Recaps

Yuchi Feihu led an army of elemental spellcasters and heavily armored fighters to overwhelm Yuchi Hong Lie’s cavalry, then fought his uncle and faced a circle of the Yuchi Household’s personal guards. Yuchi Hong Lie tried to wear Feihu down, but after half an hour, his own men were tiring while Feihu still held his ground.

• Luo Yi and Yuchi Hong Lie watched thousands of soldiers use coordinated elemental magic to transform the battlefield and disrupt the cavalry’s charge.
• Yuchi Feihu landed on a stone spike, signaled his troops to attack, and led them against the cavalry with knuckle-duster-equipped fighters who quickly disabled the horses and riders.
• Yuchi Hong Lie ordered his personal guards to capture Feihu, believing that taking the young commander down would let the remaining cavalry escape.
• Yuchi Hong Lie charged Feihu, and their saber clash shattered the stone beneath Feihu and revealed that Feihu’s strength rivaled Yuchi Peng’s.
• Feihu threw down his saber and fought the surrounding personal guards barehanded, while Yuchi Hong Lie coordinated their attacks to exhaust him.
• After half an hour, Yuchi Hong Lie and his guards were panting, and he realized something was wrong.

Yuchi Feihu used the Fighter Army’s stored Power of Blessing and gravity control to overwhelm Yuchi Hong Lie’s forces, while Yuchi Peng and Xu Hu continued their exhausting duel. The chapter ended with Yuchi Peng preparing to unleash the Yuchi Household’s Blood Blade in Eight Directions against Xu Hu.

• Yuchi Feihu kept fighting despite being surrounded, as the Fighter Army used its reserves and gravity control to rout the court’s inexperienced cavalry.
• Yuchi Hong Lie confronted Yuchi Feihu and asked him to show mercy, but Feihu refused and said he intended to capture him and Yuchi Peng alive.
• Yuchi Feihu told Yuchi Hong Lie that Yuchi Peng had held back against Battle God at first and would probably lose after an hour of fighting.
• Yuchi Peng praised Xu Hu’s skill, while Xu Hu remembered their brief training together years earlier and how Yuchi Peng’s praise had once inspired him.
• Yuchi Peng warned Xu Hu that his next move was a killing technique, and Xu Hu eagerly identified it as the Yuchi Household’s Blood Blade in Eight Directions.

Xu Hu and Yuchi Peng unleashed their full strength and fought a fierce duel, each discovering that the other was a highly skilled opponent. Their battle drew the attention of soldiers and scions across the battlefield, and Yuchi Hong Lie grew apprehensive despite his confidence in Yuchi Peng.

• Yuchi Peng activated Blood Blade in Eight Directions, releasing the terrifying aura of the Heavenly Peng Bloodline, while Xu Hu calmed himself and raised his own energy without fear.
• Yuchi Peng overcame a moment of uncertainty, drew his twin blades, and took the initiative against Xu Hu.
• Xu Hu formed battle-qi knuckle dusters and exchanged rapid, technical attacks with Yuchi Peng, who realized Xu Hu was as accomplished in technique as in strength.
• Yuchi Peng and Xu Hu committed fully to their life-or-death duel, drawing the attention of soldiers and scions across the battlefield.
• Yuchi Hong Lie accepted that Xu Hu could fight Yuchi Peng to the death and felt apprehensive about the outcome.

Xu Hu defeated Yuchi Peng in a decisive duel, then had Bluebird save his life and demanded the court’s troops surrender. Yuchi Hong Lie surrendered, and the court’s campaign against Jiangnan ended in another crushing defeat.

• Aboard the ship, Chen Qing told Tian Heng that Xu Hu would not lose because his martial skill and the Battle God Army’s strength outweighed Yuchi Peng’s experience.
• Xu Hu shattered Yuchi Peng’s twin blades and pierced his chest with a Tiger Cannon, revealing that the two had sparred years earlier.
• Yuchi Peng accepted his defeat and began to die, but Xu Hu called Bluebird, who healed him enough to save his life.
• Xu Hu offered the court’s army a chance to surrender, and Yuchi Hong Lie dropped his weapon, prompting the soldiers to lay down theirs.
• Yuchi Feihu captured Yuchi Hong Lie, and Great Jin’s military campaign against Jiangnan ended in defeat, further weakening the court’s authority.

