Chapter Summaries

Brook’s forces turned the battle around after a mysterious swordsman killed Guluo and magic archers annihilated the Black Banner cavalry. The scar-faced knight leader then revealed his Imperial Knights’ Hall badge and threatened Chambord with punishment, leaving Brook and his men facing the consequences of defying the Hall.

• Brook charged Guluo, but a mysterious man in black appeared, killed the Four-Star expert instantly, and vanished.
• Brook signaled the magic archers, who wiped out Guluo’s cavalry and helped Chambord’s forces capture the three kings.
• Frank Lampard and the Heng and Ha Generals arrived as Elena continued fighting the scar-faced knight leader.
• The scar-faced knight leader showed his Imperial Knights’ Hall badge and demanded that Chambord surrender its prisoners and submit to trial.
• Brook questioned whether the knight had Emperor Yassin’s orders, but the scar-faced leader threatened to have the Judgment Knights destroy Chambord and burn its king.

Brook and the Chambord fighters confronted a scar-faced knight and three allied kings after repelling their attack on Chambord City. After learning the knights had acted without the Imperial Knights' Hall’s orders, Brook chose to execute the prisoners, and the group killed all four.

• Drogba and Pierce insulted the scar-faced knight leader, and Lampard blocked his sword-energy attack.
• Brook kicked away the knight’s badge and called him an impostor, prompting Chambord’s fighters to attack as the knight tried to flee.
• A mysterious martial arts professor emerged from a blue portal, struck the fleeing knight down, and suppressed his Dou Qi.
• Drogba and Pierce tortured the three captured kings and learned that Chris Sutton’s attendant had sent the knights without the Knights' Hall’s authorization.
• Brook ordered the prisoners killed, and Drogba killed the scar-faced knight while Urban Management members executed the three kings.

Brook and Best concealed the deaths of the Imperial Knights' Hall members and warned that instability was spreading across the Zenit Empire. Sun Fei explored Hot Springs Pass with Angela and Jima, where he discovered that magic arrays reinforced the city walls and that magical elements were unusually active inside the city.

• Brook ordered the bodies and evidence from the battle destroyed, then sent Frank Lampard, the Heng and Ha Generals, and fifty Urban Management members to rejoin Sun Fei.
• Brook and Best discussed Emperor Yassin's failing health, the princes' power struggle, unrest among the affiliated kingdoms, and the Spartak Empire's troop buildup.
• Brook told Best that Sun Fei had given him items before leaving and that he had not needed to use them before the mysterious black-clad master killed Guluo.
• Sun Fei stayed outside Hot Springs Pass with the expeditionary army while he waited for Lampard and the others to arrive.
• Sun Fei entered Hot Springs Pass with Angela and Jima after paying the guards' fabricated entry tax, and the three explored its busy streets.
• Sun Fei discovered magical patterns in the city walls that resisted damage below Three-Star Class and sensed that magical elements inside the city were unusually strong.

Sun Fei explored Hot Springs Pass with Angela and Jima, studying its magical defenses and gathering impressions of the city. At the Ivy Tavern, he heard that an unknown young expert had defeated Chris Sutton and might disrupt the coming Martial Combat Competition.

• Sun Fei recognized that Hot Springs Pass’s six mage towers and city walls formed part of a massive defensive magic array, and he imagined applying the idea to Chambord City.
• Sun Fei, Angela, and Jima wandered through the crowded city, then stopped at the Ivy Tavern, where Angela’s warmth won the mercenaries’ friendliness.
• York and his shy, dark-skinned companion joined Sun Fei’s table, and York bought drinks for the tavern’s patrons after returning from the imperial capital.
• York told the tavern that the Martial Combat Competition was less than ten days away and that most affiliated kingdoms had already arrived near the capital.
• York revealed that an unknown young expert had defeated Chris Sutton, one of the Imperial Knights’ Hall’s ten Judgement Knights, in a single move at Twin Tower Peaks.

Sun Fei heard tavern patrons discuss his defeat of the Golden Knight and learned that the Soros Chamber of Commerce had publicized his identity. He also heard that Lord Krasic had received a martial saint’s challenge, then faced a richly dressed young man who ordered York and Philip away from the table.

• York told the tavern that a king of a sixth-tier vassal state had defeated the Golden Knight, and Sun Fei realized the story referred to him.
• York said the Soros Chamber of Commerce had identified the victor as Alexander, king of Chambord City, and Sun Fei suspected Redknapp had spread the news through the merchant network.
• York revealed that the guardian martial saint of the Spartak Empire had challenged Lord Krasic, and the two would fight to the death atop Martial Saint Mountain in two months.
• Sun Fei prepared to leave, and York offered drinks to him, Angela, Jima, and Philip.
• A group of swaggering men entered the tavern, and a richly dressed young man ordered York and Philip to leave Sun Fei’s table.

