Chapter Summaries

Jiang Jie defeated Dudley in a duel but spared his life, then joined Mage Nolan’s party as his escort. Harold praised Jiang Jie and asked him to discipline his son Ivan in the future.

• Jiang Jie broke through Dudley’s Mage Armor and held his daggers to Dudley’s neck, making the onlookers rush to intervene.
• Jiang Jie stopped short of killing Dudley, warned him about the poisoned daggers used in the attempt on his own life, and called him a coward.
• Mage Nolan ordered Dudley to change his soiled clothes, then accepted Jiang Jie’s respectful offer to escort him.
• Harold praised Jiang Jie, while the royal guards grew more accepting of him and Basil kept his disapproval to himself.
• Harold asked Jiang Jie to keep his son Ivan in line, and Jiang Jie resolved to discipline the boy if needed.

Jiang Jie’s escort reached Bunolol after repelling an attack by forest wolves, while the Cult of the Damned secretly planned a stronger ambush. Jiang Jie suspected the cult was behind the attack and went to sleep wary of the danger ahead.

• Mage Nolan sent Dudley to sit outside, and Harold led the escort out of Lordaeron toward the nearest town.
• Dozens of forest wolves attacked the party, but the guards and mages fought them off before they reached Bunolol.
• The Cult of the Damned learned the escort’s strength and planned to ambush it between Lordamere Lake and Venomweb Vale in two days.
• Jiang Jie told Harold that the wolves had seemed to be testing the party, and Harold agreed that someone might be controlling them.
• Jiang Jie suspected the Cult of the Damned was targeting the escort or Dudley and went to sleep cautiously.

Jiang Jie traveled with the royal guards toward Tirisfal Monastery, practiced his martial arts during the journey, and explained the Pandaren to the curious Mage Nolan. The party rested near Venomweb Vale before planning to cross it the next day.

• The party reached the entrance to the mountains near Venomweb Vale, and Paladin Basil took command and planned their dangerous crossing.
• Harold brought back a deer, and Jiang Jie praised the venison before practicing Taijiquan.
• Harold asked about Jiang Jie's slow movements, and Jiang Jie claimed his ancestor had learned training methods from a Pandaren heroine named Jiang.
• Mage Nolan recognized the Pandaren from ancient elven writings, and Jiang Jie said they lived on a mist-shrouded continent.
• Jiang Jie recalled that a Pandaren named Storm Stormstout had visited the Barov Family ten years earlier and defeated a hundred elite guards.

Jiang Jie detected a powerful ambush by a mage, three rogues, two Warriors, a hunter, and fifty-four wolves, and warned the others. Mage Nolan was silenced by the enemy mage’s Counterspell, leaving the defenders overwhelmed as someone volunteered to take the mage on.

• Basil warned the group that the wolves had followed them and an attack was likely that night.
• Jiang Jie detected the approaching enemies and sounded the alarm.
• Harold ordered the guards to form a defensive formation around Mage Nolan as the attackers closed in.
• Mage Nolan began casting Blizzard, but the enemy mage countered his spell and prevented him from casting.
• Harold and the guards feared they would be overwhelmed, until a low voice offered to deal with the enemy mage.

Jiang Jie used his scanning and rogue skills to ambush a hunter, a mid-level rogue, and a mid-level mage, then shattered the mage’s Mana Shield with a rapid five-star attack. He survived the mage’s Arcane Explosion with a four-element legendary enchantment, leaving the mage stunned by the necklace and wondering about Prince Kael'thas.

• Jiang Jie used Xiao Feng’s scan to map nearby enemies, traps, alarms, and perception ranges as he approached the enemy’s rear.
• Jiang Jie incapacitated the mid-level rogue with Sap and immobilized the hunter with Pegasus Meteor Finger.
• Jiang Jie vanished, attacked the mid-level mage, and broke his Mana Shield with rapid Sinister Strikes followed by Five-Star Eviscerate.
• The mid-level mage cast Arcane Explosion, but Jiang Jie’s necklace formed four-element armor that protected him.
• The mage recognized the necklace’s legendary enchantment and, thinking of Prince Kael'thas, wondered who had enchanted it.

Jiang Jie killed a mid-tier mage, a hunter, and a mid-tier rogue, breaking the attackers’ assault and giving the besieged royal guards and mages a chance to fight back. The survivors recognized him as Nicholas and saw him as their hope.