In Xishui County, Lu Ming and Zhou Hanyang debated whether to attack Chen Qing’s forces, while their dwindling food supply made delay increasingly dangerous. Lu Ming then asked Mu Hongqing to use her connection to her disciple, who had joined Chen Qing’s side, to obtain intelligence.

• Zhou Hanyang asked Lu Ming for news and learned that Chen Qing had sent only thirty thousand soldiers to confront Yuchi Peng’s court army.
• Lu Ming rejected Zhou Hanyang’s plan to attack Chen Qing’s rear, insisting they wait for the court’s forces to make progress.
• Zhou Hanyang described how scarce food and poor nutrition were weakening his soldiers and risking their demonic transformations.
• Lu Ming learned that Xishui County’s remaining twenty thousand shi of grain would feed its bloodline descendants for only a short time.
• Lu Ming told Mu Hongqing that her disciple was in Nanming Prefecture and had become one of Chen Qing’s favorites, then asked her to obtain intelligence.

Mu Hongqing confronted Lu Ming over his defeat, his motives for seeking control of Nanming Prefecture, and his demand that Chen Ying gather intelligence for him. After revealing that Mu Hongqing’s mother was alive and that he sought to secure the ancient era to make amends, Lu Ming left Chen Ying sensing something and looking west.

• Mu Hongqing challenged Lu Ming over abandoning the Black Dragon Guard and accused him of seeking military command in Jiangnan for his own purposes.
• Lu Ming demanded that Mu Hongqing use Chen Ying to gather intelligence, but Mu Hongqing refused and accused him of betraying the court’s interests.
• Lu Ming dismissed everyone, then told Mu Hongqing that he had expelled him from the Lu Household to protect him and that his mother was still alive.
• Lu Ming said the Dragon Palace possessed a secret medicine of immortality and that he wanted to secure the ancient era to make up for past regrets.
• Chen Ying oversaw preparations for testing the formation studies with runestones, then suddenly looked west and touched her jade pendant as she called to her master.

Shen Yuan and the Heaven Academy students prepared a powerful spell formation in Nanming Prefecture, which Chen Qing planned to use to host four major powers. After Xu Hu defeated Yuchi Peng’s imperial army, Chen Ying urged them to finish the formation’s framework within three days.

• Shen Yuan reflected on the Heaven Academy’s lack of public achievements and worried about why Chen Qing had entrusted him with a crucial role in the formation.
• Chen Ying arrived and asked Shen Yuan whether the spell formation’s structure was ready, reminding him that no formation could be guaranteed to work perfectly.
• The students learned that Xu Hu had defeated Yuchi Peng, captured fifty thousand imperial troops, and was returning.
• Shen Yuan realized the victory gave Chen Qing the prestige needed to invite the Eldest Princess, the living corpse monarch, the Duke of Wei’s forces, and the imperial court to Nanming Prefecture.
• Chen Ying told Shen Yuan that the formation’s framework had to be completed within three days so they could prepare to host the four powers.

The Eldest Princess discussed the urgent need to reopen West Sea trade and secure an independent grain supply for her three-hundred-thousand-strong army. She learned that the Duke of Wei was heading to Nanming Prefecture at Chen Qing’s invitation to discuss matters.

• The Eldest Princess questioned Fifth Master Shen about the court’s campaign against Chen Qing and learned that Yuchi Peng had led fifty thousand light cavalry to engage him.
• The Eldest Princess and Fifth Master Shen discussed the court’s limited forces and its agreement to an alliance with the Asura Kingdom through a marriage arrangement.
• The Eldest Princess insisted that she needed to establish her own grain supply route, though Fifth Master Shen warned that trade through the north would be difficult.
• A black-armored thrall arrived and Fifth Master Shen told the Eldest Princess that the Duke of Wei was going to Nanming Prefecture at Chen Qing’s invitation.

The eldest princess and Fifth Master Shen concluded that Chen Qing had influence over the Duke of Wei and might possess knowledge of the Dragon Palace, while the Duke of Wei sailed to Jiangnan at Chen Qing’s invitation. The Duke expected Chen Qing to convene the rival powers and offer benefits, but warned that he would show no mercy if Chen Qing lacked strength or sincerity.

