Chapter Summaries

Wang Chong rejected An Dushan’s offer of an alliance, but accepted the treasures sent with the envoy and discovered the power of the Heavenly Martial Great Spear and Divine Power Battle Armor. After distributing the other gifts to Tailwind Army squad leaders as business capital, he received an envoy from Wudang.

• Wang Chong refused An Dushan’s envoy’s proposal to join forces, explaining that the Empress was his mother, while Yuwen Xuandu demanded concrete benefits and suggested An Dushan send five hundred thousand people.
• The envoy left the gifts he had brought, and Yuwen Xuandu opened the chests for Wang Chong.
• Wang Chong tested the Heavenly Martial Great Spear and confirmed that it accepted his Pure Yang internal power but resisted his Nine-Headed Dragon King Aspect.
• Yuwen Xuandu identified the Divine Power Battle Armor and explained that it strengthened protective Gang Qi by the equivalent of thirty percent of a Grandmaster Realm cultivator’s power.
• Wang Chong distributed the ordinary jewels among Tailwind Army squad leaders as business capital and gave them instructions on using the money.
• An envoy from Wudang arrived in Chang’an seven or eight days after An Dushan’s envoy departed.

Mi Ang delivered the Empress’s decree appointing Wang Chong to several posts and privately told him not to send troops against An Dushan. After winning Mi Ang’s trust with hospitality and poetry, Wang Chong asked his senior brother to teach him Wudang martial arts.

• Mi Ang introduced himself as Mo Zhenxing’s senior brother and asked Wang Chong to spare Bo Yang, whose son was his friend.
• Wang Chong assured Mi Ang that Bo Yang and the officials of Huangzhou Prefecture were unharmed, and accepted the Empress’s decree appointing him Military Governor of Tong, Ba, and Yan and Grand Protector of Nine-Bend.
• Mi Ang met Yuwen Xuandu and learned that the Empress had privately ordered Wang Chong not to concern himself with An Dushan or send troops.
• Wang Chong hosted Mi Ang at a banquet and later discussed poetry with him on Great Thunder Mountain, impressing the Wudang disciple.
• Wang Chong asked Mi Ang for instruction in Wudang martial arts, and Mi Ang agreed, mentioning his knowledge of Suppress the Canghai and the Purple Flame Hand.

Wang Chong learned the Suppress the Canghai sword technique from Mi Ang and welcomed more than two hundred Wudang disciples into his forces. After Mi Ang departed, Wang Chong's men intervened when Ling Prefecture soldiers attacked Feng Pofeng's family as they tried to flee.

• Mi Ang taught Wang Chong the Suppress the Canghai sword technique, which Wang Chong mastered in a few hours.
• Mi Ang handed more than two hundred young Wudang disciples over to Wang Chong, who assigned them in pairs to the Wind-Treading Cavalry squads.
• After staying at Great Thunder Mountain for seven or eight days, Mi Ang departed for Chang'an, and Wang Chong escorted him away with the new disciples.
• Wang Chong heard that Ling Prefecture soldiers were surrounding an old servant, Feng Pofeng's concubine, and Feng Pofeng's son, so he led his men to investigate.
• Li Zhongshan quickly defeated the old servant, captured the woman, and brought Feng Pofeng's son to Wang Chong.

Wang Chong captured Feng Pofeng’s son and concubine, drawing Feng’s army into a failed attack on Great Thunder Mountain. While Feng retreated, Sun Mingke seized Ling Prefecture, giving Wang Chong control of seven connected prefectures and prompting him to appoint Qin Gao as its commander.