Sun Fei protected Angela and Jima from Young Master Kulun’s attempt to buy them, effortlessly killing Kulun’s attendant and a garrison officer and leaving Kulun beaten. He revealed that he was staying at the Chambord Expeditionary Army’s camp, and the tavern patrons realized he was Alexander, the King of Chambord.

• Kulun and his men confronted Sun Fei, Angela, and Jima, while Angela toasted York and Philip before they left the tavern.
• Kulun demanded that Sun Fei name a price for Angela and Jima, and his bearded attendant mocked him and offered two copper coins.
• Sun Fei struck the bearded attendant into the ground, then knocked Kulun across the tavern when he threatened him.
• The garrison officer tried to flee, but Sun Fei pulled him back and killed him with another blow.
• Sun Fei paid the tavern owner three gold coins, identified the Chambord Expeditionary Army’s camp as his lodging, and left with Angela and Jima.
• The mercenaries recognized Sun Fei as Alexander, the King of Chambord, and rushed out to catch another glimpse of him.

Sun Fei toured Hot Springs Pass with Angela and Jima, exchanged magic stones for a VIP crystal card, and eventually lost his way into the city’s slums. There he found York and Philip teaching children to fight, then reunited with York, who knelt before him.

• Sun Fei visited an auction and exchanged ten high-grade fire-element magic stones for a purple crystal card worth a hundred thousand gold coins.
• Sun Fei, Angela, and Jima toured Hot Springs Pass, and Sun Fei drove them around in a magic carriage after the women grew tired.
• Sun Fei got lost and drove into a filthy slum, where he saw the desperate lives and violence of its residents.
• Sun Fei followed the sinister aura he had sensed at the Ivy tavern and found York and Philip teaching boxing to a group of children.
• York recognized Sun Fei as His Majesty Alexander, then knelt before him in shame.

Sun Fei visited York and the orphans he cared for, eased York’s shame over leaving the tavern, and healed his damaged knee. After discovering Philip Inzaghi’s rare ability to vanish from sight and recognizing his potential as an assassin, Sun Fei offered to take him as a disciple.

• York explained that he and Philip had returned to the tavern and learned Sun Fei had defeated Kulun, then Sun Fei assured them he understood why they had left.
• Sun Fei realized York and Philip had stayed away because they were responsible for the orphaned children, and the group welcomed him and Angela into their clearing.
• York recounted how the children had saved him after his enemies broke his limbs, and Sun Fei healed the lasting injury in his left knee.
• York explained that Philip Inzaghi was an orphan with a strange ability to disappear, and Philip demonstrated it for Sun Fei.
• Sun Fei used Assassin Mode to find the hidden Inzaghi, demonstrated assassin skills, and asked to take him as his disciple.

Sun Fei took Philip Inzaghi as his first disciple, gave him two deadly daggers, and promised protection for his companions as they joined the Kingdom of Chambord. After learning about Chambord’s defense and exploring Tal Rasha’s Tomb, Sun Fei returned to the real world as the expeditionary army prepared to depart, where a blood-covered figure rushed toward the camp.

• Sun Fei accepted Philip Inzaghi as his first disciple and offered protection and Chambord citizenship to Inzaghi’s friends.
• Sun Fei gave Inzaghi the daggers Fourfold Yellow Springs and Touch of the Dead Serpent, along with a token and instructions to join the expeditionary army with York and the children.
• Sun Fei left Hot Springs Pass with Angela and Jima, then returned to camp and entered the Diablo World to level up.
• Elena told Sun Fei that a mysterious man in black had saved Brook and that Brook had executed the kings of Black Rock, Red Water, and Thrace; Sun Fei approved Brook’s actions.
• Sun Fei and Elena cleared the true Tal Rasha’s Tomb but stopped before confronting Duriel when the daily game-time limit approached.
• At dawn, as the Chambord Expeditionary Army prepared to leave, Torres warned off a blood-covered figure who charged toward the camp.

Torres protected a badly injured youth carrying King Alexander’s token from soldiers of the Gale Legion. When Andrew attacked with his chains and hammer, an unknown figure emerged from the fog and shattered the weapon with a single Heavenly Frost Fist.

• Torres recognized the bloodied youth’s token and tried to learn who he was, but the youth lost consciousness after pleading for help for His Majesty.
• Torres confronted forty or fifty pursuers led by Young Master Kulun and Andrew, and warned them not to approach the Chambord Army camp.
• Torres refused to surrender the youth and attacked Kulun after he insulted King Alexander, but Andrew deflected the arrows with his hammer.
• Torres’s next arrows wounded Kulun despite Andrew’s defense, and Andrew unleashed the Dou Qi skill Kiss of the Earth's Mad Pythons.
• A tall, slender stranger appeared and used Heavenly Frost Fist to repel Andrew’s chains and shatter his iron hammer.

