Chapter Summaries

Eranikus arrived in Teldrassil after Ysera resurrected him, and he gave Jiang Jie a new Dragon's Call while asking him to connect Teldrassil to the Emerald Dream. Jiang Jie refused the connection to protect the city's residents from the Nightmare, then traveled to Sholazar Basin to aid Freya's avatar against the Scourge.

• Eranikus told Jiang Jie that Ysera had resurrected him with the Dragon's Call and sent him to recover in Teldrassil while guarding it from Xavius.
• Eranikus gave Jiang Jie Ysera's new Dragon's Call, which strengthened his connection to nature and let him enter and leave the Emerald Dream freely.
• Eranikus asked Jiang Jie to connect Teldrassil to the Emerald Dream, but Jiang Jie refused because the Nightmare could corrupt the tree and its residents.
• Broll arrived with Nordrassil's well water, and Anveena teleported the group to Grizzly Hills to purify Vordrassil.
• Jiang Jie told Ursol and Ursoc to clear the undead and Iron Dwarves from Grizzly Hills, then left with Anveena and Tsul'Kalu for Sholazar Basin to help Freya's avatar resist the Scourge.

Jiang Jie spent a month in Sholazar Basin, strengthening his soul while the Northrend Expedition made advances against the Scourge. Jotun returned wounded from Helya’s ambush and gave Jiang Jie a powerful new gauntlet.

• Jiang Jie drove the undead back into the Avalanche Foothills while Tsul'Kalu and Anveena helped fight them.
• Jiang Jie cultivated his spirit until the cracks in his soul closed, bringing it close to the High-tier Legendary level.
• Ysera and the others restored parts of the Emerald Dream, including the Dream Core and pathways to four regions.
• The Northrend Expedition captured Utgarde Keep and En'Kilah, while Uther, Old Mograine, and Tirion Fordring helped repel Arthas's attacks.
• Anveena told Jiang Jie that Jotun had returned, and Jotun revealed that Helya had ambushed and badly wounded him.
• Jotun gave Jiang Jie the golden-and-silver Fist of Tyr gauntlet, which Odyn had provided materials and smiths to create.

Jiang Jie received several powerful artifacts from Jotun, purified Strom'kar into a phoenix divine sword, and advanced to the Two Aspects Earth Immortal stage. After hearing about Odyn's offer and the troubles in Stormheim, Jotun departed, while Jiang Jie turned toward Stratholme to retrieve Xal'atath and deal with the Scourge.

• Jiang Jie used the Fist of Tyr to draw Holy Light and shadow from Strom'kar into his body, balancing the energies and reaching the Two Aspects Earth Immortal stage.
• Jiang Jie purged Strom'kar of shadow, restoring Pyralis as a golden-red Phoenix God and transforming the sword into a phoenix divine sword.
• Jotun gave Jiang Jie a Legendary suit of armor that amplified the range of mental power, along with the sword Truth Keeper and the shield Oathseeker.
• Jotun told Jiang Jie that Odyn would open the Halls of Valor to other races and offer the Aegis of Aggramar to anyone who passed strict trials.
• Jotun explained that Helheim continued attacking and that God-King Skovald was causing trouble in Stormheim, then departed for Odyn's side.
• Jiang Jie turned toward Stratholme, intending to retrieve Xal'atath after dealing with the Scourge.

Jiang Jie visited Stratholme to give Fenna the Truth Keeper and Oathseeker, but withheld the Lich King's armor until he could safely control its power. He then entered Azjol-Nerub with Anveena to seek Shadow energy and confront Yogg-Saron, stopping after the Old God noticed them.

• Fenna accepted the Truth Keeper and Oathseeker, while Jiang Jie decided not to give the Lich King's armor to anyone until he could defeat a true Lich King.
• Jiang Jie told Fenna to focus on her pregnancy and left Stratholme without taking the artifacts.
• Jiang Jie and Anveena entered Azjol-Nerub in disguise, leaving Tsul'Kalu behind to keep him safe.
• Jiang Jie and Anveena traveled deep underground, where they encountered Yogg-Saron's tentacles, damaged Titan facilities, and the Old God's whispers.
• Jiang Jie sensed Yogg-Saron's mental power and stopped, expecting Herald Volazj and Crypt Lord Anub'arak to arrive.

Jiang Jie confronted Anub'arak and Herald Volazj, two servants of Yogg-Saron whose power had grown to near-Demigod levels. As Volazj attacked his mind, Jiang Jie resisted the psychic storm with his now-unbroken soul and prepared to fight.

