Chapter Summaries

Hundred Stars Village’s villagers began clearing land and sharing a communal meal as they rebuilt their homes. Meanwhile, Sunset City prepared for the Wu Kingdom’s invasion, while the Wu commanders argued over whether to unite or divide their forces.

• The old village chief rallied the villagers, who divided their work and began clearing weeds and brambles from the village site.
• Xiao Ke'er joined the women preparing the villagers’ first communal meal since they left their old village.
• The grand commander told Deputy General Qin and Commander Cha that 600,000 Wu troops had advanced to Cloud Mountain Fortress and ordered Qin to take 30,000 city defense troops to Wuling City.
• The grand commander ordered Commander Cha to post notices and conscript soldiers in Sunset City to replenish the army.
• At Cloud Mountain Fortress, Sima Heru urged Yan Fengxiao and Guo Youshan to keep their forces united, but Yan had him placed under guard.
• Guo Youshan insisted on leading the vanguard, and Yan dismissed him while continuing to consider the army’s strategy.

The villagers pooled their savings to buy grain and seeds in Sunset City as their supplies dwindled. Ye Fan joined Xiao Changlin’s party on the trip, where they arrived as soldiers posted conscription notices, unaware that a thirty-thousand-strong army had already set out.

• Xiangxiu warned the villagers that their food was running low, and the old village chief proposed pooling their travel money to buy supplies in Sunset City.
• The villagers handed their savings to Xiao Changlin to record, while the old village chief gave him a separate contribution that he said not to include in the accounts.
• Xiao Ke'er secretly gave Ye Fan her leftover flatbreads, and Ye Fan took some to Xiao Feng.
• Xiao Changlin led Ye Fan, Xiao Feng, Chen Tian, and Chen Yunye to Sunset City with two wheelbarrows to buy supplies.
• Soldiers posted conscription notices in Sunset City, while the townspeople speculated that the Wu Kingdom could not reach them through the mountains.
• An army of thirty thousand had quietly set out the previous evening.

Xiao Changlin and his companions entered Sunset City to buy grain seeds and heard that war might break out near Wuling City. At the Ever-Normal Granary, they met Commander Zha, who recognized Xiao Changlin and questioned Ye Fan about his sect after noticing his powerful Gang Qi.

• Xiao Feng and Ye Fan read a recruitment notice and learned that Sunset City’s garrison had left for Wuling City amid rumors of a coming war.
• Xiao Changlin explained that Wuling City lay north of Sunset City, and the group entered the city to buy grain seeds.
• The group found the Ever-Normal Granary and joined the line at its side granary, where guards restricted access to the main stores.
• Commander Zha arrived for an inspection, and Xiao Changlin recognized him from the village relocation arrangements.
• Xiao Feng called out to Commander Zha, who remembered Xiao Changlin and asked about the old village chief.
• Commander Zha noticed Ye Fan’s powerful protective Gang Qi and asked which sect he came from.

Commander Zha suspected Ye Fan had an Innate Spirit Body and brought him to the city lord’s manor to test him with the Heaven-Peering Mirror. The mirror trembled under the examination, leaving Zha convinced Ye Fan had extraordinary potential, while a tiny crack appeared in the mirror unnoticed.

• Commander Zha sensed that Ye Fan was brimming with Spiritual Qi and suspected he had an Innate Spirit Body.
• Commander Zha invited Ye Fan and the people from Hundred Stars Village to the city lord’s manor to examine him with the Heaven-Peering Mirror, and Ye Fan agreed.
• Steward He brought out the Heaven-Peering Mirror, and Commander Zha activated it to examine Ye Fan.
• The mirror’s light shifted wildly and the mirror trembled until Commander Zha withdrew his Spiritual Qi.
• Commander Zha concluded that Ye Fan possessed extraordinary potential and decided to keep him from the Wu Kingdom’s spies, unaware that the mirror had cracked.

After Commander Chahar discovered that Ye Fan had an Innate Spirit Body, he gave him a Spirit-Concealing Pearl and told him about the origins of cultivation and the Madman Great Emperor. Ye Fan left with the village documents and resolved to defy the heavenly Dao so he could protect his family and village.

• Commander Chahar assured Xiao Changlin and the villagers that Ye Fan was unharmed, then arranged grain and supplies for Hundred Stars Village.
• Commander Chahar told Ye Fan that the Heaven-Peering Mirror had revealed his Innate Spirit Body and the Spiritual Qi flowing through him.
• Commander Chahar gave Ye Fan a Low-Grade Spirit-Concealing Pearl to hide his Spiritual Qi from cultivators below the Nascent Soul realm.
• Commander Chahar recounted how the Heaven-Defiers arose and how the Madman Great Emperor united them after devastating battles.
• Ye Fan received the village relocation document and Bright Virtue Academy deed, then resolved to defy the heavenly Dao to protect his family and village.

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.