Chapter Summaries

Wang Chong avoided killing Wen Zhengxi and let him flee, then asked the Tongzhou Prefectural Governor how he could secure military authority and influence in Tongzhou. After hearing that the highest strategy was to rebel, Wang Chong began weighing whether to raise his banner against the court.

• Wen Zhengxi attacked Wang Chong, was grievously injured, and fled; Wang Chong publicly accused him of rape and killing Wen Zhiwei.
• Wang Chong arranged Wen Zhiwei's funeral and cremation while officials and the Chrysanthemum-Slaying Alliance reported the recent military achievements.
• Monk Xuangang arrived with Gan Ci, Yuzao, Tie Mingzhu, Nan Xinlan, and Wang Dong, and suggested that Wang Chong establish a command headquarters and raise his standard.
• The Tongzhou Prefectural Governor explained that Wang Chong's hereditary title did not grant him authority to establish a command headquarters or interfere in military affairs.
• The Tongzhou Prefectural Governor presented submitting a memorial, requesting a frontier command, and immediate rebellion as the lowest, middle, and highest strategies.
• Wang Chong considered rebellion, while the Tongzhou Prefectural Governor offered to resign and leave for Chang'an to explain his actions.

Wang Chong adopted the Tongzhou Prefectural Governor’s advice to use his threatened return to Yanzhou as leverage while strengthening his position in Tongzhou. After sending fabricated and genuine evidence to Chang’an, he received an unexpected visit from Su Luoyan, Lu Moniang, and Sun Mingke.

• Wang Chong accepted the governor’s plan to claim he wanted to return to his fief in Yanzhou, which the Shangtuo Tribe controlled, and invite Tongzhou’s local officials to join him.
• Wang Chong hosted the governor, then sent him back to Chang’an with honors, deciding not to try to retain him.
• Wang Chong kept Chrysanthemum-Slaying Alliance members and gang members in Tongzhou, assigning the latter temporary duties.
• Wang Chong sent Chang’an fabricated correspondence and evidence, along with material Li Qingge had uncovered and evidence found on the dead soldiers.
• Su Luoyan, Lu Moniang, and Sun Mingke arrived in Tongzhou and visited Li Qingge, who welcomed them now that Wang Chong had been cleared of suspicion.

Wang Chong welcomed Sun Mingke to Tongzhou and sent him with several hundred soldiers to scout Ba Prefecture, hoping to prepare for a future campaign toward Yanzhou. Lu Moniang learned Sun Mingke had left and stormed into Wang Chong’s residence demanding to know where her junior brother was.

• Su Luoyan, Lu Moniang, and Li Qingge discussed Wang Chong’s deeds and planned to visit him the next day.
• Sun Mingke visited Wang Chong, who welcomed him as a friend and described his recent battles.
• Wang Chong explained the route through Ba Prefecture toward Yanzhou and asked Sun Mingke to scout Ba Prefecture for information.
• Wang Chong gave Sun Mingke several hundred soldiers and horses, and Sun Mingke left Tongzhou that day.
• Lu Moniang arrived with Li Qingge and Su Luoyan, demanded to know where Sun Mingke was, and Wang Chong offered to bring him back.

Wang Chong and the others caught up with Sun Mingke as he fought the Yegeluo Clan’s routed cavalry, then accepted the enemy soldiers’ surrender. The chapter ended with Wang Chong teasing Sun Mingke about the scolding Lu Moniang had given him for sending him to scout Ba Prefecture.

• Lu Moniang confronted Wang Chong for sending Sun Mingke away, and Wang Chong calmly deflected her saber strikes with one finger, revealing he had reached Grandmaster.
• Li Qingge tracked Sun Mingke’s hoofprints, and the group followed them until Wang Chong spotted Sun Mingke fighting Yegeluo Clan cavalry.
• Lu Moniang, Li Qingge, and Su Luoyan joined the fight, and the cavalry began surrendering when they recognized Wang Chong as Prince of Yan.
• Sun Mingke told Wang Chong he had killed Lichiluo in ten moves and was about to defeat the remaining soldiers.
• A surrendered Yegeluo Clan horseman explained that Lichiluo had planned to enslave the defeated cavalry, prompting them to surrender.
• Wang Chong smiled at Sun Mingke’s excitement and told him that Lu Moniang had scolded him for sending him out.