• The eldest princess suspected Chen Qing had supplied grain to the Duke of Wei and realized Yuchi Peng had probably been defeated as the West Sea fog began to thin.
• The eldest princess and Fifth Master Shen discussed the coming reopening of the Dragon Palace and guessed that Chen Qing intended to lead an alliance conference concerning it.
• The Duke of Wei and his sons approached the West Sea, and the Duke explained that Chen Qing wanted him to invite the eldest princess while Chen Qing approached the West Sea’s monster himself.
• The Duke of Wei defended Chen Qing’s strength, citing his defeat of the court’s army and capture of Yuchi Peng, and suspected he sought to organize the powers around ancient matters in Jiangnan.
• The Duke of Wei prepared to go ashore and meet the eldest princess, while admitting he hoped to obtain Chen Qing’s ships and grain.

The Duke of Wei and the Princess Royal agreed to meet in Jiangnan, each suspecting that Chen Qing supplied the other and wondering how he had affected the balance of power. Meanwhile, the court learned that Chen Qing had rejected its orders, claiming loyalty to the emperor and an old secret mission.

• The Duke of Wei met the Princess Royal and discovered that Chen Qing supplied her with grain, while she concluded that Chen Qing had also helped him.
• The Princess Royal agreed to travel to Nanming in three days, and she told Fifth Master Shen she needed the Duke of Wei to keep the court occupied.
• The Duke of Wei told Wang Shiyu he believed Chen Qing had dealt the Princess Royal a major setback and said he was eager to meet him in Jiangnan.
• The court learned that Chen Qing had refused its orders, claiming the emperor had charged him with guarding the Dragon Palace Mystic Realm and protecting the Xiao Household's true direct bloodline.
• The empress's court officials denounced Chen Qing as a traitor after hearing his explanation.

After Chen Qing invited the court and rival powers to meet in Jiangnan over an awakening ancient threat, the queen agreed to send representatives while dismissing his warning as a pretext to probe the region. Minister Pang volunteered to lead the delegation, tasked with investigating Jiangnan’s ancient power because only the ancient could counter the ancient.

• The queen erupted in anger at Chen Qing’s accusations, then accepted the Nine Ministers’ reassurance that he was a traitor and dismissed his claims about the prince.
• Minister Pang reported that Chen Qing had captured Yuchi Peng but offered to return him, provided the court halted its advance and sent representatives to talks in Nanming Prefecture about Jiangnan’s awakening ancient power.
• The Minister of Rites urged the queen to accept the invitation to recover Yuchi Peng and assess the strength of Jiangnan’s forces; the queen agreed to send a representative.
• After the queen left, the Nine Ministers detained Vice Minister Yang and learned his intelligence about Chen Qing came through a man named Asheng at an east-city wine shop.
• Minister Pang agreed to lead the delegation, with spellcaster clans sending a junior alongside him, and the Minister of Personnel warned him to investigate Jiangnan’s ancient power thoroughly.

After their defeat, Yuchi Peng and the other prisoners received unexpectedly generous treatment, while veteran soldiers recognized Gu Bei and Heiwa among their captors. Wei Gongcheng visited Yuchi Peng and Luo Yi with restorative wine, and Yuchi Peng asked how Wei compared with Xu Hu.

• The prisoners ate demon beast meat porridge and marveled at how courteously their captors treated even ordinary soldiers.
• Old Zhang recognized Gu Bei and Heiwa, who had grown into formidable warriors serving the Jiangnan army.
• Luo Yi urged the wounded Yuchi Peng to eat, but Yuchi Peng remained despondent over becoming a prisoner.
• Wei Gongcheng appeared inside Yuchi Peng's tent without being detected and shared red ginseng wine with him and Luo Yi.
• Yuchi Peng asked whether Wei Gongcheng or Xu Hu was stronger, and Wei said Xu Hu had the advantage in direct combat.

Wei Gongcheng invited Luo Yi and Yuchi Peng to see what Chen Qing had built in Liuzhou, while merchants in Nanming Prefecture spread news of its prosperous trade and unusual goods. Wealthy gentlemen planned to travel there to investigate, but learned that gold and silver might not be useful in Jiangnan.

