Chapter Summaries

The Exorcising the Dragon Army and the Western Pass army fought their first major battle, with Xu Shiying using tactical retreats and coordinated battalion movements to blunt the enemy’s advance. Both armies withdrew after Bai Hengqiu intervened with his chessboard power, leaving the battle’s outcome unclear and Xue Ren captured.

• The Exorcising the Dragon Army lured Western Pass cavalry into its formations and devastated them with a three-shot volley from its archers and crossbowmen.
• Zhang Xing sent Yuchi Rong and White-Stepping Cavalry to deal with Xue Ren’s elite riders, but Xue Ren pierced several battalions and shot down Feng Dan’s command banner before escaping.
• As the Exorcising the Dragon Army’s front fell back and some battalions collapsed, Xu Shiying ordered a controlled withdrawal and used coordinated attacks to break up Western Pass units in the center.
• Bai Hengqiu manifested a chessboard and ordered Bai Hengyuan to withdraw when the tenth piece appeared, while the Exorcising the Dragon Army began to regain ground.
• Xue Ren turned back to attack Zhang Xing’s position, but the defenders stopped him, and a golden chess piece disrupted the White-Stepping Cavalry before Xue Ren was knocked unconscious and captured.
• Both armies resumed fighting after the clash, then sounded withdrawal gongs near the original battle line, ending the first battle with victory and defeat unclear.

After the battle, Zhang Xing proposed wartime marching army general managers to coordinate battalions, while the Western Pass army debated its next strategy and Xue Ren was exchanged back for Feng Dan. As both armies prepared to fight again, the Exorcising the Dragon Army used panel-built earthworks to create the illusion of a vast city and sent Bai Hengqiu a challenge intended to unsettle his commanders.

• Liu Heihuang and the right-wing chiefs argued over the battle’s failures until Zhang Xing called for temporary marching army general managers with authority to coordinate battalions and evaluate commanders.
• Zhang Xing praised the army’s discipline and fighting spirit, recommended Kan Leng as a marching army general manager, and promised to exchange Xue Ren for Feng Dan.
• Xue Ren was returned to the Western Pass army in the exchange, and Bai Hengqiu promised him command of three thousand Armored Cavalry after his leg healed.
• Bai Hengqiu’s commanders debated how to break the Exorcising the Dragon Army’s defensive formation, and Bai Liben warned that Xu Shiying had outperformed Bai Hengyuan as a commander.
• Bai Liben discovered that the apparent city opposite the Western Pass army was an illusion created by panel-built earthworks, and the Exorcising the Dragon Army delivered a challenge listing its reinforcements and proposing battle the next day.

Zhang Xing withdrew the Exorcising the Dragon Army after the Western Pass army refused battle, then ordered siege preparations, troop rotations, diplomacy, and recreation while his commanders debated how to win. In the Western Pass camp, Zhang Shiben argued that Great Ying had to strike decisively, but after his proposals were rejected, he killed himself; his final warning left the generals to continue with more practical plans.

• Zhang Xing ordered the Exorcising the Dragon Army to withdraw, build siege equipment, strengthen its camp, and rotate soldiers through duty, construction, and rest.
• Zhang Xing wrote letters for soldiers, challenged a squad commander’s demand that his wife remain a widow, and discussed replacing land grants with shops.
• The Exorcising the Dragon Army’s commanders debated the difficulty of defeating the Western Pass army and decided to pursue defections and other risky measures, including contacting Han Yingong and Han Changmei.
• Han Yingong wavered after receiving Zhang Xing’s surrender letter, then rode with Han Changmei to survey the battlefield and the Exorcising the Dragon Army’s earthworks.
• At Bai Hengqiu’s council, Zhang Shiben demanded a decisive attack and denounced the Western Pass generals, but Bai Hengqiu stopped him and the commanders settled on practical military plans.
• Zhang Changzhi reported that Zhang Shiben had killed himself, and relayed his final claim that Great Ying could prevail only by winning the campaign quickly or annexing the Eastern Capital quickly.

After the evenly matched clash between Zhang Xing and Bai Hengqiu, Zhang Xing ordered preparations for a grand formation while Bai Yousi sought reinforcements on the southern front. Xie Minghe pressed Cao Shiyu to help, discovered Jiangnan’s leaders were plotting to exploit the stalemate, and left in frustration still searching for a grandmaster.