After the White Chrysanthemum case, Wang Chong accepted the surrendered Yegeluo soldiers and set out for Ba Prefecture with Su Luoyan, who warned him that powerful families would never let him live. She deduced that he planned to use his fief in Yanzhou as a pretext for rebellion, and he admitted he wanted to ensure no one could kill him against his will.

• Sun Mingke claimed responsibility for going to Ba Prefecture, and Lu Moniang scolded him before taking him back to their master.
• Wang Chong required the surrendered Yegeluo soldiers to adopt Han surnames, language, and clothing, and assigned them the surnames Yao, Ge, or Luo.
• Lu Moniang and Sun Mingke departed, and Li Qingge returned to Chang'an; Su Luoyan chose to accompany Wang Chong to Ba Prefecture.
• Wang Chong reorganized his force by mixing the Yegeluo clansmen with men from respectable families, then set out for Ba Prefecture with Han-speaking guides.
• Su Luoyan warned Wang Chong that the Jiang and Wen families, the court, and other powerful interests would not tolerate him living, and suggested he retreat into the mountains.
• Su Luoyan deduced that Wang Chong meant to use taking up his fief in Yanzhou as a pretext to rebel, and Wang Chong acknowledged that he wanted to prove no one could kill him if he did not wish it.

Wang Chong entertained the Yegeluo clansmen with a story, then learned from Su Luoyan about Ba Prefecture and its military governor, Shi Lushan. He considered ways to seize the prefecture and spent the night cultivating, ending the chapter wondering whether the Su Family would oppose his marriage to Su Luoyan.

• Wang Chong told the Yegeluo clansmen and his own men a long tale of "Battle Through the Heavens," delighting Su Luoyan and his listeners.
• Su Luoyan described Ba Prefecture, Shi Lushan’s power, and his elite Wild Goose Cavalry to Wang Chong.
• Wang Chong proposed disguising his men as defeated Yegeluo soldiers to attack Ba Prefecture, then considered killing Shi Lushan, but Su Luoyan warned that his death would leave the prefecture in chaos.
• Wang Chong inspected the camp, covered the sleeping Su Luoyan with a blanket, and meditated while trying to refine his True Qi more quickly.
• Su Luoyan shared breakfast with Wang Chong, who wondered whether her family would object to her marrying the politically sensitive Prince of Yan.

Wang Chong led his increasingly loyal force into Ba Prefecture and took control of Hejian Prefecture, where he posed as Pishaluo and challenged the local prefect. He left the prefect captured across his saddle and declared that he would hold the city for a few days.

• Wang Chong taught stories to his troops, then created the Eighteen Iron Horse and Ice River Strikes from the Yegeluo Clan warriors’ martial arts and Su Luoyan’s suggestions.
• After marching for seventeen or eighteen days, Wang Chong brought his force into Ba Prefecture and strengthened his control over its soldiers.
• Wang Chong and Su Luoyan observed that Hejian Prefecture’s residents were accustomed to steppe troops passing through, and Wang Chong suspected Shi Lushan allowed them safe passage.
• The Hejian Prefecture Prefect mistook Wang Chong for Pishaluo after Wang Chong claimed that identity.
• Wang Chong questioned the prefect about Hejian Prefecture, seized him, and announced that he would take the city for a few days.

Wen Zhengxi’s plot against Wen Zhengchun collapsed, and he escaped after killing his uncle. In Hejian, Wang Chong forced the prefect to surrender and seize the prefecture’s supplies, leaving the prefect implicated in killing a military commander.

• Wen Yande ordered Wen Zhengxi to take his own life, and Wen Zhengxi accused the Wen Family elders of sharing responsibility for the failed plot.
• Wen Zhengxi killed Wen Yanshou, used his body to block the elders’ attacks, and escaped the Wen residence.
• News spread that Wen Zhengxi had raped and murdered Wen Zhiwei, killed Wen Yanshou, and plotted against Wen Zhengchun.
• Wang Chong terrorized the prefect of Hejian into surrendering and ordering his family and the prefecture’s treasury supplies sent to Tongzhou.
• Su Luoyan reported that she had killed Hejian Prefecture’s infantry commander after he tried to flee and alert Shi Lushan.
• Wang Chong ordered the prefect to kill the cavalry commander, and a young follower finished the commander after the prefect missed.

After Wang Chong took Hejian Prefecture, he appointed a new commander and learned that Shi Lushan’s forces were concentrated in a few strongholds. Sun Mingke returned with a prophetic message, then rapidly captured three prefectures and marched on Cloud-Gathering Mountain, where he prepared to lure its defender into a fight.