• Wei Gongcheng invited Luo Yi and Yuchi Peng to return with him to Liuzhou and see his unusual work, and both agreed.
• Merchants in a Nanming teahouse described the captured imperial soldiers and promoted Liuzhou products, including redfruit wine and Fire Silkworm Silk.
• Merchant Feng invited wealthy Jiangnan merchants to travel with him to Liuzhou, where they could inspect his stock and dye workshop.
• Wealthy gentlemen decided to visit Liuzhou, find Brother Gu, and investigate Chen Qing's changes and the goods being traded in Jiangnan.
• The merchants warned the wealthy gentlemen that gold and silver might not be much use in Jiangnan, leaving them surprised.

On the voyage to Liuzhou, Wei Gongcheng described the Liuzhou Yin-Yang Academy and defended its warlocks against Luo Yi’s criticism. After the travelers arrived, they saw Liuzhou’s thriving harbor and learned that academy enchantments had turned gems into sought-after goods with extraordinary powers.

• Wei Gongcheng told Yuchi Peng that Jiangnan’s shipyards could barely meet demand and that the academy was developing ships powered without sails.
• Wei Gongcheng explained that Chen Qing had founded the Liuzhou Yin-Yang Academy to train specialized warlocks, and he argued with Luo Yi over their work and its benefits.
• The ship reached Liuzhou in under four hours, and the visitors were astonished by the crowded harbor and its vigorous-looking residents.
• A merchant surnamed Feng showed the visitors enchanted blue jadeite that cooled the air and explained that the Earth Character Institute’s enchantments had made jade and gems valuable currency.
• Feng claimed that some enchanted objects could even let people fly and promised to show the visitors for themselves.

Luo Yi, Yuchi Peng, and other visitors witnessed Liuzhou’s striking innovations and learned how its academy attracted merchants to fund new projects. The visitors finally entered the academy’s showcase, eager to explore its business opportunities.

• Wei Gongcheng explained that Liuzhou had developed jadeite that stored sorcerous power and could make people fly, prompting Yuchi Peng’s excitement and Luo Yi’s disbelief.
• Wei Gongcheng guided the visitors past Liuzhou’s enormous Heavenly Wolf Gate and explained its reinforced-concrete walls and the city’s towering Stargazing Towers.
• The merchant surnamed Feng brought his group to Liuzhou Yin-Yang Academy, where he described how scholars developed projects and merchants invested in exchange for exclusive rights and a share of profits.
• The merchant surnamed Feng said the Nanyang Shen Family could outbid other investors for popular projects, worrying the visitors about the family’s alliance with Chen Qing.
• After waiting four hours, the visitors entered the academy showcase, where the merchant surnamed Feng encouraged them to look for promising investments.

Luo Yi visited Liuzhou Academy and was astonished by its students’ inventions and the commercial ventures built around them. As merchants discussed the court’s campaign against Jiangnan, Luo Yi realized the people of Liuzhou had chosen Chen Qing over the court.

• Luo Yi admired the Frost Jadeite and spoke with a fourteen-year-old Earth Character Institute student who explained how he made it.
• The youth invited Luo Yi to see his research, while the merchant surnamed Feng urged his companions to follow and hear about potential investments.
• The merchant surnamed Feng showed the visitors inventions such as Bright Jade Jadeite and Thousand Aspects, and explained the risks and costs of funding successive research phases.
• When the gentlemen worried that the court’s campaign might end Liuzhou Academy, the merchant surnamed Feng pointed to Chen Qing’s forces and said Liuzhou had more troops in reserve.
• Luo Yi listened and realized that Liuzhou’s people had chosen Chen Qing over the court.

Luo Yi and Yuchi Peng visited a student’s exhibition at Liuzhou’s Yin-Yang Academy and learned about its free education and the student’s Water-Avoidance Pearl. The student revealed that he knew they sought the Dragon Palace and said its opening was likely connected to an upcoming political meeting in Nanming Prefecture.

• Luo Yi learned that the academy provided free tuition and support for research projects, and that students shared commercial proceeds with it.
• The student demonstrated his Water-Avoidance Pearl, which created a pressurized bubble that supplied air underwater, and Yuchi Peng recognized its potential for deep-sea exploration.
• Luo Yi and Yuchi Peng overheard that the Fighter Army had purchased Flying Pearls for special troops, and they worried about the military implications.
• The student recognized Luo Yi’s group as people from the capital seeking the Dragon Palace and said its records placed it several thousand meters underwater, where the Water-Avoidance Pearl could help them reach it.
• Yuchi Peng asked how the student knew the Dragon Palace would open, and the student pointed to the upcoming court and eldest princess’s talks in Nanming Prefecture as evidence.