• Anub'arak emerged from the darkness and claimed that Yogg-Saron's gifts had made him stronger than before.
• Jiang Jie dismissed Anub'arak's power and turned his attention to Herald Volazj, whose strength also neared the Demigod level.
• Jiang Jie asked whether General Vezax had stayed away because Ulduar mattered more, and vowed to visit him there.
• Volazj unleashed a psychic shriek, but Jiang Jie withstood the storm and Yogg-Saron's whispers without fear.

Jiang Jie used Holy Light and shadow techniques to defeat the Faceless Ones and Nerubians, intending to absorb their shadow energy and strengthen Light and Shadow Taiji. Anub'arak escaped underground, leaving Jiang Jie to face Volazj, his true target.

• Jiang Jie and Anveena unleashed Holy Light and fireballs against the Faceless Ones and Nerubians, while the psychic storm continued to threaten him.
• Jiang Jie blocked Volazj's Shadow Bolts with Light and Shadow Taiji and absorbed their shadow energy to strengthen the technique.
• Anub'arak knocked Jiang Jie into the air, but Jiang Jie struck Volazj with Yin-Yang Union and severely wounded him.
• Jiang Jie formed swords from Holy Light and shadow, cut off one of Anub'arak's legs, and killed the other Faceless Ones and Nerubians.
• Anub'arak fled through underground passages while Volazj blocked Jiang Jie's pursuit, so Jiang Jie abandoned the chase.
• Jiang Jie turned his attention to Volazj and prepared to fight him, declaring that Volazj had been his target all along.

Jiang Jie destroyed Volazj and absorbed Shadow energy until his Light and Shadow Taiji reached High-tier Legendary, then returned to Teldrassil to strengthen his True Essence. A month later, after reaching High-tier Legendary himself, he received an urgent message from Archmage Angela and was summoned to the Vanguard Encampment.

• Jiang Jie dismembered Volazj and spent three hours using Holy Light and Shadow to destroy Zakajz's corpse and absorb its energy.
• Jiang Jie stopped absorbing energy because his True Essence could not withstand his Light and Shadow Taiji, then left Ulduar with Anveena.
• Jiang Jie returned to Teldrassil, where Eranikus helped restore the tree while Jiang Jie cultivated and strengthened his True Essence.
• Jiang Jie condensed his fifth drop of True Essence and broke through to the High-tier Legendary level, allowing him to barely unleash his full strength.
• Jiang Jie received a message from Archmage Angela, who summoned him to the Vanguard Encampment with Uther the Lightbringer beside her.

Uther opened the Crusaders' Coliseum tryouts at the second Vanguard Encampment, where champions from the Horde, Alliance, Night Elves, and Forsaken would compete for places on teams tasked with crucial missions against the Scourge. The group matches began as the allied leaders sought to choose teams of five, ten, and twenty-five before winter strengthened Arthas and the Frost Wyrms.

• Uther proposed finishing the war before winter, and the allied leaders approved building the Crusaders' Coliseum for a competition to select champions.
• The Horde, Alliance, Night Elves, and Forsaken gathered their leaders in separate sections of the arena, reflecting their uneasy alliances and rivalries.
• Uther addressed the assembled leaders in his Lightbringer Armor and explained that the Scourge was their common enemy.
• Uther announced that preliminary selections had produced two hundred champions: twenty each from the Night Elves and Forsaken, forty from the Horde, and one hundred and twenty from the Alliance nations.
• Uther declared the five-person team tryouts officially open, with group matches to determine teams of five, ten, and twenty-five.

Jiang Jie watched as Stormwind and Warsong faced off in the first five-person match, which quickly turned into a brutal fight. The Stormwind team appeared close to defeat when a Warsong wolf rider moved to kill a fallen hunter.

• Uther silenced the hostile crowds and warned Bolvar and Thrall to keep their people under control.
• The Stormwind Warriors and Warsong team entered the arena, and Jiang Jie helped raise a barrier to protect the spectators.
• Both teams launched coordinated attacks, with the Stormwind warriors trying to stop the Orc wolf riders and Blademaster.
• The Warsong Shaman struck the Stormwind Warrior and hunter with lightning, leaving both unable to fight.
• A Warsong wolf rider charged toward the fallen hunter and raised his axe to kill him.

Jiang Jie stopped the teams from breaking discipline and defeated Grom in a duel, leading the Warsong Clan to withdraw from the competition. The leaders disqualified both teams and announced the next match.

• Jiang Jie immobilized the fighters and sent the Mages, Paladins, and Shamans flying after they ignored Uther’s orders and attacked their companions.
• Jiang Jie called for the contestants to be disqualified, and Grom challenged him to a duel with the Warsong Clan’s participation at stake.
• Jiang Jie blocked Grom’s attacks with one hand, even after Grom drew on Gorehowl’s power.
• Jiang Jie urged Grom to uphold battlefield discipline, and Grom conceded defeat and withdrew the Warsong Clan from the competition.
• Uther, Bolvar, and Thrall disqualified both teams and announced the Dark Ranger team versus the Forsaken team as the next match.

