Chapter Summaries

The Golden Dragon Guard looked down on the Jiangnan rebels, but the rebels’ lavish food and imposing physiques unsettled them. The chapter ended with veteran militia warning that something was wrong with the soldiers across the river.

• Yuchi Peng’s troops camped across the river from the rebels, while bloodline soldiers dismissed the enemy as ignorant commoners and treated their militia auxiliaries with contempt.
• The Golden Dragon Guard smelled wine from across the river, searched the militia, and discovered the fragrance came from the rebels’ camp.
• A gust cleared the mist, revealing the rebels feasting on rich food and drinking fine wine, which further inflamed the bloodline soldiers’ desire to attack and loot them.
• The rebels stood and approached the river, their huge builds making the Golden Dragon Guard retreat before the rebels laughed at them.
• The enraged bloodline soldiers activated their bloodlines, while veteran militia grew wary and said the enemy soldiers were not right.

The Golden Dragon Guard faced Chen Qing’s soldiers across a river and discovered that their presence overwhelmed the elite bloodline troops. Yuchi Peng arrived and recognized the opposing soldiers’ extraordinary quality, while their commander Xu Hu told him Chen Qing had left.

• The Golden Dragon Guard’s bloodline descendants activated their powers, but the soldiers across the river remained unmoved and their imposing presence broke the Guard’s formation.
• A veteran ordered a report to General Yuchi, and Yuchi Peng flew to the front of the army.
• Yuchi Peng admired the opposing soldiers’ physiques and fearlessness, while his troops recovered some courage at his arrival.
• Xu Hu introduced himself to Yuchi Peng and said Chen Qing had gone to attend to something important.
• Xu Hu mocked Yuchi Peng for expecting Chen Qing to stay and watch him personally.

Yuchi Peng learned that Xu Hu was a formidable opponent and prepared for a decisive battle against Jiangnan's elite forces. Xu Hu entrusted Yuchi Feihu with command of the 30,000 troops facing the court, leaving himself to hold off Yuchi Peng.

• Luo Yi suspected Chen Qing had tried to lure Yuchi Peng into a trap, but Yuchi Peng insisted Xu Hu had openly left and planned to fight after the mist cleared.
• Yuchi Peng judged Xu Hu more dangerous than Murong Yunji and said he was uncertain he could defeat him.
• Yuchi Peng reported that Jiangnan's soldiers rivaled the Five Dragon Guards, leaving the outcome of a head-on battle uncertain.
• Xu Hu told Yuchi Feihu he would keep Yuchi Peng occupied while Feihu commanded the coming battle.
• Xu Hu revealed Chen Qing had entrusted Feihu with his 10,000 fighters and another 20,000 troops, and Feihu vowed not to disappoint him.

Yuchi Peng and the court forces discovered that Jiangnan across the river was saturated with spiritual energy, then faced Xu Hu’s army as it crossed. Yuchi Peng and Xu Hu began fighting while Yuchi Hong Lie realized Yuchi Feihu was directing the opposing army.

• Yuchi Peng and Vice Minister Luo saw that Jiangnan’s vivid colors came from its extraordinary concentration of spiritual energy.
• Yuchi Peng ordered his troops into formation as Xu Hu’s infantry crossed the river, and Xu Hu admired the court’s horses.
• Xu Hu urged Yuchi Feihu to capture the horses alive, then leaped ashore and challenged Yuchi Peng.
• Yuchi Peng handed command to Yuchi Hong Lie and flew to fight Xu Hu, whose clash with him sent soldiers and horses tumbling.
• Yuchi Hong Lie spotted Yuchi Feihu signaling with the opposing army’s main flag and was astonished that the young man commanded them.

Yuchi Hong Lie faced the Battle God Army as its armored soldiers leapt across the river and disrupted his plans. He committed his cavalry to a charge, but the enemy used a spell to overturn the ground, leaving Luo Yi to realize the soldiers could cultivate both magic and martial arts.

• Yuchi Hong Lie ordered his army to fall back and prepare a cavalry charge as the Battle God Army began crossing the river.
• The Battle God Army soldiers leapt from boats across the river and landed in heavy armor, shocking Yuchi Hong Lie and his officers.
• Yuchi Hong Lie chose to fight and ordered more than ten thousand cavalrymen to charge the enemy soldiers who had reached the bank.
• The landed Battle God Army soldiers stepped forward, and the ground churned beneath the charging cavalry, throwing riders and horses into chaos.
• Luo Yi identified the upheaval as a spell and concluded that the Battle God Army soldiers could cultivate both magic and martial arts.

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.