• Bai Hengqiu and Zhang Xing fought with their forces’ supernatural methods until both withdrew, leaving each army convinced its ruler had demonstrated strength.
• Zhang Xing approved plans to improve troop morale and ordered the Thirteen Vajras to assemble, then called a military council to prepare the grand formation.
• Bai Yousi told Xie Minghe she would give up her chance to advance to Great Grandmaster if outside aid could help defeat Wei Shengji.
• Xie Minghe secured Zhou Xiaoshang’s formal support for Bai Yousi, then continued downstream and urged Cao Shiyu to join the southern campaign.
• Cao Shiyu’s associates told Xie Minghe that Cao was maneuvering to seize control of Jiangzuo and possibly claim the throne, prompting Xie to urge them to flee and angrily denounce them.
• Xie Minghe left Jiujiang still needing to find a grandmaster to assist Bai Yousi.

Zhang Xing ordered the Exorcising the Dragon Army to fight, and its clash with Bai Hengqiu’s Western Pass Army ended with both sides claiming victory. As Bai Hengqiu prepared to retreat, Li Ding and the Northern Lands’ leaders agreed to invade the Witchlands and open a route behind the Western Pass.

• Zhang Xing persuaded the Exorcising the Dragon Army’s commanders to fight, while Reckless Vajra explained that his ambition was to return to Mount Qingcheng after the war.
• Bai Hengqiu sent Yu Jieluo north with twenty thousand troops, but Zhang Xing treated the report as confidential and marched the army out the next morning.
• Bai Hengqiu ordered Xue Ren, Xue Liang, and Ding Shun to obstruct the advancing army; the Exorcising the Dragon Army’s formation captured Xue Ren and broke through several camps before the Western Pass Army rallied around its high platform.
• Both armies fought around the platform until the Thirteen Vajras diverted a devastating attack, and Bai Hengqiu decided to withdraw after sensing an ominous warning.
• Li Ding and Zhang Shizhao proposed a winter campaign against Dulan Khagan’s East Wu Clan, and the Northern Lands’ commanders agreed to mobilize their forces.

Li Ding prepared to march west while the Henei campaign ended in a chaotic Western Pass army retreat, disrupted when Sima Zheng attacked and the Exorcising the Dragon Army pursued. Zhang Xing survived Sima Zheng’s assault and decided to shift the war to Henan, ordering Han Yingong executed and his army to regroup at Yecheng.

• Li Ding ordered preparations to advance west, while Zhang Xing and his commanders concluded that Bai Hengqiu was preparing to withdraw from Henei.
• The Western Pass army staged a feint and then began retreating; Zhang Xing’s forces pursued, but Bai Hengqiu burned his own camps to obstruct them.
• Luo Fang and Xue Liang took the wounded Xue Ren toward the Great River, prompting Bai Hengqiu to pursue them as Sima Zheng attacked and routed the retreating troops.
• Sima Zheng crossed the river and attacked Zhang Xing, but Xu Shiying, Xiong Bonan, and a newly revealed Grandmaster helped Zhang Xing survive and drive Sima Zheng away.
• Zhang Xing agreed with Ma Wei to continue the war by moving through Huaixi toward Nanyang, then ordered Han Yingong executed and his army to rest and reorganize at Yecheng.

After returning to Yecheng, Zhang Xing prepared to lead an army south into Henan and launched a sudden campaign against Huaixi and Nanyang in winter weather. The chapter leaves him arriving at Ningling, where Cao Wang hurried to welcome him and wondered whether he still held the rank of Great Chief.