Luo Yi and Yuchi Peng learned how Liuzhou Academy cultivated its students and why Chen Qing’s city had earned its people’s loyalty. Wei Gongcheng revealed that he was the lord of Liuzhou’s Underworld, leaving the two men standing in a gray reflection of the city.

• Luo Yi wondered whether Chen Qing could change people’s talent, and Wei Gongcheng explained that Chen Qing could recognize aptitude but that fifth-grade strength within two years was the academy’s ordinary standard.
• Wei Gongcheng told Yuchi Peng that the court would send Lord Pang, Old General Yuchi, the eldest princess, and the Duke of Wei to peace talks in Nanming Prefecture.
• Yuchi Peng challenged Wei Gongcheng about his loyalties, and Wei Gongcheng said that his lord mattered more than anything else.
• Yuchi Peng reflected on Liuzhou’s prosperity and the opportunities its people had, while Wei Gongcheng defended a world where ability mattered more than inherited status.
• Wei Gongcheng transformed into a masked figure in robes bearing nine black dragons and declared himself the lord of Liuzhou’s Underworld.
• Luo Yi and Yuchi Peng realized they stood in a gray, inverted reflection of Liuzhou and understood that Wei Gongcheng was a god.

Yuchi Peng and Luo Yi surveyed Liuzhou’s prosperity and considered how Chen Qing’s innovations and Underworld might transform the balance of power. They ended uncertain whether Chen Qing could defend Jiangnan after exposing its wonders to rival powers.

• Yuchi Peng and Luo Yi watched Liuzhou’s busy streets and discussed its workers’ comfortable lives, strong labor protections, and easy access to farmland.
• Luo Yi explained that sorcerers in Chen Qing’s academies were developing technologies and improvements across many trades, prompting Yuchi Peng to reflect on how Chen Qing had changed sorcery.
• Yuchi Peng and Luo Yi recalled Wei Gongcheng’s Underworld and feared that Jiangnan’s people would fight without fear if they believed death led to a guaranteed afterlife.
• Luo Yi reasoned that the Underworld and Liuzhou’s prosperity could draw powerful clans and their sorcerers to Chen Qing’s side.
• Yuchi Peng and Luo Yi questioned whether Chen Qing had enough strength to control the court, the eldest princess, the Duke of Wei, and the West Sea monster after revealing Jiangnan’s riches.

Landowner An warned Nanming Prefecture’s gentry that if Chen Qing fell, powerful families from the capital would seize Jiangnan’s wealth rather than share it with them. Meanwhile, the eldest princess and Fifth Master Shen arrived at Jiangnan with their retainers and met the Duke of Wei, who recoiled from the formidable scholar Chen Qing had invited.

• Landowner An challenged the gentry’s hopes of profiting from Chen Qing’s defeat and warned that the great families would deny them a share of Jiangnan.
• Gu Beiquan continued to rant that Chen Qing would be destroyed, while the gentry recognized that his delusions reflected their own greed.
• The eldest princess and Fifth Master Shen sailed to Jiangnan with five hundred elite retainers and met the Duke of Wei at its gateway.
• The Duke of Wei met the frail scholar accompanying them, staggered back with a bloody nose, and learned from the eldest princess that he had destroyed the seventy kingdoms of the West Sea.

The eldest princess and Fifth Master Shen learned why Shen Laoda was enduring sunlight and heard that a woman named Yan Lifeng had once nearly freed humanity from demons and closed the Dragon Palace. Chen Qing recognized the name and wondered whether the connection was a coincidence.

• The eldest princess and Fifth Master Shen watched Shen Laoda endure the sunlight, and Fifth Master Shen recalled the ancient insect’s obsession with overcoming its weakness and becoming a dragon.
• The scholar praised the eldest princess as the second most formidable woman he had known and said Yan Lifeng had nearly freed humanity from demons and closed the Dragon Palace.
• Chen Qing arrived, greeted the group, and reflected that Yan Lifeng’s actions had changed the Dragon Palace’s history and guardians.
• The scholar named the woman Yan Lifeng, and Chen Qing was shaken by the name and wondered whether it was a coincidence.

