Recaps

Wu Shuangren met Zhang Liao, the Shannan Army’s general, and sparred with him after explaining that he had defeated Lu Yulin and retaken Yi Prefecture City. Zhang Liao then questioned Yi Province’s officials about the city’s fall and recovery, and began judging whether their account supported Wu Shuangren’s claims.

• Xu Rong and Zhang Liao learned from scouts that Wu Shuangren had retaken Yi Prefecture City, formed a disciplined militia of over ten thousand, and defeated Mount Liang’s forces.
• Wu Shuangren sent provisions to the Shannan Army, and Zhang Liao later entered the city to meet him.
• Wu Shuangren told Zhang Liao that he had defeated Lu Yulin one-on-one, then challenged Zhang Liao to a spar.
• Wu Shuangren and Zhang Liao fought for more than fifty exchanges, and Zhang Liao conceded while noting Wu Shuangren’s injured shoulder.
• Wu Shuangren brought Zhang Liao to the government offices, where Feng Guanglu and Shen Jingchuan answered his questions about the city and militia.

Zhang Liao reported Wu Shuangren’s strength and the officials’ support for his command, but Xu Rong insisted that the Shannan Army take over Yi Prefecture City’s defenses. Wu Shuangren stalled the demand with the officials’ opposition and gifts, while Xu Rong dismissed the payment as insulting and revealed that Dong Zhuo wanted to recruit Zhang Liao into the Shannan Army.

• Zhang Liao told Xu Rong that Wu Shuangren was a First Rank expert who had defeated Lu Yulin and that Yi Prefecture’s officials genuinely supported him.
• Xu Rong ordered Zhang Liao to tell Wu Shuangren that six thousand Shannan Army soldiers would enter Yi Prefecture City and take over its defenses.
• Yi Prefecture’s officials warned Wu Shuangren not to let the Shannan Army into the city, and Wu promised to handle the matter.
• Wu Shuangren told Zhang Liao that the officials opposed the Shannan Army’s entry, then gave him provisions and money as a gesture of goodwill.
• Xu Rong counted Wu Shuangren’s gifts and called them an attempt to fob him off like a beggar.
• Xu Rong told Zhang Liao that Dong Zhuo wanted to recruit him into the Shannan Army.

Wu Shuangren rejected Xu Rong’s demand to let the Shannan Army garrison Yi Prefecture City, and Xu Rong threatened to move his troops into Bo County instead. Wu Shuangren led more than ten thousand militia toward the Shannan Army camp, and the two forces advanced until Xu Rong halted at bow range.

• Xu Rong told Zhang Liao he would befriend Wu Shuangren only if Wu opened Yi Prefecture City’s gates, and threatened to garrison Bo County if he refused.
• Zhang Liao delivered Xu Rong’s terms to Wu Shuangren, who said he needed time to consider them.
• Wu Shuangren led more than ten thousand men out of the city and reorganized them into battle formation.
• After scouts reported the militia’s approach, Xu Rong ordered his six thousand troops to form ranks and meet them.
• The two armies advanced toward each other, and Xu Rong halted his force about five hundred paces from the militia after assessing its equipment and morale.

Wu Shuangren used the Yi Province Militia’s show of force to negotiate with Xu Rong, securing an agreement to march into Rong Province alongside the Shannan Army and give it all military merit. Back in Yi Prefecture City, he began preparing for the campaign, including arranging supplies with Mount Liang captives and recruited laborers.

• Wu Shuangren confronted Xu Rong outside Yi Prefecture City and defended his militia’s presence with a document authorized by Yi Province’s officials.
• Zhang Liao intervened to prevent Xu Rong and Wu Shuangren from fighting, and Wu Shuangren offered to help the Shannan Army suppress the Mount Liang rebels in Rong Province without claiming any military merit.
• Xu Rong accepted Wu Shuangren’s proposal, and both armies withdrew to their camps.
• Wu Shuangren told Guo Jiwang, Xu Jing, Wu Dongrong, Liao Yu, and the others about the agreement; Wu Dongrong and Liao Yu warned him to remain wary of the Shannan Army.
• Wu Shuangren planned to take five battalions to Rong Province after ten more days of training, using Mount Liang captives and newly recruited civilian laborers to transport provisions.