Sun Fei rescued his gravely injured disciple, Inzaghi, and learned that Andrew’s men had killed York and Tina while attacking the mercenaries and orphans. After Sun Fei struck Andrew, Diles intervened and demanded Inzaghi; Sun Fei refused and challenged the Gale Legion, leaving Diles ready to fight him.

• Sun Fei appeared, healed the unconscious Inzaghi with a Healing Potion, and ignored Andrew’s demand to surrender the boy.
• Inzaghi woke and told Sun Fei that York and Tina had been killed by Andrew’s men, and Sun Fei saw their severed heads displayed on a cage wagon.
• Sun Fei attacked Andrew with the Heavenly Frost Fist, but Diles arrived and partially intercepted the blow with a fire beast.
• Andrew recounted how Kulun had sent him after York and Inzaghi, and how Inzaghi escaped to find Sun Fei after York was killed and the orphans were captured.
• Diles demanded that Sun Fei hand over Inzaghi, but Sun Fei refused and demanded the perpetrators in return.
• Diles erupted in crimson flames and challenged Sun Fei to prove the strength that had defeated the Golden Knight Sutton.

Sun Fei defeated Diles with Heavenly Frost Fist but spared him, then forced Inzaghi to choose one of the men responsible for his losses to kill. Inzaghi beheaded one of them, revealing how sharply he had changed.

• Sun Fei challenged Diles to withstand one move and unleashed Heavenly Frost Fist: One-Hit-Kill.
• Diles's Beast King's Sigh failed to stop Sun Fei's punch, which shattered his arms before Sun Fei recalled it.
• Sun Fei spared Diles because Diles had not killed Inzaghi's friends and family, but declared that Kulun and Andrew would die.
• Sun Fei restrained Kulun and Andrew and told Inzaghi to choose which one to kill.
• Inzaghi drew his daggers and beheaded one of the two men.

Inzaghi obeyed Sun Fei’s test by killing Andrew rather than Kulun, and Sun Fei burned the wagon holding their dead companions before rescuing four surviving orphans. Sun Fei ordered Chambord’s forces to kill Andrew and Kulun’s soldiers while sparing the two wounded men, then told Diles that he and Chris Sutton were about even.

• Inzaghi killed Andrew and explained that he had spared Kulun to avoid making Sun Fei feud with the Ptolemy Family.
• Sun Fei told Inzaghi to grow strong enough to avenge the remaining enemy himself, then ordered Torres to take him to rest.
• Sun Fei used Inferno to burn the prison wagon, then rescued four surviving orphans and healed them with Prayer.
• Sun Fei entrusted the four orphans to Inzaghi, who rejoiced at finding Cavani, Michael, González, and David alive.
• Sun Fei ordered Chambord’s soldiers to spare Diles and Kulun but kill the rest, and they slaughtered the fleeing soldiers.
• Diles asked Sun Fei how he compared with Chris Sutton, and Sun Fei said they were about even.

After defeating Diles and leaving Hot Springs Pass, Sun Fei led the Chambord army toward Saint Petersburg while Diles abandoned his wounded younger brother Kulun. Two powerful observers, Advocaat and Ptolemy, discussed Sun Fei’s hidden strength and agreed that he was a remarkable talent, though they did not know the full extent of his abilities.

• The Chambord army executed the soldiers who had followed Kulun and Andrew, arranged their heads around the ruined prison cart, and departed for Saint Petersburg.
• Diles recovered from his injuries, looked with disgust at Kulun’s pleas for help, and walked away without aiding him.
• Advocaat and Ptolemy revealed that they had watched Sun Fei’s clash with Diles from the top of Hot Springs Pass’s magic tower.
• Ptolemy said he had not intervened because he could not judge Sun Fei’s strength and did not want to risk the Gale Legion’s soldiers.
• Advocaat and Ptolemy discussed Diles and Kulun, and Ptolemy dismissed Kulun as unworthy of his concern while acknowledging that Vera had left him behind.

Sun Fei and the Chambord Expeditionary Army reached the imperial capital, Saint Petersburg, and entered the heavily guarded encampment for the Martial Combat Competition. Sun Fei left the group eager to surpass the capital’s grandeur, while the army faced a hostile gathering of rival states.

• Redknapp wondered why Ptolemy and Advocaat had not retaliated against Sun Fei, and the white-clad swordsman suggested they had met someone fiercer than themselves.
• Sun Fei and his companions saw Saint Petersburg from Moro Pass, and Sun Fei declared that he would one day possess a city grander than the capital.
• The Chambord Expeditionary Army galloped down from Moro Pass and reached the vast plain where the vassal armies were camped.
• Imperial troops checked the Chambord army’s identity and escorted it through the crowded encampment toward its assigned campsite.
• Sun Fei saw rival armies, strange magic beasts, and provocations throughout the camps, where elite fighters gathered before the Martial Combat Competition.