• The Exorcising the Dragon Army returned to Yecheng in the first snow, where the city welcomed the troops and Zhang Xing urged officials to care for soldiers and their families.
• Zhang Xing announced that he would lead an expedition south immediately, while Xiong Bonan, Xu Shiying, and Chai Xiaohe outlined their assignments and the forces accompanying him.
• At Li Ding's farewell feast, Wang Chen'e accused Li Ding of facing death whether he won or lost and urged him to rebel, but Li Ding affirmed his loyalty to Zhang Xing and described their long friendship.
• Zhang Xing visited the ruined temple and cemetery on Mount Li, reflected on the cost of war, and ordered the campaign to begin without waiting for the snow to stop.
• Zhang Xing sent orders across Henan for a swift, coordinated attack on Huaixi; Liu Heihuang and Lord Zhang Shen marched toward Huaiyang while other forces received supporting orders.
• Zhang Xing arrived outside Ningling, and Cao Wang hurried out to greet him, asking his Commandery Assistant whether he had once been a Great Chief in the Exorcising the Dragon Gang.

Zhang Xing’s surprise offensive seized Liang Commandery and drove into Yingchuan, forcing Sima Zheng to rush to Yangdi while the Eastern Capital and Western Pass Army prepared for a wider war. As Wang Daiji maneuvered to preserve his power in Nanyang, Li Ding’s delayed crossing of the Sea of Bitterness ended after he whipped a warding stone and blamed the Supreme One for the storm.

• Zhang Xing’s forces secured Liang Commandery, reinforced Huaiyang, and advanced into Yingchuan as Wu Jingfeng swept south through Huaixi.
• Sima Zheng ordered Yingchuan abandoned, traveled to Yangdi, and enlisted Xue Ren to help face the Exorcising the Dragon Army.
• Guo Zhu told Wang Daiji and Wenren Xunan that the Exorcising the Dragon Army was taking Huaixi, and Wang Daiji arranged to leave Wenren in command of the Huainan troops while he went to Yangdi.
• Wu Jingfeng captured Runyin, the northern force halted at the Ying River, and Bai Hengqiu ordered the Western Pass Army to march out through Wuguan.
• Chonghe watched Bai Hengqiu depart without intervening, while Li Ding’s army struggled to cross the stormy Sea of Bitterness.
• Li Ding whipped the Heaven, Earth, and Man warding stone, and the sea’s wind and snow subsided soon afterward as his army reached the Witchlands.

Li Ding launched a sweeping raid into the Witchlands while Zhang Xing and Dan Tonghai maneuvered against Sima Zheng and the Eastern Capital army. As Dulan Khagan prepared to strike Li Ding’s scattered forces, Xie Minghe arrived at Holy Mother Mountain to seek reinforcements for Bai Yousi.

• Li Ding ordered his vanguard to raid tribes across an expanding area, conceal its strength, and capture people and supplies while forbidding rape and private ownership of women.
• Zhang Xing reassured Dan Tonghai that he intended to make him a leading chief in the Western Pass, then divided their forces to avoid being drawn west by Sima Zheng.
• Zhang Xing confronted Wang Daiji, slapped him, and accused him of causing needless deaths by clinging to his image of loyalty; he then rejoined Dan Tonghai at Xiangcheng County.
• Dou Xiaoniang killed the Daxi heir after discovering his warriors raping women, and arranged for a few survivors to alert his father, who fled to Dulan Khagan.
• Dou Ru warned Dulan Khagan that Li Ding’s expedition might have a larger strategic purpose, but Dulan ordered a surprise attack on the scattered Exorcising the Dragon Army.
• Xie Minghe reached Holy Mother Mountain after a month-long journey through the Southern Ranges to fetch reinforcements for Bai Yousi.

Xie Minghe failed to persuade Madam Xian to join the Exorcising the Dragon Gang, but negotiated with Feng Fou for an escort and reinforcements before setting out north. As the East Wu Clan Allied Army launched a surprise attack, Li Ding watched the battle begin.

• Xie Minghe asked Madam Xian to send forces north, then argued that the Southern Ranges and Feng Clan would benefit from supporting the Exorcising the Dragon Gang.
• Madam Xian refused to join the northern war, and Xie Minghe left Holy Mother Mountain for Xiping City.
• Feng Fou caught up with Xie Minghe and agreed to try to recruit cultivators to escort him north, after Xie promised to seek chief positions for them.
• The East Wu Clan Allied Army launched a surprise attack in wind and snow, and Li Ding watched its opening strike as the battle began.

Dulan Khagan’s East Wu forces overran the outer camps but were lured into disorder as Li Ding’s prepared troops counterattacked and threatened their retreat. Elsewhere, reinforcements stumbled into a major battle at the frozen Yushui, while Xie Minghe hurried Feng Fou north toward the widening war.

