting titles to its members.
• The Retired Emperor argued that Jia Huan’s unprecedented victory justified an exception, and Chief Grand Secretary Yang supported the marquisate.
• Emperor Jingde offered Jia Huan a hereditary Dingguo dukedom on the condition that he resign, surrender his power, and never return to the Central Court.