Yan Lifeng explained how she defeated the Mother and Child Ghosts, prompting the Monster Master to seek her out. Meanwhile, Chen Qing wondered whether she was connected to the Dragon Palace’s historical sealing, as the group arriving at Nanming Prefecture discovered an unprecedented barrier covering the entire prefecture.

• The Monster Master found Yan Lifeng and asked how she had sealed his Mother and Child Ghosts.
• Yan Lifeng explained that she had exploited the link between the ghost mother and child, and said that no monster was truly unbeatable.
• Chen Qing wondered whether Yan Lifeng was connected to the Dragon Palace’s sealing and whether a transmigrator had altered history.
• Chen Qing’s ship arrived at Nanming Prefecture, which was enclosed in an enormous bubble-like barrier.
• The Duke of Qin’s party saw the barrier form and learned from Mu Hongqing that it was a barrier unlike any they had encountered.

On the road to Nanming Prefecture, Mu Hongqing reconsidered Chen Qing’s alliance meeting after seeing the capital’s enormous barrier, while Lu Ming dismissed the barrier as a facade. Lu Ming then revealed his plan to use Yuchi Peng and the captured imperial troops to exploit the coming conflict and repay the Eldest Princess.

• Mu Hongqing recalled Chen Ying’s defense of Chen Qing and reflected on why he had entrusted his disciple to him despite the dangers.
• The party marveled at the capital’s barrier, but Lu Ming argued that Chen Qing could not have built a genuine spell formation in less than a month.
• Lu Ming questioned Mu Hongqing about the years, manpower, and expense required to build the capital’s formation, and Mu Hongqing agreed it could not have been replicated so quickly.
• Mu Hongqing challenged Lu Ming to explain how Chen Qing’s supposed downfall would benefit the Duke of Qin, given their weak forces and position.
• Lu Ming proposed rescuing Yuchi Peng and the fifty thousand captured imperial troops, then joining them with his own soldiers to gain a chance at power.
• Lu Ming said the Eldest Princess and her allies would be occupied with Chen Qing, giving him an opening to repay the princess.

Chen Qing showed the eldest princess, the scholar, and the other factions the Dragon Palace formation’s powers, including opening harbor inspection points and moving people and goods through the air. Though they remained skeptical of its combat value, Chen Qing prepared to use Lu Ming’s arrival to make the demonstration convincing.

• Chen Qing opened the enormous energy barrier and led the scholar, the eldest princess, and the other factions inside, where the scholar’s five duke-level followers followed him.
• The visitors watched armored soldiers use the formation without spiritual power to create harbor openings and inspect cargo ships arriving at Nanming Prefecture.
• Chen Qing explained that the formation came from the Dragon Palace and demonstrated how it could carry a jade pendant through the air into the city.
• The group continued toward Nanming Prefecture as they saw soldiers glide through the sky, while Chen Qing admitted inwardly that the hastily built formation had serious flaws.
• Chen Qing secretly learned from Chen Ying that Lu Ming was on his way and ordered preparations, believing the world’s foremost duke would provide enough weight.

Lu Ming led the group to a hidden cargo ship, where Mu Hongqing confronted him over how he had survived in Chen Qing’s territory and accused him of relying on a widow. Their argument exposed Mu Hongqing’s traumatic past, while in Yunzhou Yun Niang rejected a young general’s proposal and resolved not to let Lu Ming abandon her and her daughter.

• Lu Ming showed Zhou Hanyang and the provincial administration commissioner a hidden ship and concluded that Chen Qing was likely a boy who had found an ancient treasure.
• Mu Hongqing questioned how Lu Ming had obtained the ship without joining a pantheon, then guessed that a widow in Yunzhou had helped him.
• Lu Ming seized Mu Hongqing by the throat, but Zhou Hanyang stopped him from striking further as Mu Hongqing unleashed his sinister spell.
• Mu Hongqing taunted Lu Ming about failing to protect his mother and younger sister, recalling how they had been horribly abused while he was away.
• In Yunzhou, Yun Niang refused Di Dahu’s proposal, urged her daughter to try for Yin-Yang Academy, and clutched the jade token Lu Ming had left behind.