• Dulan Khagan committed his cavalry to the attack, then led the Ancestral Dragon Guard in capturing most of the Exorcising the Dragon Army’s outer camps.
• The Exorcising the Dragon Army released captives and livestock and set fires, drawing the Wu forces into a chaotic scramble while Hei Yan’s White Wolf Guard seized horses.
• Li Ding sent his forces into a prepared counterattack, and Dou Ru warned Dulan that the missing outlying enemy units might be moving against the Wu main camp.
• Wang Zhuo turned his exhausted force north to pursue Western Pass troops, then arrived at the Yushui to find the two armies already fighting.
• Xie Minghe forced Feng Fou to leave immediately with the Condensing the Core experts, insisting that the war’s outcome could depend on their timely arrival.

After the Eastern Royal Court’s failed attack on Li Ding’s harbor, Dou Ru persuaded Dusuwu that surrender was the safest course, while Dulan Khagan fled with a small guard. The army collapsed and surrendered as Li Ding’s forces secured the camp; meanwhile, Zhang Xing reached Wuchuan, assessed the costly battle on the Yushui, and ordered his forces to regroup and prepare to pressure Nanyang.

• Dulan Khagan’s exhausted, disorganized army failed to take the harbor, and the troops withdrew to a makeshift camp where supplies, shelter, and order were scarce.
• Dou Ru asked Dusuwu about their chances and argued that surrender could save both their lives and the Dou family’s future; Dusuwu agreed to bring him to Dulan Khagan.
• Dulan Khagan allowed Dou Ru to follow Dusuwu, then left the camp in the night with twenty or thirty Ancestral Dragon Guards, abandoning the Eastern Royal Court’s main force.
• The remaining army collapsed amid disputes over the warhorses, and the Exorcising the Dragon Army secured the camp and accepted the surrender of Dusuwu, Dou Ru, and others.
• At Wuchuan, Zhang Xing learned that Wang Daiji’s arrival had helped Dan Tonghai’s forces win the battle on the Yushui, though nearly seven thousand of Zhang Xing’s engaged troops had become casualties or been disabled.
• Zhang Xing ordered his forces to concentrate at Wuchuan, secure supplies and transport the wounded, seek surrenders in Nanyang, and send a battalion south to scout and draw out the enemy.

The Exorcising the Dragon Army and Western Pass Army remained locked in a costly winter standoff while Sima Zheng tried to broker peace, and Zhang Xing used a chicken-soup ruse to unsettle Bai Hengqiu’s camp. In the Witchlands, Li Ding chose to attack Tuli in the central region rather than march on Chang'an, leaving Dou Lide to wonder how the campaign would unfold.

• Wenren Xunan told Guo Zhu he feared surrendering while the armies were trapped at the Yushui, and Guo Zhu warned that delaying could bring punishment from both sides.
• Sima Zheng offered to divide Nanyang along the Yushui and threatened to march south if the armies refused, but Zhang Xing decided to feign interest in peace and send Bai Hengqiu chicken-bone broth.
• Bai Hengqiu’s camp argued over whether to withdraw, and rumors that the Exorcising the Dragon Army had accepted peace spread among Western Pass troops, prompting them to pack for departure.
• Bai Hengqiu consulted Liu Yangji and Zhang Shijing, who warned that the army’s faltering morale and the threat of a spring attack on Jinyang were serious weaknesses.
• After the Eastern Witchlands fell, Li Ding told Dou Lide he would attack Tuli in the central region before considering a southern march on Chang'an.
• Li Ding urged Dou Lide to stay through the New Year and watch him defeat Tuli, while the gathered commanders looked on with heightened attention to Li Ding’s growing prestige.

Dou Lide learned how the Expeditionary Army used sparrows and crows to navigate the winter Witchlands, then discussed the gang’s ambitions and authority with Zhang Shizhao. Li Ding revealed that he had secretly prepared to march against Khan Tuli that day, leaving Zhang to delay Tuli through a false alliance offer and Dou to secure the rear.