• Wang Chong appointed the subordinate who had wielded the blade commander of Hejian Prefecture’s cavalry and infantry and ordered him to bring reinforcements from Tongzhou.
• Sun Mingke returned with a letter from his master bearing the verse, “Xuanhuang and Taiyi shall rise in Yan,” and Wang Chong learned that the Taiyi Sect was founded by one of the Seven Sons of Xuanhuang.
• Wang Chong sent Sun Mingke to control the roads around Hejian, but Sun Mingke instead captured Ciyang, Dongshun, and Bayuan and marched on Cloud-Gathering Mountain.
• Sun Mingke gathered more than three thousand troops and learned that Longxiang Jiatuo guarded the mountain’s provisions.
• Sun Mingke sent a nimble young man to provoke Longxiang Jiatuo and draw him down from the stronghold.

Sun Mingke lured Longxiang Jiatuo and Gajuli out of Cloud-Gathering Mountain, killed both commanders, and took the stronghold. In Hejian, Wang Chong’s popular donkey meat flatbreads did little to ease his anxiety about Sun Mingke’s campaign, and he turned to Su Luoyan for counsel.

• Sun Mingke killed Gajuli with his great cavalry lance and challenged Longxiang Jiatuo to fight.
• Sun Mingke defeated Longxiang Jiatuo in a single thrust, then led his men up Cloud-Gathering Mountain and attacked the stockade.
• Wang Chong invented donkey meat flatbreads and won the affection of the people of Hejian Prefecture by giving them away.
• Sun Mingke wrote that he had taken Cloud-Gathering Mountain, found abundant provisions, and set out to attack Flying Dragon Prefecture.
• Wang Chong gave away his flatbread equipment and asked Su Luoyan for advice, but she said they had to wait for Xuangang, Gan Ci, and Qin Gao to arrive.

The Empress grieved over her son, the Prince of Yan, while officials struggled to decide how to reward Wang Chong and his allies. After welcoming his reinforcements, Wang Chong organized his forces and prepared to confront Shi Lushan, leaving Sun Mingke’s rapid advance and Ba Prefecture City’s strange inaction unresolved.

• The Tongzhou Prefectural Governor told the Empress that the Prince of Yan feared returning to Chang'an, and she mourned that others wanted her only son dead.
• Wei Changqing recommended Qin Han for promotion and passed the unresolved question of Wang Chong’s rewards down to the Ministry of War’s directors.
• Su Luoyan told Wang Chong that she had willingly followed him, and he spent the night with her before their reunion with his reinforcements.
• Wang Chong welcomed Xuangang, Gan Ci, Qin Gao, and his household attendants, then sent Qin Gao to capture Cloud-Peering Ridge and formed the Wind-Treading Cavalry.
• After Su Luoyan explained the strategic importance of Cloud-Gathering Mountain, Wang Chong divided his forces, assigned Xuangang to defend the mountain and Gan Ci to watch Ba Prefecture City, and gathered provisions across the region.
• Wang Chong received Sun Mingke’s report that he had taken Yushan, Dongchuan, Wangjing, and Qianhu, while Ba Prefecture City’s army remained inactive and Su Luoyan continued advising Wang Chong.

Wang Chong secured Green Mountain Pass after Sun Mingke captured it and White Ox Pass, then confronted Shi Lushan, who attempted to assassinate him. Wang Chong revealed his Grandmaster-level strength, killed Shi Lushan, and helped Su Luoyan defeat the four men attacking her.

• Wang Chong reinforced Green Mountain Pass, gathered more than a thousand recruits, and received reports that Sun Mingke had captured White Ox Pass while Qin Gao had stormed Heaven-Scraping Ridge.
• As Wang Chong and Su Luoyan inspected the pass, Shi Lushan appeared disguised in battered armor and challenged Wang Chong to a fight.
• Shi Lushan attacked while four black-clad men held Su Luoyan at bay, but Wang Chong countered with repeated Nine-Headed Fire Dragon Flashes.
• Wang Chong struck Shi Lushan eighteen times, shattered his True Qi and internal organs, and killed him as he realized Wang Chong had reached the Grandmaster Realm.
• Wang Chong used Sword Illuminates Sun and Moon to kill the four black-clad men, and Su Luoyan reflected that his strength confirmed she had chosen the right man.

