Recaps

Ye Fan and his companions returned to Hundred Stars Village with supplies and an escort from Commander Zha, where the villagers welcomed them and teased Ye Fan and Xiao Ke'er. Meanwhile, Yan Fengxiao launched Wu forces toward Wuling City, while Sima Heru worried that Yan and Guo had divided their armies before General Chen arrived.

• Ye Fan and the others returned to Bright Virtue Academy with soldiers escorting carts of grain seeds and supplies, and Xiao Changlin told the villagers the Qian Emperor had provided them.
• The soldiers left after delivering the cargo, while the villagers celebrated the successful mission and Xiao Ke'er reunited with her father.
• Ye Fan and Xiao Ke'er shyly spoke together as the villagers and Auntie Chen teased them about their feelings.
• At Cloud Mountain Fortress, Yan Fengxiao ordered his troops to attack Wuling City and promised rewards to the first soldiers to reach its gate.
• Yan Fengxiao dismissed General Guo's concerns about joining forces and criticized Sima Heru and Chen Haoran, while Guo marched toward Qixia City.
• Sima Heru fretted that Yan Fengxiao and Guo had split their forces before General Chen arrived.

Wu Pojun’s Selected Vanguard cleared Qian sentries so his army could approach Wuling City unseen, while Wuling’s commanders prepared for the coming attack. Chen Haoran hurried toward Cloud Mountain Fortress and, finding only a small guard there, feared Yan Fengxiao and Guo had already marched out with their forces divided.

• Wu Pojun’s Selected Vanguard killed the hidden Qian sentries outside Wuling City without raising the alarm.
• Wu Pojun ordered his army to advance silently into the woods and wait for the city guards to change shifts.
• Wan Que warned Cao Zhouyuan about Wu Pojun’s strength and loyalty to Yan Fengxiao, and Cao lamented that such a man could not be recruited.
• Chen Haoran ordered his army to speed up toward Cloud Mountain Fortress after a scout reported that only a small number of men guarded it.
• Chen Haoran feared Yan Fengxiao and Guo had already marched out and blamed their ambition for putting the country in danger.

Wu Pojun led a surprise night attack on Wuling City, where Qian Kingdom forces repelled the vanguard and defended the gates as the city’s residents fled in panic. At Cloud Mountain Fortress, Chen Haoran arrived and urged Sima Heru to wait for news before planning the next move.

• Wu Pojun’s soldiers scaled Wuling City’s walls and fought the guards while the rest of the Wu Kingdom army battered the gates.
• Commander Cao ordered Wan Que to reinforce the gates, and the Qian defenders killed the Wu soldiers who had entered the city.
• Wan Que led his troops through panicked crowds to the gate tower, where both armies continued to suffer casualties.
• Chen Haoran arrived at Cloud Mountain Fortress with a hundred thousand troops, while General Yan refused to meet him until the next day.
• Chen Haoran told Sima Heru that Wu Pojun’s preparations gave reason for hope and advised waiting for news from the battle before deciding what to do next.

Chen Haoran told Sima Heru that General Yan would not see him, while the Wu Kingdom launched a fierce assault on Wuling City's shattered gate. The Qian Kingdom soldiers continued to defend the city as both sides suffered heavy losses, and Commander Cao hurried to reinforce the gate.

• Chen Haoran told Sima Heru that General Yan would not see him and invited him to come to the command tent the next day.
• Deputy General Wu ordered catapults to bombard Wuling City's walls and gate, opening breaches for the assault.
• Commander Wan rallied Qian Kingdom soldiers to defend the gate as they shot at and fought the charging Wu Kingdom army.
• The Pojun War God ordered the Battle Formation Breaching Battalion to scale the walls while the battle at the gate remained deadlocked.
• Commander Cao set out with reinforcements and ordered his deputy general to defend the gate at all costs.