• Wang Chong learned why Feng Pofeng had sent his son away, captured the boy and his mother, and released the old servant to carry a message back to Feng.
• Wang Chong sent the mother and son to Tongzhou and ordered Sun Mingke, Dong Qing, Yueliduo, Mo Zhenxing, and Bo Yang to converge on Ling Prefecture.
• Feng Pofeng attacked Great Thunder Mountain for two days, but Wang Chong’s defenses held; when Feng’s army withdrew, Wang Chong pursued it toward Ling Prefecture.
• Wang Chong discovered that Sun Mingke had taken Ling Prefecture and entered the city, where he helped suppress the remaining fighting over the next two days.
• Yueliduo and Dong Qing pursued Feng Pofeng, while Mo Zhenxing changed course to join the pursuit; Wang Chong assigned Bo Yang to Chi Prefecture.
• Wang Chong ordered Qin Gao to take charge of Ling Prefecture and promoted Li Zhongshan to be Qin Gao’s deputy.

Wang Chong consolidated his seven provinces while weighing the dangers posed by the grassland tribes, An Dushan, and his own shortage of troops and provisions. As Jiang Wenjun tried to comfort him, Gao Gun led more than fifty thousand troops toward the Post-Deer Tribe, eager to expand his territory.

• Lü Feng surrendered thirty thousand troops to the scholar who drove him and his soldiers back to the White Camel Tribe, while Sun Mingke killed Feng Pofeng and other generals returned with prisoners and spoils.
• Wang Chong strengthened his control over seven provinces, reorganized his troops, and practiced the Suppress the Canghai sword art as An Dushan and the court repeatedly pressed him for military aid.
• Wang Chong told Jiang Wenjun that the grassland tribes, An Dushan, and the lack of troops and provisions were among the challenges threatening his position.
• Jiang Wenjun massaged Wang Chong's head as he rested with his head in her lap.
• Gao Gun marched more than fifty thousand troops toward the Post-Deer Tribe and told his disciple that their recent victories made expanding their territory worthwhile.

Wang Chong visited Yueliduo at her military camp, where they discussed training soldiers and grew intimate. After revealing the false scars she had used to disguise herself, Yueliduo asked about Wang Chong’s restless way of living, and he silently reflected on his fear of being sent away from this world.

• Wang Chong woke from a dream beside Jiang Wenjun and went to find Yueliduo at her camp.
• Wang Chong and Yueliduo discussed how training ordinary soldiers in martial arts could strengthen their army but threaten commanders and accomplished martial artists.
• Yueliduo brought Wang Chong to her tent, where he caressed her legs and she removed her veil to reveal scars that were partly disguised.
• Wang Chong rubbed away Yueliduo’s false scars, and she explained that she had disfigured herself because she feared he would otherwise kill her.
• Yueliduo asked whether Wang Chong felt anxious and lived as if each day were his last, and he silently considered his fear of being sent away.

After An Dushan seized Luoyang through Copper Pass, Wang Chong learned that the captured commander Li Cunshou would be executed and decided to rescue him. Wang Chong and three Grandmaster Realm companions entered Luoyang, discovered where Li Cunshou was held, and found that An Dushan planned to behead him in five days.

• A scout reported that An Dushan had taken Copper Pass and Luoyang after Third Lord Jiang removed the experienced commander and the replacement lost the pass.
• Wang Chong learned that Li Cunshou, one of the Four Braves, had been captured and was due to be executed, so he decided to recruit him by rescuing him.
• Wang Chong, Yueliduo, Jiang Wenjun, and Yuwen Xuandu secretly rode toward Luoyang with five Wudang Disciples, then crossed Copper Pass using their lightness skills.
• Yuwen Xuandu used his local connections to get the four companions into Luoyang and uncover Li Cunshou's location and situation.
• Wang Chong learned that An Dushan planned to behead Li Cunshou and several officials in five days.

Wang Chong took Yueliduo to Luoyang’s West Market, where he intervened when a foreign female slave tried to escape and seized the slave trader’s business by force. The chapter leaves Yuwen Xuandu meeting with former military retainers who wanted to rescue their master.

• Wang Chong disguised Yueliduo and Jiang Wenjun as Turkic warriors and took them sightseeing around Luoyang.
• Wang Chong and Yueliduo visited the West Market, where a female slave wounded her own face to avoid being sold.
• Wang Chong rescued the female slave, killed the trader who demanded more money, and let her leave with his money pouch.
• Wang Chong took control of the slave trader’s guards and company, killing those who resisted.
• Yuwen Xuandu met with former military retainers who wanted to rescue their master.