Sun Fei and the Chambord Expeditionary Army arrived at their assigned campsite for the Martial Combat Competition, drawing attention from the other kingdoms. Before the army could settle in, Judgment Knight Krude challenged Sun Fei to a duel the next day.

• Sun Fei and his companions crossed the affiliated kingdoms’ camps, where onlookers admired their Crimson Flame Beasts and wondered who they were.
• Knight captain Tosic led the army to Chambord City’s riverside campsite, explained that he served in the Blizzard Legion, and gave Sun Fei the competition rules.
• After seeing the campsite marker, some kings recognized the Chambordians and warned their followers not to provoke Sun Fei, while less informed kings complained that Chambord had received too much land.
• Krude challenged Sun Fei to meet him at the First Sword Testing Ground at noon the next day, and the assembled kings reacted with shock.
• Zola told Sun Fei that Claude was the seventh-ranked Judgment Knight and stronger than Chris Sutton, prompting Sun Fei to consider how to deter further challengers.

Chambord’s lavish, heavily fortified camp drew envy and scrutiny from the other kingdoms, while news of Sun Fei’s strength made the camp a center of attention. Several princes discussed him, and Prince Tsvetan became interested in meeting him after hearing about the women in his company.

• The surrounding kingdoms examined Chambord’s luxurious magic tents, equipment, and defenses, and speculated about its sudden wealth and strength.
• Krude’s challenge and reports of Sun Fei’s exploits at the Twin Tower Peaks spread through the camp, making the other kingdoms wary of Chambord.
• Warriors gathered around Chambord’s camp, where they watched its people amid a tense atmosphere shaped by the competition and deadly duels.
• Prince Sola dismissed Chambord as country bumpkins, while a purple-haired prince warned him not to underestimate Sun Fei.
• A one-eared old man told the princes that Sun Fei had several peerless beauties with him, prompting Prince Tsvetan to say he might go meet the King of Chambord.
• Several young men in worn leather armor watched the gates of the Chambord camp, hesitating to enter.

Sun Fei began training Inzaghi and four orphaned boys to become assassins while the camp grew busy at night. Just as he prepared to visit the night market, an imperial guard delivered a woman’s invitation from an old acquaintance, whose familiar scent left him wondering who had summoned him.

• In a military camp upstream, a lone swordsman sharpened his aura and said Sun Fei was worthy of testing his sword.
• Sun Fei taught Inzaghi, Cavani, Michael Owen, David Trezeguet and González Raúl about assassination and gave them a Dou Qi manual and his guide to assassin training.
• Sun Fei sensed hostility and uncertainty toward Chambord in the camp, but decided to explore the night market.
• A group of imperial royal guards arrived at Chambord’s camp, and their leader invited Sun Fei to meet his lord at the Wind Whisper Tavern.
• Sun Fei read the note saying an old acquaintance invited him and recognized a scent that made him suspect the sender might be a woman from his past.

Sun Fei met Paris at the Wind Whisper Tavern, where they discussed their past confrontation and his upcoming duel with Krude. Paris offered him a detailed report on the Seventh Judgment Knight’s abilities, leaving Sun Fei with information to prepare for the duel.

• Royal knights escorted Sun Fei to the Wind Whisper Tavern, where he was admitted alone to the sixth-floor hall.
• Sun Fei found Paris waiting for him and recognized her as the woman who had attacked Tanasha and Arshavin on Chambord’s East Mountain.
• Paris questioned why Sun Fei had come alone, and he said she could not kill him now any more than she could before.
• Paris asked what Sun Fei knew about Krude, the Bloody Knight, and he admitted he knew nothing.
• Paris gave Sun Fei a detailed report on Krude’s strength, fighting technique, and famous battles ahead of their duel at the First Sword-Testing Platform.

Sun Fei accepted Paris’s information and promised to save her if her life were in danger. An ambush erupted at the Wind Whisper Tavern, where Paris fought off hidden bolts and assassins while Sun Fei remained unharmed; another attacker then appeared.

• Sun Fei took Paris’s iron box and told her he would save her if her life were in danger.
• Paris asked Sun Fei to save her, and a hidden crossbow bolt shot toward her temple.
• Paris cut the bolt apart and fought a barrage of hidden bolts with her sword and Wood-Element Dou Qi.
• Six attackers broke through the fifth-floor wall, destroyed the stairs, and fought Paris’s royal guards.
• Three black-armored assassins attacked Paris on the sixth floor while Sun Fei stopped the bolts before they could reach him.
• A new figure appeared as the attack continued.