• Jiang Jie used the Elemental Necklace to survive the mid-tier mage’s Arcane Explosion, then slit the mage’s throat.
• A high-tier assassin killed a royal guard while Harold Coleman struggled to defend the group from the assassin and the woodland wolves.
• Mage Nolan sensed the mid-tier mage’s death and began weaving a magical barrier with Connie and Archie’s help.
• Jiang Jie killed the hunter and the mid-tier rogue, using his simulated rogue skills and calling one technique Pegasus Meteor Finger.
• The hunter’s wolves retreated, and the survivors saw Jiang Jie standing among three corpses and recognized him as Nicholas.

Jiang Jie helped the royal escort defeat the attackers, capturing a novice Rogue while the high-ranking assassin escaped. The others praised Nicholas and promised to report his deeds, then prepared for the night and gave him the attackers’ loot.

• Jiang Jie blocked the high-ranking Rogue’s attack on Harold, forcing the assassin to flee with Sprint and Vanish.
• Jiang Jie immobilized the novice Rogue with Pegasus Meteor Finger, frightening the remaining high-ranking assassin into retreating.
• The royal escort recognized that Nicholas’s actions had saved their lives, and Mage Nolan thanked him.
• Basil promised to report Nicholas’s achievements to Highlord Mograine and the king, while privately considering introducing him to Uther as a potential Paladin.
• The escort set up alarms, guarded their captive, and planned to take him to Tirisfal Monastery for interrogation the next day.
• Harold gave Jiang Jie the loot from the attackers he had killed.

Jiang Jie sorted through the gear left by the attackers and discussed selling the mage’s belongings to Mage Nolan. After discovering the mage had secretly studied necromancy, the group suspected a Cult of the Damned connection and prepared to leave for Tirisfal Monastery the next morning.

• Jiang Jie assessed the staff, magic ring, spellbook, potions, weapons, and other items left behind by the attackers.
• Mage Nolan offered to buy the staff, ring, and spellbook, then identified a spell in the book as necromancy.
• Jiang Jie suggested that the dead mage had belonged to the Cult of the Damned and connected the cult to Kel'Thuzad.
• Mage Nolan was horrified to learn of Kel'Thuzad’s alleged betrayal, while Jiang Jie reassured him that Prince Arthas, Lady Jaina, and Master Onias had acted against Kel'Thuzad.
• Paladin Basil ordered the novice rogue taken to Tirisfal Monastery for interrogation and set the group’s departure for the next morning.
• Mage Nolan offered Jiang Jie two hundred gold coins for the mage’s belongings.

Jiang Jie discovered that Dudley was hiding a vial of Scourge Plague and publicly accused him, forcing Mage Nolan and the others to confront the possibility that Dudley possessed the deadly substance. The chapter ended with Jiang Jie swearing in his family’s name that Dudley had the plague and challenging the group to search him.

• Mage Nolan gave his staff and magic ring to Connie and told Jiang Jie that she would pay him for the items.
• Jiang Jie noticed Dudley acting suspiciously and had Xiao Feng scan him, revealing a vial of Scourge Plague in his hand.
• Jiang Jie recognized the vial as Scourge Plague, the substance Baron Soroson had used in Andorhal, and suspected Dudley had obtained it during their journey.
• Jiang Jie demanded that Dudley hand over the vial, but Dudley hid it and threatened him.
• Jiang Jie accused Dudley of carrying Scourge Plague, and Mage Nolan, Basil, and Harold gathered around to investigate.
• Jiang Jie swore in his family’s name that Dudley had the plague and offered to kneel and apologize if a search proved him wrong.

Jiang Jie stopped Dudley from releasing the Scourge Plague and handed the vial to Basil, while Harold interrogated the captive. Dudley revealed that a shadow called Corno had ordered the attack and offered to expose his father as a member of the Cult of the Damned.

• Dudley threatened to break the Scourge Plague vial unless everyone backed away, but Jiang Jie struck him from Stealth and caught the falling vial.
• Jiang Jie gave the vial to Basil and asked Harold to interrogate Dudley.
• A necromancer paid the escaped assassin the rest of his fee, then dismissed the idea of pursuing Jiang Jie and revealed that Arthas had taken Lordaeron's fleets to hunt Mal'Ganis.
• During Harold's interrogation, Dudley confessed that his father had warned him about the ambush and planned to send him to Tirisfal Monastery instead of Scholomance.
• Dudley said a shadow called Corno had told him to poison Jiang Jie's group, then offered to report his father as a member of the Cult of the Damned.