Yuwen Xuandu secretly contacted Shi Langying and Li Cunshou’s former troops, then reported their rescue plan to Wang Chong, who tasked him with meeting Li Cunshou in prison. Li Cunshou found a tiny saw hidden in his steamed bun, but his sealed True Qi left him doubting he could use it to escape.

• Yuwen Xuandu disguised himself as Mister Jade and promised Shi Langying a way to smuggle supplies into prison and help Li Cunshou escape.
• Yuwen Xuandu returned to the inn and followed a messenger to Wang Chong at the West Market.
• Yuwen Xuandu told Wang Chong that Shi Langying’s men wanted to rescue Li Cunshou, and Wang Chong assigned him to visit the prison in his place.
• Wang Chong promised Yuwen Xuandu authority over the Ya Offices in the Seven Provinces if the rescue plan succeeded.
• Li Cunshou discovered a small saw blade hidden inside his steamed bun and realized his sealed True Qi might make it useless.

Yuwen Xuandu visited the imprisoned Li Cunshou and negotiated the terms under which he would serve Wang Chong. Wang Chong accepted Li Cunshou’s revised conditions and ordered Yuwen Xuandu to arrange a meeting with the general’s subordinates.

• Yuwen Xuandu disguised himself as a jailer and found Li Cunshou imprisoned and gravely weakened.
• Li Cunshou rejected recruitment unless Wang Chong agreed to three conditions, then revised them to demand his own army, allegiance to the Jiang, and freedom to rescue Emperors Qin and Hou.
• Yuwen Xuandu returned to Wang Chong and reported Li Cunshou’s terms.
• Wang Chong agreed to all three revised conditions, promising Li Cunshou command of the Yamen Army and freedom to attempt the rescue.
• Wang Chong told Yuwen Xuandu to relay his answer and summon Li Cunshou’s subordinates, using a merchant caravan to conceal their identities.

Wang Chong and Shi Langying became sworn brothers and prepared a plan to free Li Cunshou from prison and escape Luoyang. After Yuwen Xuandu restored Li Cunshou’s True Qi, the rescue party set out, with Wang Chong joining the raid for the first time.

• Wang Chong welcomed Shi Langying and Li Cunshou’s remaining loyal men, then promised to help rescue Li Cunshou and escape the city.
• Shi Langying swore brotherhood with Wang Chong, and gave Yueliduo and Jiang Wenjun a Hundred-Forged Patterned Blade each.
• Yuwen Xuandu entered the prison and restored Li Cunshou’s sealed True Qi, after which Li Cunshou urged them to raid the prison in the early hours.
• Wang Chong planned for a small group of skilled fighters to free Li Cunshou while the others waited near the gates disguised as a slave caravan.
• Shi Langying led the fighters toward the prison, while Wang Chong decided to conceal some of his martial arts.

Wang Chong led a raid on Luoyang’s jail and found Li Cunshou had freed every prisoner, forcing the group to escape together. After gathering horses and pushing through delays, they reached the city gate as it began to open.

• Wang Chong broke through the soldiers guarding the jail, while Li Cunshou emerged carrying two people and announced that he had freed every prisoner.
• Wang Chong sent Shi Langying and Li Cunshou ahead to seize the city gate, then ordered Yuwen Xuandu, Yueliduo, and Jiang Wenjun to defeat the remaining guards.
• Yuwen Xuandu disarmed Yang Tiehu, sealed his acupoints, and had him carried away while Wang Chong gathered horses for the prisoners who could not walk.
• Wang Chong went to the West Market with Yueliduo and Jiang Wenjun, robbed several horse merchants, and returned with more than three hundred horses.
• Wang Chong forced the prisoners onto horseback and led the group toward the opening city gate, calling out that they had urgent military business.