The Forsaken defeated the Night Elf team, revealing the strength of their undead champions and prompting spectators to question Jiang Jie's intentions. The Kirin Tor then beat Quel'Thalas, and Sylvanas vowed to make regular arena competition mandatory across Silvermoon.

• Master Onias, Thassarian, Koltira, a Lich, and an undead mage overwhelmed the Night Elf team and secured victory for the Forsaken.
• Spectators recognized the Forsaken's formidable independent strength and repeatedly watched Jiang Jie with suspicion.
• The Kirin Tor team defeated the stronger Quel'Thalas lineup through its mages' broader and more daring magical expertise.
• Sylvanas announced plans to require Silvermoon's mages and soldiers to compete regularly in arena matches, with results affecting their evaluations.
• Sylvanas told Rommath that he would have to compete too, leaving him silently dismayed.

The final six squads were set, and the Alliance commanders questioned Jiang Jie about the Forsaken. Jiang Jie argued that the living could accept the undead as they had accepted the Orcs, leaving Sylvanas to consider whether undeath offered a path to immortality.

• The Silver Hand, Tauren, and Kor'kron squads won their matches, while the Stromgarde squad advanced to the final six after drawing a bye.
• Uther announced that the Forsaken, Kirin Tor, Silver Hand, Tauren, Kor'kron, and Stromgarde squads had reached the final six, then held a drawing for the afternoon matches.
• Uther, Admiral Daelin, Bolvar, Sylvanas, Jaina, Muradin, Highlord Falstad, Master Modera, and other commanders stayed behind to question Jiang Jie about the Forsaken.
• Jiang Jie argued that people could grow accustomed to the Forsaken just as they had accepted the Orcs, and said the undead retained their souls, intelligence, and memories.
• Sylvanas considered how High Elf lifespans had dwindled across generations and wondered whether undeath could preserve life indefinitely.

Jiang Jie proposed creating a confined kingdom for the Forsaken, where undead could live under a Lich King who controlled their kind. The Alliance leaders agreed to establish the kingdom only with strict limits on the Lich King and oversight by the major powers.

• Jiang Jie explained the Shadowlands and argued that people facing death might choose to become Forsaken, while Uther and Admiral Daelin warned of the risks.
• Jiang Jie proposed that the Forsaken destroy mindless undead and live in a kingdom confined to Icecrown Glacier and nearby lands, with death's emissaries guiding willing dead there.
• Jiang Jie revealed the Lich King's armor and said its wearer could control all undead, but the leaders worried about granting one person that power.
• The leaders agreed that the Lich King must be replaceable, weaker than potential challengers, and monitored by powerful Forsaken and agents from other nations.
• The leaders established three restrictions as prerequisites for a new Forsaken faction and kingdom.

The Forsaken, Kor'kron, and Stromgarde teams won their matches, with White Gorilla overwhelming the Tauren team before Jiang Jie removed him from the competition. The Stromgarde team then faced the Tauren again with a replacement disciple, leaving Baine Bloodhoof in despair.

• Thassarian, Koltira, the Lich, and Master Onias led the Forsaken team to defeat the Silver Hand team in under two minutes.
• The Kor'kron team defeated the Kirin Tor team after previously winning a narrow battle against Theramore's Seventh Legion.
• White Gorilla defeated the Tauren team in less than a minute, and Jiang Jie intervened to prevent him from killing them.
• Jiang Jie removed White Gorilla from the Stromgarde team after the Alliance and Horde protested, then replaced him with a disciple who had not qualified.
• The Stromgarde team faced the Tauren team again after a brief rest, and Baine Bloodhoof fell into despair.

Baine lost to Sven, and Cairne arranged for Grom to train him as a blademaster. As the Forsaken and Kor'kron squads prepared to compete with Stromgarde, Jiang Jie revealed that an attack had begun and the arena collapsed beneath all three squads.

• Lilian, Ivan, and Darion quickly defeated or restrained their Tauren opponents, leaving Baine to face Sven alone.
• Baine charged Sven but lost, and Cairne encouraged his son before arranging for Grom to train him.
• Grom agreed to make Baine a blademaster and promised he would duel Sven in a year.
• Uther announced that the Forsaken and Kor'kron squads would fight next, but Jiang Jie said their trial had already begun.
• The ground cracked and collapsed beneath the three squads as attacks by Arthas's forces, Frost Wyrms, Vrykul dragon riders, Faceless Ones, and Nerubians were announced.
• Jiang Jie told the others to handle the enemies outside while he faced those underground.