The villagers settled on a plan to build their homes on the old Bright Virtue Academy grounds and use nearby land for farming and livestock. In Sunset City, Grand Commander Bai Yu ordered Commander Zha to take 50,000 troops to Qixia City and surround Guo Youshan’s army.

• The villagers agreed to build their village on the old academy grounds, reclaim nearby wasteland for farms, and fence off land behind the academy for livestock.
• A soldier reported to the commander that the returning villagers numbered around two or three hundred and showed no signs of cultivation.
• Grand Commander Bai Yu told Commander Zha that Wu Kingdom had sent more than 550,000 troops toward Wuling City and Qixia City, with Chen Haoran stationed at Cloud Mountain Fortress.
• Commander Zha proposed reinforcing Qixia City to draw Wu generals away from Wuling City and defeat Guo Youshan’s forces.
• Bai Yu ordered Commander Zha to take 20,000 troops, collect 30,000 reinforcements at Wuling City, and march to Qixia City to surround Guo Youshan.

Yan Fengxiao’s failed overnight assault on Wuling City left both armies resting and repairing their forces. Chen Haoran ordered his 150,000 troops to wait at Cloud Mountain Fortress, while Commander Zha marched elsewhere and Guo Youshan advanced toward Qixia City.

• Yan Fengxiao’s Wu troops attacked Wuling City through the night but were repelled, suffering several thousand casualties, including heavy losses in the Battle Formation Breaching Battalion.
• Chen Haoran and Sima Heru met Yan Fengxiao at Cloud Mountain Fortress, where Yan claimed a great victory and told Chen to keep his army resting until Wuling City was taken.
• Chen Haoran ordered his 150,000 troops to remain at the fortress and forbade anyone to act without his command, confusing Sima Heru.
• Commander Cao and Wan Que repaired Wuling City’s defenses and reported that the Qian army had suffered about 7,000 casualties.
• Commander Zha led his troops on a hurried march, while Guo Youshan ordered his army to advance quickly on Qixia City before Yan Fengxiao could claim success.

The armies continued fighting over Wuling City while Chen Haoran revealed that Yan Fengxiao was his father’s mortal enemy. Meanwhile, Ye Fan’s villagers settled into their new homes, and Commander Zha received orders to attack Qixia City and draw Yan Fengxiao away.

• Wu Pojun repeatedly attacked Wuling City under General Yan’s orders, but the Qian soldiers drove his troops back.
• Chen Haoran told Sima Heru that Yan Fengxiao and his father were mortal enemies, and asked Sima to find out when their army would march.
• Ye Fan and Xiao Ke’er celebrated the completion of the village houses as the villagers moved into their new homes.
• Commander Zha arrived in Wuling City with reinforcements and delivered Commander Bai’s letter to Commander Cao.
• Commander Zha set out with fifty thousand city defense troops to attack Qixia City while Commander Cao prepared to hold Yan Fengxiao back.

Guo Youshan’s 200,000-man army reached Eastward-Looking Mountain, while Qixia City’s commanders prepared for a possible attack. In Hundred Stars New Village, Ye Fan discovered a Tree of Life in his Inner World and began considering a journey beyond the village.

• Guo Youshan ordered his army to rest before crossing Eastward-Looking Mountain toward Qixia City.
• Commander Lu warned Commander Fang that the Wu Kingdom could attack across the mountain and told him to strengthen training and patrols.
• Ye Fan noticed his body had gained unusual energy and sharper senses, then entered his Inner World after nightfall.
• Ye Fan found a colossal Tree of Life whose droplets flowed into the Spring of Life.
• Ye Fan decided not to take a branch from the tree and considered leaving the village to explore the world.

Ye Fan secretly traveled to Sunset City in his Inner World, narrowly avoided detection by Commander Bai Yu, and returned home to experiment with the Water Spirit Art. He discovered that the technique could make moss grow rapidly, while an army approached Qixia Mountain with only three days to spare.