After demonstrating Sword Illuminates Sun and Moon for Su Luoyan, Wang Chong kissed her and set out with five hundred Wind-Treading Cavalry to take Ba Prefecture's seat. Shi Lushan's Wild Goose Cavalry ambushed them outside Green Mountain Pass, and Wang Chong fought Shi Bao in repeated cavalry charges.

• Wang Chong demonstrated his sword technique for Su Luoyan, then kissed her as the Wind-Treading Cavalry arrived.
• Wang Chong ordered Shi Lushan's head displayed and rode from Green Mountain Pass with five hundred Wind-Treading Cavalry, leaving Su Luoyan with the old and weak troops.
• Shi Lushan's Wild Goose Cavalry charged at Wang Chong's force, and Shi Bao challenged him to avenge his father.
• Wang Chong and Shi Bao clashed in a cavalry charge, and both sides suffered heavy losses.
• Wang Chong fought Shi Bao again, then wheeled around and charged back into the enemy formation without waiting for his troops to reform.

Wang Chong and Sun Mingke routed the Wild Goose Cavalry and reorganized their forces before marching toward Ba Prefecture City. After learning that Shi Bao had fled to the city and sought help from both the imperial court and the Eighteen Tribes of the Grasslands, Wang Chong arranged to swap the intercepted letters and met Huang Xiao at White Ox Pass.

• Sun Mingke led his cavalry into battle, helping Wang Chong's Wind-Treading Cavalry crush the Wild Goose Cavalry and force its surviving men to surrender or dismount.
• Wang Chong learned that Shi Bao had escaped to Ba Prefecture City and might take command of Shi Lushan's remaining troops.
• Sun Mingke named his new force the Cavalry of Swift Riders, while Wang Chong replenished the Wind-Treading Cavalry and assigned unselected soldiers to the Tailwind Army.
• Wang Chong ordered intercepted letters meant for the imperial court sent to the Eighteen Tribes of the Grasslands, and the letters meant for the tribes sent to Chang'an.
• Wang Chong visited White Ox Pass and promised Huang Xiao a reward for holding it; Huang Xiao asked to learn martial arts.

Wang Chong reinforced his position at White Ox Pass, then joined Gan Ci near Ba Prefecture City, where he discovered that Sun Mingke’s swords, Xiaoguang and Jilang, were two of the Thirteen Daoist Divine Swords. The chapter ended with Wang Chong sensing their extraordinary power and telling Sun Mingke that their wonders would become clear at the Grandmaster level.

• Wang Chong taught Huang Xiao the Vajra Prajna Palm, and Huang Xiao swore to defend White Ox Pass for him.
• Wang Chong taught the Eighteen Iron Horse and Ice River Strikes to soldiers at White Ox Pass before leaving with Sun Mingke.
• Gan Ci reported that he had taken seven cities and cut off Ba Prefecture City's roads; Wang Chong decided that capturing the city would require a plan beyond a direct assault.
• Wang Chong shared skewered beef with Gan Ci, Sun Mingke, and officers, then let Sun Mingke examine his Coiling Dragon Sword.
• Gan Ci and Sun Mingke discussed the Thirteen Daoist Divine Swords, and Sun Mingke revealed that Xiaoguang and Jilang were two of them.
• Wang Chong sensed his True Qi awaken Xiaoguang and Jilang, and told Sun Mingke their benefits would be apparent once he reached Grandmaster.

Wang Chong reflected on the Daoist Divine Swords and why he could not explain their mysteries to Sun Mingke, while Yuzao secured control of Tongzhou’s gangs for the Prince of Yan. The chapter left the Chrysanthemum-Slaying Alliance expanding its influence across Tongzhou’s sixteen prefectures.

• Wang Chong told Sun Mingke that he could only understand the Daoist Divine Swords’ mysteries after becoming a Grandmaster, and kept silent to avoid affecting his progress.
• Gan Ci failed to awaken Xiaoguang and Jilang, while Wang Chong recognized that Coiling Dragon had become connected to his mind after his own advancement.
• Yuzao asked Tongzhou’s gang leaders to join the Prince of Yan, and Luo Dayong took over the Qinghe Gang to pledge its support.
• A young man killed the Sanhe Gang leader and declared that the gang would join the Prince of Yan, prompting more than ten gangs to switch sides.
• Yuzao’s alliance eliminated seven refusing gangs, and within three days she brought every gang in Tongzhou into the Chrysanthemum-Slaying Alliance.