• Zhang Shizhao explained that the soldiers released sparrows and crows to help them find their way through the winter Witchlands.
• Dou Lide and Zhang Shizhao discussed the limits of divine interference, Li Ding’s imperial ambitions, and Chief Zhang’s authority within the Exorcising the Dragon Gang.
• Li Ding summoned the commanders and announced that he would march that day to attack Khan Tuli of the Central Wu Clan.
• Zhang Shizhao offered to deceive Tuli with a false alliance proposal and travel to the Central Wu Royal Court as a supposed negotiator.
• Li Ding revealed that his vanguard had already departed and that the twenty-thousand-man central army would soon follow, while Zhang Shizhao rode ahead to stall Tuli.
• Li Ding tasked Dou Lide with pacifying the surrendered forces, preparing supplies, and holding the rear until news of the campaign arrived.

Dou Ru agreed to infiltrate White Road Pass for Dou Lide, while Zhang Xing withdrew before Sima Zheng’s advancing army and prepared for a likely battle. At the Royal Court, Su Jingfang’s released birds set fires across the settlement, and Cui Tang was confronted as he tried to respond.

• Dou Lide questioned Dou Ru about Guanzhong’s commanders and recruited him to go to White Road Pass as an inside agent.
• Sima Zheng led thirty thousand troops south toward Wuchuan, and Zhang Xing ordered the Exorcising the Dragon Army to withdraw toward Fangcheng while Liu Heihuang’s cavalry harried the enemy’s rear.
• Zhang Xing arranged supplies and rewards for the withdrawing troops, then concluded that Sima Zheng would likely fight in person and spent New Year’s Eve unable to sleep.
• Zhang Shizhao celebrated New Year with Tuli, Princess Chengyi, Dulan, and Cui Tang, then drunkenly insisted on sharing Cui Tang’s lodging.
• Su Jingfang tied smoldering walnut shells beneath the claws of crows and sparrows and released the birds toward the Royal Court.
• Cui Tang saw numerous fires break out across the Royal Court and was stopped by someone asking where he intended to go.

Zhang Shizhao’s coordinated fires threw the Wu Clan Royal Court into chaos, and Tuli and Princess Chengyi fled north before Su Jingfang intercepted them. Tuli then agreed to meet Li Ding and offered to gather the Major Central Region Tribes for the southward campaign.

• Zhang Shizhao revealed to Cui Tang that he had set the fires and promised amnesty for Cui Tang and Cui Twenty-Qilang if they escorted him out and rendered service.
• Dulan warned Tuli that the fires signaled an Exorcising the Dragon Army attack, and Tuli learned that Zhang Shizhao and Cui Tang had vanished.
• Princess Chengyi chose to flee north with Tuli and Dulan, and the Royal Court’s leaders split their forces into separate escape groups.
• After vanguard forces attacked, Su Jingfang waited near the Royal Court and intercepted Tuli’s party as they fled.
• Tuli offered to gather the Major Central Region Tribes and follow Li Ding south to Chang’an in exchange for safety for himself and Princess Chengyi.

Zhang Xing’s cultivation neared the Great Grandmaster threshold as the armies in Henan maneuvered around Wuchuan. Meanwhile, Zhou Xingfan persuaded the Grand Traveling Office to prepare an invasion of the Jin Region, and Sima Zheng’s advance toward Mount Funiu brought the opposing forces into open war.

• Zhang Xing dreamed that he could perceive the land, stars, and camps across a vast distance, then recognized that his cultivation was approaching the Great Grandmaster threshold.
• Sima Zheng occupied abandoned Wuchuan with an elite force, waited there overnight, and ordered his army to advance in force.
• Zhou Xingfan urged the Grand Traveling Office to bypass the Eastern Capital and attack the Jin Region, arguing that the Western Pass Army’s weaknesses were exposed.
• Xu Shiying agreed with Zhou Xingfan, and the Dragonheads ordered mobilization while Xiong Bonan went to obtain Zhang Xing’s approval.
• Rumors that Sima Zheng and Zhang Xing were joining forces unsettled the Western Pass Army at Mount Funiu, while Bai Hengqiu declared he would fight them.
• On the third day of the new year, Sima Zheng led twenty thousand troops toward Mount Funiu as Zhang Xing brought his forces west, and war began.