• Ye Fan flew to Sunset City inside his Inner World and surveyed the city, noticing that the commander's residence was dark and nearly empty.
• As Ye Fan reached out to take a roof-tile fragment, Commander Bai Yu sensed an energy fluctuation and searched the area, forcing Ye Fan to hide until Bai Yu left.
• Ye Fan returned safely to Hundred Stars New Village and, unable to sleep, studied the Water Spirit Art.
• Ye Fan cast the Water Spirit Art on a wall and floor, causing moss to grow rapidly and revealing the technique's effect on plant growth.
• Commander Zha said the army would reach Qixia Mountain in three days, and his companion hoped they would arrive in time.

Ye Fan joined the village discussion about earning money before the crops could be harvested, then took three medicinal plants from Xiao Ke’er’s garden for his own purposes. He returned home and said he was going to help Ke’er weed, secretly placing the herbs in his Inner World before heading back out.

• Ye Fan hurried to the old village chief’s house after learning the villagers were discussing ways to earn money for their families.
• The villagers debated temporary labor, selling woven goods, and having Xiao Feng practice medicine, but they made no decision.
• Ye Fan asked Xiao Feng about surviving medicinal herbs, and Xiao Ke’er led him to her garden.
• Ye Fan asked which herbs could sell for a good price and dug up Numbing Thorn Grass, Mountain Bodhi, and Qian Ginseng.
• Ye Fan returned home, secretly put the three plants in his Inner World, and took a hoe to help Ke’er weed.

Ye Fan and Xiao Ke'er spent a quiet day together while the Qian and Wu kingdoms maneuvered toward a major battle. The Wu emperor remained confident in his expansion plans as Qian forces prepared to exploit the Wu army’s disunity.

• Xiao Ke'er worried that she had forgotten to cook for her eldest brother, but Ye Fan assured her that he had already eaten.
• In Wuling City, Cao ordered Wan Que to keep Yan Fengxiao occupied while waiting for Zha and Lu Guangtai to join forces, and warned him to guard the Ever-Normal Granary.
• At Cloud Mountain Fortress, Chen Haoran and Sima lamented their dwindling provisions and their inability to meet Yan Fengxiao.
• Zha sent a vanguard ahead with letters for Lu Guangtai as Guo Youshan crossed Eastward-Looking Mountain and ordered his exhausted troops to rest before attacking the next morning.
• The Wu emperor heard that Yan Fengxiao’s army was advancing on Wuling City and ordered him to proceed cautiously, while declaring his ambition to conquer the Qian Kingdom.
• Ye Fan and Xiao Ke'er sat together by the river, then returned home through the fields and went to retrieve their hoe from the herb garden.

Ye Fan used the Spring of Life and Water Spirit Art to grow a vast medicinal herb garden, then set out for Sunset City to sell the herbs. Meanwhile, the armies around Wuling City and Qixia City prepared for a renewed battle, with Yan Fengxiao arriving at the front and Guo Youshan advancing on Qixia City.

• Wu Pojun withdrew his army into the forest and ordered his troops to wait for Yan Fengxiao.
• Commander Cao recognized the withdrawal as a sign that Yan Fengxiao was coming and warned Commander Wan to prepare for battle.
• Ye Fan used the Spring of Life and Water Spirit Art to multiply his three medicinal herbs into a vast garden inside his Inner World.
• Ye Fan slipped away to the river and traveled through his Inner World, intending to sell his herbs in Sunset City.
• Guo Youshan marched 200,000 troops toward Qixia City, while Lu Guangtai ordered the city to hold its defenses and awaited Commander Zha.
• Yan Fengxiao arrived at the front outside Wuling City as the battle was set to begin again.

Ye Fan entered Sunset City during the war and sold a large quantity of high-quality medicinal herbs to Pharmacist Bai at Treasure Hall. After earning three hundred taels, he left the shop and slipped into his Inner World.