After exposing Baron Soroson as a Cult of the Damned member, Basil led the royal guards across Venomweb Vale to Tirisfal Monastery so they could report the threat to Lordaeron. They arrived to learn that the Highlord and other senior leaders were away investigating the Undead Plague, leaving Baron Tyrosus in command.

• Harold realized Baron Soroson was a Cult of the Damned member and urged the group to report the danger to the king immediately.
• Basil decided they would march to Tirisfal Monastery and seek a mage portal back to Lordaeron.
• The group joined paladins, priests, and mages at an outpost, crossed Venomweb Vale, and marched through the night.
• They reached Tirisfal Monastery, where Basil called for an immediate audience with the Highlord to deliver vital intelligence.
• Baron Tyrosus told Basil that Highlord Mograine, Chief Advisor Fairbanks, and Archmage Doan had left to investigate the Undead Plague and had not returned, so Tyrosus was in command.

Jiang Jie overheard Renault Mograine, Sally Whitemane, and Jimmy Vishas heading to interrogate a secret prisoner, then discovered Lilian Voss following them in Stealth. He confronted Lilian about her jealousy of Sally, leaving her shaken and in tears.

• Jiang Jie recalled how Alexandros Mograine would help create Ashbringer and noted that the monastery's leaders were away investigating the Undead Plague.
• Jiang Jie heard Renault, Sally, and Jimmy agree to go interrogate a prisoner connected to the Cult of the Damned.
• Jiang Jie detected Lilian Voss hiding in Stealth and called her out, though she refused to reveal herself.
• Lilian questioned how Jiang Jie had found her and why he knew her name and father.
• Jiang Jie asked whether Lilian had followed the others out of jealousy of Sally, prompting Lilian to tremble and cry.

Jiang Jie praised Lilian’s beauty and persuaded her to teach him rogue skills, then entered the gaming pod to train. He began a ten-hour training session while the AI Xiao Feng acted jealous of his ranking other women above her.

• Jiang Jie sincerely praised Lilian’s appearance, and she was delighted to hear that he considered her the third-prettiest woman he had seen.
• Lilian asked Jiang Jie’s name, promised to smile more, and agreed to call him Big Brother Nicholas.
• Jiang Jie asked Lilian to demonstrate the rogue skills taught by One-Armed Invar, and she showed him everything she knew.
• Jiang Jie entered the gaming pod, where Xiao Feng listed seventeen rogue skills for training and warned that the accumulated energy would last about ten hours.
• Xiao Feng complained that Jiang Jie had ranked other women above her, then transported him to a vast training room.

Jiang Jie trained his dagger skills in Fruit World and learned several rogue abilities through the gaming pod. He returned to Tirisfal Monastery, where Lilian was astonished that he had understood six or seven skills.

• Xiao Feng tricked Jiang Jie by activating crazy mode in Fruit World, where he was immediately overwhelmed by watermelons.
• Jiang Jie repeatedly played classic mode, improving until he lasted a full minute on his 101st attempt.
• Xiao Feng explained that Jiang Jie could not yet simulate some of Lilian’s skills without higher cultivation and showed him the skills he could practice.
• Jiang Jie learned the circulation pathways for several beginner and intermediate rogue skills, though some required meridian openings beyond his current cultivation.
• After his ten hours in the gaming pod ended, Jiang Jie returned to Tirisfal Monastery and told Lilian he had learned six or seven skills.

Jiang Jie demonstrated the rogue skills he had learned to Lilian, who took comfort in his kindness before finally rejecting her father Benedictus’s abuse. The next morning, Jiang Jie and his companions began teleporting to Lordaeron, but Lilian rushed into the array and knocked Basil away just as it activated.

• Jiang Jie demonstrated several rogue skills to Lilian and promised to bring her presents when he returned.
• Lilian went back to the monastery watchpost, where Benedictus insulted her and told her he wished she would catch the Undead Plague so he could execute her.
• Lilian decided to sever all ties with Benedictus and vanished in Stealth, heading toward Tirisfal Monastery.
• Knight Harold woke Jiang Jie the next morning after Thalnos completed a teleportation array that could take three people to Lordaeron.
• Jiang Jie, Basil, and Thalnos entered the array, but a petite figure rushed in and knocked Basil out before the teleportation finished.

Jiang Jie returned to Lordaeron with Lilian and Dudley, whom he identified as Baron Soroson’s son and a prisoner tied to the Cult of the Damned. He warned Princess Calia and Jaina that Soroson’s influence and possible cult ties made the threat inside Lordaeron much more serious.