Wu Shuangren expanded and reorganized the Yi Province Militia after its promises to the fallen soldiers’ families attracted thousands of recruits, while Xu Rong grew wary of the militia’s strength. As preparations began for the march to Rong Province, the officers trained and studied literacy.

• Wu Shuangren planned to use provisions gathered along the route to reach Rong Province City and retake it, while Xu Rong persuaded his officers to leave Yi Province and join the campaign.
• Wu Shuangren ensured the fallen militiamen’s families received rent-free, forty-year leases on land and houses, helping the Yi Province Militia earn public support.
• More than 4,300 recruits joined the Yi Province Militia, which expanded to ten battalions and nearly 13,000 men before establishing its base at Mist Hidden Mountain.
• Xu Rong watched Wu Shuangren’s rapid recruitment and suspected the march against Mount Liang served a larger purpose; Zhang Liao relayed that Wu Shuangren planned to depart for Rong Province in five days.
• Yi Province Militia officers studied reading and writing at night, as Wu Shuangren required senior officers to pass regular tests.

Wu Shuangren reviewed the Yi Province Militia’s new income and ordered Mo Zhengxing to organize a province-wide chamber of commerce, but the militia’s costs still threatened to outstrip its funds. As the soldiers learned a unifying song, Lu Yulin and Mount Liang’s leaders gathered in Rong Province to consider how to defend their remaining territory.

• Wu Shuangren practiced the Leakless Golden Body and met with Mo Zhengxing, who reported that taking over Mist Hidden Temple’s businesses could bring in roughly 1,900 strings a month.
• Wu Shuangren ordered Mo Zhengxing to establish a Yi Province Chamber of Commerce and agreed to appoint someone else to manage the West River Market Chamber of Commerce.
• Wu Shuangren studied the province map and worried that the Yi Province Militia’s monthly expenses exceeded the income he could secure, even with Mist Hidden Temple’s assets.
• The Yi Province Militia learned and sang Wu Shuangren’s song together, while Xie Zhou celebrated his promotion and his surviving comrades’ return home.
• Lu Yulin, Wu Yan, Liang An, and Yan Xiaobing met in Rong Province after retreating with their remaining forces and concluded that they needed to focus on holding their ground.

After Lu Yulin’s defeat at Yi Prefecture City, Song Hai considered seeking amnesty from the imperial court to save Mount Liang’s forces. Lu Yulin agreed to support negotiations, while the chapter ended with Wu Shuangren’s army and the Yi Province Militia assembled outside Yi Province City.

• Yan Xiaobing urged Lu Yulin to consider leaving Mount Liang, but Lu Yulin said they should wait to hear from Song Hai.
• Song Hai learned of Lu Yulin’s defeat, argued with Li Lin, and decided to negotiate amnesty with the imperial court while Mount Liang still held Ya Province and Rong Province.
• Wu Yan told Lu Yulin about Song Hai’s plan and asked him to help persuade Mount Liang’s officers and soldiers to accept amnesty; Lu Yulin eventually agreed.
• Yan Xiaobing argued that amnesty could help Lu Yulin gain a government post, and Lu Yulin spent the night alone considering his choice.
• Nineteen days after Lu Yulin’s defeat, the Yi Province Militia and Shannan Army gathered outside Yi Province City as more than three thousand Mount Liang prisoners carried grain.

Wu Shuangren’s forces besieged Rong Province City, using taunts, challenges, and night raids to wear down Mount Liang’s defenders rather than launching a direct assault. The chapter left the defenders exhausted and demoralized while the besieging armies prepared to exploit their weakness.

• Wu Shuangren led the Yi Province Militia and the Shannan Army from Yi Prefecture City toward Rong Province using Xu Jing’s staged grain transport plan, while Guo Jiwang and Bai Jinhuan stayed behind to guard the city.
• Song Hai sent an envoy to Wang Yan and asked whether the Shannan Army wanted tens of thousands of additional troops.
• Wu Shuangren’s men taunted the defenders of Rong Province City with reminders of Mount Liang’s defeats, and Lu Yulin refused Wu Shuangren’s challenge to single combat because his wrist remained injured.
• Huang Cheng and the Rong Province battalions filled sections of the moat under arrow fire, while Xu Jing judged the defenders’ morale to be low.
• Wu Shuangren staged mock assaults and fired arrows into the city at night, keeping Mount Liang’s defenders awake and preventing them from reopening the filled moat sections.