• Ye Fan heard rumors that Sunset City’s commander had gone to reinforce Wuling City, then learned that the war had left the city short of medicinal herbs.
• Ye Fan showed Pharmacist Bai samples from his Inner World and claimed his village had six mu of fields producing herbs of the same quality.
• Pharmacist Bai gave Ye Fan a five-tael deposit, and Ye Fan hired Qi Dazhu and his fellow cart drivers to transport the herbs into the city.
• Ye Fan unloaded ten cartloads of herbs at Treasure Hall, and Pharmacist Bai confirmed their quality and agreed to buy them.
• Pharmacist Bai paid Ye Fan three hundred taels and invited him to sell future harvests at Treasure Hall; Ye Fan left and entered his Inner World.

Commander Zha joined Lu Guangtai’s forces at Qixia City, where they planned to lure Guo Youshan’s army into a trap while Chahar led a surprise attack on the Wu camp. As the villagers of New Commoners Village organized work and trade, Chahar’s troops reached an ambush position near Guo Youshan’s camp just as rain began to fall.

• Ye Fan returned to New Commoners Village after selling herbs, then agreed to travel to Sunset City with Chen Yunye to sell the villagers’ woven goods.
• Lu Guangtai ordered Fang La to lure the Wu army into Qixia City, Ling Tianhan to hide 70,000 capital guards in the city, and Chahar to circle around and capture Guo Youshan.
• Fan Duo'er guided Chahar and his troops along a concealed route toward the rear of Guo Youshan’s camp.
• Yuan Shiji dismissed a captain’s warning that the unusually heavy guard presence at Qixia City might signal a new Qian army plan.
• Chahar’s troops hid less than a li from Guo Youshan’s camp as thunder rolled and rain began.

Fang La and Chahar launched coordinated night attacks on the Wu forces, drawing Yuan Shiji into a trap inside Qixia City. Guo Youshan’s army was shattered, and Guo fled while the battle continued.

• Fang La led 50,000 Qian troops out of Qixia City to lure and divide the Wu army.
• Chahar led 50,000 troops in a surprise assault on Guo Youshan’s camp, forcing Guo to flee toward Yuan Shiji’s forces.
• Yuan Shiji saw Qixia City’s open gates and sent troops inside, believing the city was undefended.
• Qian soldiers sprang from hiding and trapped Yuan Shiji’s troops inside Qixia City as the gates closed.
• Guo Youshan reached Yuan Shiji’s camp, found it devastated, and fled with his attendants toward Eastward-Looking Mountain.

After the Qian army defeated the Wu forces at Qixia City, its commanders secured the city and arranged for the people to return. In Sunset City, Ye Fan and Chen Yunye began selling the village’s bamboo wares, while Xiao Changlin and Xiao Feng went looking for people to treat.

• Guo Youshan fled with his personal guards, and Chahar ordered Qin Shan to reorganize the troops and escort the prisoners while he rode to Qixia City with 10,000 men.
• Ling Tianhan’s soldiers killed Yuan Shiji and found Fang La exhausted after the fighting; surrounded Wu soldiers surrendered after hearing that Guo Youshan had fled.
• Chahar joined Ling Tianhan and Fang La, and the Qian commanders learned that more than 30,000 Wu soldiers had been captured, though the Qian army had also suffered heavy losses.
• The Qian commanders celebrated their victory, cleared the battlefield, searched for fleeing Wu soldiers, and arranged for the protected common people to return.
• Ye Fan and Chen Yunye set up a stall near Sunset City and sold their first bamboo basket to a passing woman.
• Xiao Changlin led Xiao Feng, who carried the medicine chests, toward a nearby settlement to practice medicine.

Ye Fan went to Sunset City to find a buyer for the village’s bamboo wares and struck a deal with Pharmacist Bai to expand the herb garden and keep its source secret. Pharmacist Bai also agreed to buy all the bamboo wares, and Ye Fan returned to tell Chen Yunye.