• Jiang Jie agreed to let Lilian stay with him after she said she had fallen out with her father and had nowhere else to go.
• Jiang Jie brought Lilian and Polymorphed Dudley from the teleportation hall to Princess Calia, keeping an intermediate mage refreshing the spell along the way.
• Jiang Jie dismissed the exhausted mage and asked Princess Calia to find someone trustworthy to maintain Dudley’s Polymorph.
• Jiang Jie recognized Jaina, who questioned him about the secrets in his manuscript, but he told her and Princess Calia that Dudley was Baron Soroson’s son and described what had happened.
• Jaina reacted with disbelief that a powerful baron could belong to the Cult of the Damned, while Princess Calia warned that Soroson commanded the security forces and other cult members might be spread throughout Lordaeron.

Jiang Jie and Princess Calia brought Dudley’s confession about Baron Soroson and the Cult of the Damned to King Terenas. After hearing the danger and questioning whether everyone present could be trusted, Terenas ordered them to keep the matter secret.

• Jiang Jie urged Princess Calia and Jaina to bring their evidence to King Terenas.
• Princess Calia told Terenas that Baron Soroson and the Cult of the Damned were involved, and Dudley confessed what he knew.
• Terenas collapsed and coughed up blood after hearing Dudley’s confession, but insisted he could continue.
• Terenas questioned whether Jiang Jie and Lilian could be trusted, and Princess Calia and Jiang Jie vouched for them.
• Terenas ordered everyone present to withdraw and forbade them from revealing any information about the matter.

Princess Calia urged Terenas to act against the Cult of the Damned and the spreading Undead Plague, but he accused her of seeking power and defended Arthas. Calia left without persuading him, while Jaina offered to seek help from Archmage Antonidas and take Dudley to Dalaran.

• Jiang Jie left with Lilian, and Jaina put Dudley to sleep so the three of them could speak privately with Terenas.
• Princess Calia asked Terenas to consult Uther, Abbendis, and Isillien, but he explained that they and other leaders were away investigating or fighting the plague.
• Calia warned that the Cult of the Damned could learn about Dudley and urged Terenas to act before the Undead Scourge overwhelmed Lordaeron.
• Terenas dismissed her warnings, defended Arthas's slaughter of Stratholme, and accused Calia of trying to take Arthas's place as heir.
• Calia denied wanting the throne and left, while Jaina offered to contact Archmage Antonidas and take Dudley to Dalaran.

Jiang Jie collected his storytelling earnings and a debt from Earl Lawrence, then used his money and a new medicinal bath to advance to the Houtian Third Layer. He returned to Child Hall to challenge the Eighteen Children Formation, but the young monks defeated him again.

• Daphne told Jiang Jie that Don Quixote's storytelling had earned fifty gold coins, and Don Quixote urged Jiang Jie to write more chapters.
• Jiang Jie returned the Vanish Amulet to Miles and received the daggers Widowmaker and Gut Ripper.
• Jiang Jie collected two hundred gold coins from Earl Lawrence, repaid Daphne, gave Lilian money for clothes and outings, and bought supplies for medicinal baths.
• Jiang Jie used a new, stronger medicinal bath and advanced his Black Tortoise Longevity Art and cultivation to the Houtian Third Layer.
• Jiang Jie challenged the Eighteen Children Formation at Child Hall but was defeated, and Xiao Feng told him he still needed more training.

Jiang Jie followed Xiao Feng’s advice to focus on mastering the skills he already knew, then practiced rogue abilities and daggers before Princess Calia summoned him and Lilian. In her bedchamber, Calia explained that a passage from Hamlet had strengthened her resolve, leaving Jiang Jie wondering what she planned to do next.

• Xiao Feng told Jiang Jie to improve his existing skills and wait until he reached the fourth level of Houtian before learning more martial arts.
• Jiang Jie trained rogue skills and practiced with daggers for ten hours, then rested and spent time with Lilian.
• A little maid summoned Jiang Jie and Lilian to Princess Calia’s bedchamber, where they found Jaina, Fina Goldensword, and the bound Dudley.
• Fina scrutinized Jiang Jie and his necklace, which Jaina recognized as the Elemental Necklace Prince Kael'thas had given her before she passed it to Calia.
• Princess Calia told Jiang Jie that a passage from the Hamlet he had written had moved her and strengthened her resolve, then recited Hamlet’s speech about being or not being.