Wang Chong prepared to besiege Ba Prefecture City, but Shi Bao unexpectedly evacuated with his army and the city's people. Wang Chong sent Gan Ci to occupy the city and pursued Shi Bao with Sun Mingke to protect Tongzhou.

• Wang Chong sent Yuzao a long letter praising her success in absorbing Tongzhou's gangs and expressing concern for her.
• Wang Chong decided to take Ba Prefecture City, but Shi Bao opened the gates and led his army and the city's people east toward Tongzhou.
• Wang Chong realized Shi Bao was fleeing with the people and ordered Gan Ci to occupy Ba Prefecture City while he and Sun Mingke gave chase.
• Shi Bao planned to flee through other prefectures and seek refuge with the Yegeluo Clan, spreading rumors about Wang Chong to drive the people from the city.
• Wang Chong warned Sun Mingke that Shi Bao must not reach Tongzhou and harm its people.

Wang Chong gathered fleeing commoners from Ba Prefecture and returned to Tongzhou, where he learned Shi Bao had fled and Sun Mingke had seized two cities in Chi Prefecture. He then met Gao Gun, his former teacher and the court’s envoy, who was stunned to hear that Wang Chong had killed Shi Lushan and taken all twenty-four cities of Ba Prefecture.

• Wang Chong used his Wind-Treading Cavalry and provisions to gather most of the commoners fleeing Ba Prefecture, then headed back toward Tongzhou.
• Wang Chong learned Shi Bao had fled into Chi Prefecture and ordered Sun Mingke to return, leaving the two captured cities in his hands.
• Yuzao welcomed Wang Chong back to Tongzhou, where he ordered his men to beat and bind the court envoy before learning who he was.
• Gao Gun revealed that the court had issued appointments for Wang Chong’s allies and questioned whether Wang Chong intended to rebel.
• Wang Chong told Gao Gun that he had killed Shi Lushan and occupied all twenty-four cities of Ba Prefecture, leaving Gao Gun speechless.
• Yuzao explained Gao Gun’s reputation as the Greatest Teacher Under Heaven, and Wang Chong prepared to win his favor.

Wang Chong learned that the Empress and Gao Gun had arranged his escape from Chang'an so he could live safely under a new identity. After accepting Yuzao as someone under his protection, Gao Gun promised to help Wang Chong reclaim Yanzhou.

• Gao Gun told Wang Chong that the Empress had asked him to improve Wang Chong’s martial arts and lightness skills, and Wang Chong thanked him for remaking him.
• Gao Gun revealed that he had helped Wang Chong leave Chang'an so he could escape the great clans’ schemes and live an ordinary life as a disciple of the Way of Great Peace.
• Wang Chong learned that Mi Jixiang, the Way of Great Peace’s holy maiden, had been arranged as his fiancée, and Gao Gun warned him not to pursue her.
• Gao Gun allowed Yuzao to call him Teacher, and Wang Chong sent her to bring the Withered Meditation Method and Vajra Prajna Palm as gifts.
• Gao Gun accepted the manuals and promised to help Wang Chong take Yanzhou from the Shangtuo Tribe.

Wang Chong and Gao Gun devised a plan to use a huge trade order to keep the Shangtuo Tribe from opposing their move on Yanzhou. Wang Chong then traveled with Gao Gun to Ba Prefecture, where his new administration continued to expand.

• Wang Chong repaid Ba Prefecture’s wealthy households for grain and recruited the retainers they supplied into the Tailwind Army, which began transporting and trading goods.
• Gao Gun asked Wang Chong about the Shangtuo Tribe and explained that it would send a major caravan to the upcoming Heroes' Assembly of the Eighteen Tribes.
• Wang Chong proposed using Shi Lushan’s confiscated fortune as a deposit for an order worth more than ten times its value, leaving the Shangtuo Tribe burdened with goods it could not pay for.
• Wang Chong asked Gao Gun to carry out the purchase as an envoy from Chang'an, and Gao Gun agreed.
• Wang Chong left Yuzao in Tongzhou with a force of eight hundred, then traveled with Gao Gun and Sun Mingke to Ba Prefecture.
• Wang Chong found that the Ya Office in Hejian Prefecture had grown to more than seven hundred people and continued replacing Shi Lushan’s former officials with lower-ranking local officials.