• Ye Fan left Chen Yunye at their unsold stall and went to the Treasure Hall to ask for Pharmacist Bai.
• Pharmacist Bai asked Ye Fan to increase the herb garden’s production and offered to cover expansion costs and labor.
• Ye Fan agreed to expand the garden on the condition that Pharmacist Bai never ask about its location or workers and kept its supply source secret.
• Ye Fan asked Pharmacist Bai to buy the village’s bamboo wares, offering to deduct their cost from the medicinal herbs, and Bai agreed.
• Ye Fan returned to Chen Yunye, told him the pharmacy would take all their wares, and the two loaded them onto a cart to deliver to the city.

Ye Fan sold the village’s bamboo wares to Pharmacist Bai and secured a large repeat order, then shared the earnings with the villagers. After learning that fighting was taking place near Wuling City, he slipped into the Inner World at night, determined to head toward the front.

• Ye Fan learned that guards from the grand governor’s residence were buying medicinal herbs for battles at Wuling City and Qixia City.
• Ye Fan told Chen Yunye that Pharmacist Bai had paid twenty taels and ordered more bamboo wares, then asked him to manage production while Ye Fan handled deliveries.
• Ye Fan returned to the village, where Xiao Feng and Xiao Ke’er reacted to the sale, and the group gave the earnings to the old village chief.
• Ye Fan considered having the villagers grow medicinal herbs and sought a way to use the Spring of Life without drawing attention.
• Guo Youshan lamented his defeat and the loss of nearly his entire army before collapsing, while his attendants tried to comfort him.
• That night, Ye Fan slipped into the Inner World and then quietly left home, eager to reach Wuling City.

Ye Fan reached Wuling City and found the Qian defenders still holding off the Wu army despite a prolonged siege. He secretly added water from the Spring of Life to more than ten wells to help the wounded, then left the defenders to continue protecting the city.

• Commander Wan Que asked Commander Cao about the lack of news from Qixia City, and Commander Cao told him to wait two more days.
• Wu Pojun suggested requesting reinforcements, but Yan Fengxiao angrily ordered him to find another way to take Wuling City.
• Wu Pojun obeyed and ordered his troops to attack Wuling City again.
• Ye Fan approached Wuling City inside his Inner World and saw that its defenders were still keeping the Wu soldiers outside the gates.
• Ye Fan surveyed the wounded soldiers and resolved to grow more medicinal herbs.
• Ye Fan found more than ten guarded wells and secretly introduced water from the Spring of Life into each one.

Ye Fan watched the Wu army’s assault on Wuling City and heard its generals call for the deputy general to report General Yan’s reckless command. He later followed Commander Zha’s returning relief army after Qixia City’s victory, while news of the triumph reached the Qian capital and the army stopped to rest.

• Ye Fan watched the Wu soldiers attack Wuling City and heard subordinate generals urge Deputy General Wu to petition against General Yan’s costly orders.
• Commander Zha told Qin Shan that Qixia City was secure and led the relief army back toward Wuling City.
• A messenger brought news of the Qian army’s victory at Qixia City to the capital, where the Qian Emperor ordered the Ministry of War to prepare commendations.
• Ye Fan recognized Chahar leading Sunset City’s troops and followed the army as it traveled back.
• Commander Zha halted the troops so the soldiers and horses could rest and eat before resuming their march.

Ye Fan secretly restored the exhausted Sunset City army and returned to his Inner World to cultivate medicinal herbs for the Qian troops. When an Earth Vein tremor revealed the Star Art, he began practicing the star-based cultivation method.

• Ye Fan spread Spiritual Qi over the Sunset City army, helping the soldiers and their horses recover, then departed as they continued their march.
• In the Wu capital, the Wu Emperor raged over Guo Youshan’s defeat while Chancellor Cao and Liang Zhongda argued over whether to withdraw or continue the war.
• Ye Fan returned home, entered his Inner World, and began cultivating more medicinal herbs to support the Qian army.
• An Earth Vein tremor split a mountain and revealed a glowing book called the Star Art, which Ye Fan summoned and studied.
• Ye Fan cultivated the Star Art, drawing in starlight and growing stronger as he sensed a connection between himself, the stars, and the world.