Wang Chong escaped An Dushan’s city with the prisoners, but Li Cunshou and Shi Langying were left behind after failing to follow him through the gate. After reaching safety, Wang Chong learned many of the rescued captives were prominent officials, while Gao Gun returned to the White Camel Tribe and discovered his disciple had arranged a major undertaking for him.

• Wang Chong knocked down the gate guard, led his disguised men out of the city, and shot the messenger and pursuing cavalry when they tried to stop him.
• Wang Chong realized Li Cunshou, Shi Langying, and their former Copper Pass troops had stayed inside the closed gate, and he refused to turn back for them.
• Wang Chong led the rescued prisoners through Copper Pass, where Yuwen Xuandu identified many of them as renowned officials whom Wang Chong hoped to put to use.
• Gao Gun captured Post-Deer Mountain and much of the Post-Deer Tribe, then returned to the White Camel Tribe rather than pursue the survivors.
• Gao Gun read the Tailwind Army’s reports and learned that his disciple had planned a major undertaking for him.

Wang Chong rescued the imprisoned officials in Luoyang and tried to lead them toward Yanzhou Prefecture, but An Dushan sent troops after them. His bold declaration of his aspirations won over Qiguan Sui, who agreed to join him, while hinting that he knew Wang Chong's true identity.

• Wang Chong reassured the imprisoned officials and claimed he had come alone to rescue them, then announced they would go to Yanzhou Prefecture despite their protests.
• An Dushan sent roughly two thousand rebel soldiers in pursuit, and Wang Chong stayed behind with his two consorts while ordering Yuwen Xuandu to lead the officials onward.
• An official recognized Yuwen Xuandu, who removed his disguise and admitted his identity, surprising the assembled officials.
• Qiguan Sui asked about Wang Chong's aspirations, and Wang Chong declared that he sought to establish peace and carry on the sages' teachings.
• Qiguan Sui pledged to support Wang Chong, and Wang Chong offered to acknowledge him as a teacher.
• Qiguan Sui told Wang Chong that the leader of the Way of Great Peace was extraordinary.

Wang Chong led the rescued officials and his companions in a charge that broke An Dushan’s pursuing cavalry, then convinced more than two thousand soldiers to surrender. He organized the new troops and welcomed Yang Tiehu, one of An Dushan’s Eight Biao, into his service.

• Qiguan Sui revealed that he knew Wang Chong was the Holy Lord of the Way of Great Peace and urged him to repel the pursuing enemy.
• Wang Chong, his Grandmaster companions, and over a hundred iron-boned officials charged the cavalry, killing its commander and throwing the enemy ranks into disarray.
• Wang Chong called on the cavalry to surrender, and most of the soldiers laid down their weapons; he divided them into squads and placed officials in command.
• Yuwen Xuandu brought Yang Tiehu to Wang Chong, and Yang Tiehu declared that he would serve the Prince of Yan.

Wang Chong reorganized his forces in Huangzhou and sought advice from Gao Gun and Qiguan Sui about where to expand next. They agreed that he should target the Taisui Army, while Li Cunshou remained trapped in Luoyang.

• An Dushan raged over the escape of the prisoners and complained that his absent general Xun Ba might have stopped Wang Chong.
• Li Cunshou and Shi Langying hid in Luoyang's West Market, regretting that they had not followed Wang Chong's escape plan.
• Wang Chong returned to Huangzhou, expanded and reorganized his forces, and assigned commanders across several provinces.
• Gao Gun arrived in Huangzhou after conquering the Post-Deer Tribe and recognized Qiguan Sui as a member of the Way of the Yellow Heaven.
• Wang Chong asked Gao Gun and Qiguan Sui where he should expand, and both advised him to attack the Taisui Army.

Wang Chong learned about Tai Sui Yu’s rebellion and discovered that Wen Chan’er, Grand Preceptor Wen Xi’s granddaughter, was betrothed to him but would marry him only after he passed ten secret challenges. His teachers proposed delaying any attack on Tai Sui Yu until Wang Chong resolved the marriage, while both teachers privately hoped he would expand his power and help their ambitions.