Zhang Xing and Sima Zheng moved their armies toward a three-sided battle, while clashes erupted around Mount Funiu and Xiangcheng. As Sima Zheng charged Bai Hengqiu’s camp, Zhang Xing led his forces toward the foothills, revealing a power that startled both Great Grandmasters.

• Sima Zheng crossed the frozen Yushui with his army and discussed the coming battle with Niu Fangsheng and Wang Daiji.
• Zhang Xing decided not to delay at the Yushui and continued toward the battlefield with Xiong Bonan, aiming to draw Sima Zheng and Bai Hengqiu into a three-sided fight.
• Liu Heihuang, Lord Zhang Shen, and Qin Bao encountered Shang Shisheng’s Eastern Capital Army near Xiangcheng County, where thawing ground disrupted both cavalry forces.
• Bai Hengqiu ordered the Xiangcheng Garrison to withdraw to Mount Funiu, while Sima Zheng attacked the camp gate and broke a corner of Bai Hengqiu’s chessboard.
• Zhang Xing organized his commanders and led the White-Stepping Cavalry toward the foothills as Dan Tonghai and Niu Da took the rear forces around Xiangcheng.
• A bank of cold white mist rolled toward Mount Funiu, and a golden dragon claw seized the mountain, startling Bai Hengqiu and Sima Zheng.

On Mount Funiu, Zhang Xing’s formation revealed a new Great Grandmaster power, and the three armies fought to a stalemate before withdrawing. On a distant battlefield, Qin Bao’s surprise attack forced Shang Shisheng’s army into retreat, and Shang ultimately surrendered his spear to Qin Bao after the Eastern Capital cavalry were routed.

• Zhang Xing used the White-Stepping Cavalry’s formation to amplify their strength, alarming Bai Hengqiu and Sima Zheng, then explained that his Supreme One path let him manifest the strength and thoughts of ordinary people.
• Bai Hengqiu, Sima Zheng, and Zhang Xing clashed on Mount Funiu, but the battle ended in a stalemate and the Exorcising the Dragon Army and Eastern Capital Army withdrew.
• Qin Bao attacked Shang Shisheng’s force after Xue Liang arrived, but Xue Ren’s arrow knocked Qin Bao from his horse before the Spotted Tumor Beast recovered and charged at Xue Ren.
• Shang Shisheng and Xue Liang retreated toward Chengxiu, where Cheng Zhili’s forces ambushed them and routed the Eastern Capital cavalry.
• Qin Bao found Shang Shisheng after his horse threw him, and Shang gave Qin Bao his Incense Burner Spear.

After the Eastern Capital Army withdrew from Nanyang and Niu Fangsheng defected to the Western Pass, Bai Hengqiu prepared to retreat because Li Ding’s victory threatened Guanzhong. Zhang Xing’s council chose to pursue Bai Hengqiu toward Wuguan, aiming to pin down Great Ying’s emperor while other fronts advanced.

• Li Shu learned that Xiangcheng had fallen and the Eastern Capital Army’s cavalry and generals were lost or missing, so he ordered Yique Pass secured and sent urgent reports to Sima Zheng.
• Sima Zheng withdrew his army after learning Shang Shisheng was dead, Xue Ren had been captured, Xue Liang had escaped, and Niu Fangsheng had defected to the Western Pass.
• Bai Hengqiu welcomed Niu Fangsheng at Mount Funiu, then told Liu Yangji, Bai Liben, and Zhang Shijing that Li Ding had defeated Dulan Khagan and would soon threaten Guanzhong, prompting him to plan a withdrawal and dispatch envoys to other powers.
• Zhang Xing let Xue Ren go to Mount Funiu to explain his reasons for serving the Eastern Capital to Bai Hengqiu before deciding whether to surrender to the Exorcising the Dragon Gang.
• At a council in Wuchuan, Zhang Xing rejected proposals to attack the Eastern Capital or Jin Region and argued for pursuing Bai Hengqiu toward Wuguan to keep him tied to Chang’an.
• Dan Tonghai and the assembled chiefs agreed to pursue Bai Hengqiu to Wuguan as soon as the Western Pass Army began withdrawing.