Guo Youshan reached Cloud Mountain Fortress after the destruction of his two-hundred-thousand-man army, while Yan Fengxiao and Chen Haoran prepared to respond to the crisis. Ye Fan tested the Star Art’s new powers, and the chapter ended with Chen Haoran proposing that the three armies join forces.

• Guo Youshan arrived at Cloud Mountain Fortress with fewer than a thousand survivors, and Chen Haoran arranged for him to rest.
• Yan Fengxiao learned of Guo Youshan’s defeat and hurried to Cloud Mountain Fortress while Chahar’s army approached Wuling City.
• Ye Fan used the Star Art to travel instantly to Sunset City and the Endless Mountains, where he saw the ruins of Hundred Stars Village.
• Yan Fengxiao confronted Guo Youshan over his defeat, and Guo asked to serve as a mounted archer to avenge his fallen soldiers.
• Chen Haoran met Yan Fengxiao and asked him to let Chen’s hundred and fifty thousand troops pass through Wuling City toward Sunset City.
• Chen Haoran began proposing that the three armies join forces.

Chen Haoran persuaded Yan Fengxiao and Guo Youshan to unite their armies and attack Wuling City, while Ye Fan set out to deliver bamboo wares to Sunset City. He waited for Qi Dazhu to help transport the goods after experimenting unsuccessfully with growing a Tree of Life branch in his Inner World.

• Chen Haoran proposed that the three armies unite and offered to lead the vanguard against Wuling City.
• Yan Fengxiao agreed to combine the armies, and Guo Youshan accepted their decision.
• Ye Fan left the village with a cartload of bamboo wares after reassuring his family and neighbors.
• Ye Fan used his Star Art to travel to the woods outside Sunset City, then entered his Inner World while waiting for the city gates to open.
• Ye Fan tried to grow a Tree of Life branch but gave up when it barely sprouted.
• Ye Fan spotted Qi Dazhu and his companions approaching the city gates and called out to them.

Ye Fan hired Qi Dazhu and other villagers to transport a huge load of medicinal herbs, and offered to examine Xiao Liuzi’s injured leg. As Yan Fengxiao’s army advanced toward Wuling City, its defenders prepared for a siege, while Ye Fan’s caravan reached the city gate where Ma Yuan was on duty.

• Ye Fan showed Qi Dazhu and his companions a massive pile of medicinal herbs, and Qi Dazhu arranged for fellow villagers to help carry them.
• Ye Fan learned that Xiao Liuzi had a lingering leg injury from an attack in Phoenix Cry Village and offered to try to treat it.
• Yan Fengxiao led 150,000 troops toward Wuling City, and Commander Cao ordered the city’s defenses strengthened against the approaching forces.
• Xiao Liuzi returned with several villagers, and they loaded the first batch of herbs onto handcarts under Qi Dazhu’s direction.
• Ye Fan led the carts toward Wuling City, where Ma Yuan was speaking with a city defense squad leader as the caravan waited for inspection.

Ye Fan and the villagers were stopped at Sunset City's gate when Ma Yuan harassed them and wrecked their medicinal herbs. Commander Bai investigated the incident, dismissed Ma Yuan, and ordered the damage repaired before Ye Fan's group continued into the city.

• Ye Fan and the villagers presented their medicinal herbs for inspection at the city gate, but Ma Yuan recognized Xiao Liuzi and stopped them.
• Ma Yuan took Qi Dazhu's copper coins, threw them to the ground, and ordered the soldiers to unload the carts; he then scattered the herbs and overturned a handcart.
• Commander Bai arrived and heard Fourth Uncle's complaint and Yang Sheng's account of Ma Yuan's actions.
• Commander Bai dismissed Ma Yuan and ordered Yang Sheng to have the herbs put back in order; Bai Yu apologized and promised compensation.
• Ye Fan and the villagers continued into the city, while Ma Yuan threatened Xiao Liuzi after being thrown out.