• Wang Chong reviewed Tai Sui Yu’s rise from a wronged military examination champion to a rebel leader holding Five Provinces, and considered the risks of attacking his army.
• Gao Gun and Qiguan Sui told Wang Chong that Wen Chan’er was his betrothed secondary consort and had set him ten challenges before she would marry him.
• Wang Chong realized that he knew nothing about Wen Chan’er’s challenges, while Gao Gun assured him she might simply be refusing the marriage if he could not complete them.
• Wang Chong studied the map and weighed taking Qizhou to attack the Tai Sui army or supporting Grand Preceptor Wen Xi in Huazhou.
• Gao Gun hoped Wang Chong would hold off the Central Plains armies while he built a powerful grassland tribe, and Qiguan Sui saw Wang Chong as a chance for the Way of the Yellow Heaven to flourish.

After An Dushan sent Li Wantang to Huangzhou as a marriage-alliance offer, Wang Chong learned she was Li Kerang’s sister and arranged a quiet residence for her instead of taking her into his household. The next morning, Sun Ji discovered Wang Chong had protected both Li Wantang’s dignity and Sun Ji’s reputation, and called him a true gentleman.

• An Dushan sent Sun Ji to renew the alliance proposal and deliver Li Wantang to Wang Chong.
• Sun Ji revealed the humiliating offer, and Wang Chong comforted him and urged him to drink.
• Wang Chong consulted Gao Gun and Qiguan Sui, then decided to shelter Li Wantang because she was Li Kerang’s younger sister.
• Wang Chong met Li Wantang and arranged for her to stay in a quiet residence in Huangzhou Prefecture.
• Wang Chong wrote Sun Ji a letter giving him a false account to protect his standing, and Sun Ji later learned Wang Chong had treated Li Wantang honorably.

Wang Chong’s night with Jiang Wenjun and Yueliduo turned into a fierce contest that helped him break through to a fifth Pure Yang Divine Sword. After Sun Ji visited again, he proposed exploiting the rivalry between An Dushan and An Xuming to seize An Dushan’s original three-prefecture base.

• At the family banquet, Yueliduo noticed Wang Chong’s gloom and secretly kicked him, prompting him to return to his room early.
• Jiang Wenjun and Yueliduo fought through the night, forcing Wang Chong to defend himself until his Pure Yang True Qi formed a fourth and fifth Pure Yang Divine Sword.
• Jiang Wenjun and Yueliduo joined forces against Wang Chong, who fought them before inviting them to breakfast; Yueliduo stayed for wine, and Jiang Wenjun later returned dressed in fresh clothes.
• Sun Ji visited Wang Chong, praised his courtesy, and advised him to seize An Dushan’s three undefended prefectures by persuading An Xuming to turn against his father.

Wang Chong arranged for Sun Ji’s family to come to Tongzhou and prepared discreet aid for the Empress as An Dushan advanced on Chang’an. He refused Grand Preceptor Wen Xi’s request to occupy Qizhou without an imperial order, while Wen Chan’er secretly accompanied the envoy and criticized him.

• Gao Gun and Qiguan Sui advised Wang Chong not to attack An Dushan yet, and Gao Gun offered to contact An Xuming through a disciple of the Way of Great Peace.
• Wang Chong chose to let Sun Ji return for his family, arranged a mansion for them in Tongzhou, and accepted Li Kerang’s thanks for rescuing his sister.
• Wang Chong hosted Sun Ji and sent the Tailwind Army to gather intelligence as An Dushan marched on Chang’an and the Empress took the field.
• Wang Chong dispatched Sun Mingke and Mo Zhenxing to rescue the Empress if she was endangered, but told them not to join the fighting.
• San Yisheng urged Wang Chong to take Qizhou and attack the Taisui Army with Grand Preceptor Wen Xi, but Wang Chong refused to act without the Empress’s permission.
• Wen Chan’er revealed herself to San Yisheng and complained about Wang Chong, while San Yisheng warned her not to underestimate him.