Anub'arak's collapse plan failed when Jiang Jie rescued the Northrend Expedition's commanders, then led three squads and White Gorilla into the Nerubian tunnels for a final combat trial. The squads fought through the Nerubians as Jiang Jie urged them to cooperate, while White Gorilla charged toward Anub'arak.

• Anub'arak's Nerubian army collapsed the arena, intending to kill the Northrend Expedition's leaders in a deep cavern.
• Jiang Jie used Thousand Buddha Hands to catch and send the commanders outside, leaving three five-person squads and White Gorilla underground.
• Jiang Jie lowered the squads to the frozen Titan ruins, where over a thousand Nerubians awaited them.
• Jiang Jie declared that the squads' final trial was to kill as many Nerubians as possible, with each legendary Nerubian counting as a hundred.
• Thassarian and Koltira's squad and the Kor'kron squad formed defensive positions, while Darion led his martial-artist squad into battle.
• As Nerubians attacked with coordinated strikes and mental spells, Jiang Jie urged the squads to work together and ordered Tsul'Kalu to charge at Anub'arak.

Darion organized the mixed Alliance, Forsaken, and Kor'kron fighters into a wedge to protect their casters and attack the Nerubian army. Jiang Jie confronted Anub'arak with White Gorilla, whose first charge revealed that Anub'arak's new frost-armored defenses were formidable.

• Darion ordered the fighters into a wedge, and Thassarian, Koltira, and the others took positions to support it.
• A Kor'kron captain named Nazgolin ordered four warriors to join the wedge and took the rear position beside Sven.
• Darion led the wedge toward a Nerubian elder while Jiang Jie turned to confront Anub'arak.
• White Gorilla charged through the Nerubians and used Yang Crossing to clear a path to Anub'arak.
• White Gorilla collided with Anub'arak, then struck his back with an Arcanite greatsword, cracking only the thick layer of ice over Anub'arak's carapace.

Jiang Jie used his Holy Light and shadow powers to overpower the Nerubian forces and focus on killing Anub'arak. With Anveena and White Gorilla helping him expose and pin down Anub'arak's vulnerable abdomen, Jiang Jie destroyed the Nerubian king's organs and killed him.

• Jiang Jie killed two Nerubian lords with his swords of Holy Light and shadow while the third burrowed underground.
• Jiang Jie fought through the Nerubians and charged Anub'arak, aiming to kill him before the army could wear him down.
• Anveena emerged from Jiang Jie and used earthen spikes to flip Anub'arak onto his back, exposing his abdomen.
• Jiang Jie and White Gorilla wounded Anub'arak, then White Gorilla and Anveena pinned him beneath a huge rock.
• Jiang Jie battered Anub'arak's exposed abdomen with his fists and used Chi sword Qi to destroy his organs, killing him.

Jiang Jie watched Darion's team adapt their tactics and defeat a legendary Nerubian by exposing its weaker abdomen. He teleported the team away and flew off to face Arthas, while the others continued fighting.

• Jiang Jie dragged Anub'arak back through the Nerubians and went to check on the teams.
• Darion led his team through the Nerubians, and Lilian, Ivan, and Master Onias killed a Nerubian elder before rejoining the formation.
• Thassarian, Koltira, and a Kor'kron champion failed to pierce the legendary Nerubian's carapace, but Sven severed its foreleg with a powerful strike.
• Darion changed the team into a defensive circle while Sven cut off another leg and attacked the Nerubian as it tried to burrow.
• Sven and Darion overturned the legendary Nerubian, and Darion, Sven, and Nazgolin killed it by attacking its less-protected abdomen.
• Jiang Jie ordered Anveena to teleport the team up, then flew off to face Arthas.

The Scourge encircled the Crusaders' Coliseum with a hundred thousand undead and blocked teleportation, leaving the Northrend Expedition trapped and badly outnumbered. As Uther led a desperate retreat, Faol moved to confront the Val'kyr Twins, whose resurrection powers were strengthening the Scourge.

• Arthas arrived atop Sindragosa with the Ebon Hold and a massive undead army, while a barrier cut off the Crusaders' Coliseum from reinforcements.
• Uther ordered the Northrend Expedition to fight and then lead a retreat toward the Storm Peaks as Naxxramas and Dalaran were still two hours away.
• Uther, Tirion Fordring, and Old Mograine led the charge while mages and other fighters tried to hold back the Scourge's aerial and ground forces.
• Over a hundred Val'kyr resurrected fallen undead and Northrend Expedition warriors, including the legendary Val'kyr Twins Eydis Darkbane and Fjola Lightbane.
• Faol raised his staff and unleashed Light's Wrath, declaring that he would deal with the Val'kyr Twins.