Wu Shuangren used a staged Shannan Army force and the news of Song Hai’s supposed death to shatter Rong Province City’s defenders, allowing his allies to capture the city within ten days. As Lu Yulin fled with Mount Liang’s elite troops, Wu Yan insisted they head north, claiming the northern force was fake and Song Hai was still alive.

• Xu Rong waited out Wu Shuangren’s ten-day promise, hoping he would fail and owe the Shannan Army leverage over the spoils.
• Guo Jiwang arrived north of Rong Province City with militia and grain carriers disguised as more than ten thousand Shannan Army troops, and announced that Song Hai was dead and Ya Province had fallen.
• Wu Shuangren and the Shannan Army joined the cries for surrender, causing the Mount Liang defenders to panic as their forces attacked the city.
• Wu Yan judged Rong Province City indefensible, and Lu Yulin led nearly five thousand elite troops out through the western gate.
• Wu Yan urged the fleeing leaders to head north, insisting the apparent Shannan Army and news of Song Hai’s death were false.

Wu Shuangren’s deception helped the Yi Province Militia capture Rong Province City while Lu Yulin and Wu Yan led Mount Liang’s surviving force north. Wu Shuangren secured the city’s Ever-Normal Granary, then negotiated with Xu Rong over the spoils as tensions rose.

• Wu Yan and Lu Yulin persuaded the Mount Liang force to flee north, and Guo Jiwang’s apparent Shannan Army formation let them pass without a fight.
• Guo Jiwang led his force into Rong Province City while Wu Shuangren entered with the Yi Province Militia and took control of the Ever-Normal Granary.
• Wu Shuangren ordered the granary sealed and guarded, then refused to let a Shannan Army officer claim it.
• Xu Rong confronted Wu Shuangren over the granary, and the two argued about dividing the city’s spoils.
• Wu Shuangren said he was willing to take a step back as the dispute threatened to turn violent.

Wu Shuangren reached an agreement with Xu Rong to share the spoils and trade for armor, while Guo Jiwang deduced that Song Hai was negotiating amnesty with the Shannan Army. Wu Shuangren prepared to pursue Lu Yulin’s fleeing force, and the chapter ended as Lu Yulin admitted he knew about Song Hai’s plan, leaving Mount Liang’s chiefs to confront the revelation.

• Wu Shuangren offered Xu Rong half the warehouse’s goods and proposed buying armor, and Xu Rong agreed to cooperate.
• Guo Jiwang reasoned that Song Hai was negotiating amnesty, so Wu Shuangren urged Xu Rong to pursue Lu Yulin before the deal was settled.
• Xu Rong agreed to march with Wu Shuangren the following morning after the Shannan Army rested and counted its spoils.
• At camp, Wu Yan revealed that Song Hai had been negotiating amnesty, provoking Zhigang, Lin Qian, and other chiefs to reject surrender.
• Wu Yan pointed out that Lu Yulin knew of the plan, and Lu Yulin confirmed that he did.

Lu Yulin questioned whether he had ever controlled his own fate, then killed Wu Yan for trapping him into becoming an outlaw. He rejected Song Hai’s amnesty plan and announced that he was leaving Mount Liang, inviting those who opposed amnesty to go with him.

• Lin Qian, Zhigang, and other leaders opposed amnesty, while Liang An urged everyone to return to Ya Province City and discuss it with Song Hai.
• Lu Yulin reflected on how Wu Yan’s fortune-teller ruse and the seditious poem had led to his downfall, and he questioned Yan Xiaobing about whether fate could be changed.
• Wu Yan confronted Lu Yulin for changing his position on amnesty, and Lu Yulin accused him of writing the seditious poem before killing him with a single blow.
• Lu Yulin told the gathered Mount Liang officers and soldiers why he had killed Wu Yan and challenged anyone who wanted to avenge him, but no one stepped forward.
• Lu Yulin declared that he would not accept amnesty and was leaving Mount Liang, giving the others until daybreak to choose whether to leave with him or go to Ya Province.

Lu Yulin led the Mount Liang troops who stayed behind toward Lu Province and told them he might be close to reaching the Great Grandmaster realm. With supplies running low, he proposed turning back to fight the pursuers, hoping both to secure provisions and defeat Wu Shuangren.

• Nearly two thousand people left camp, and Lu Yulin let more than three hundred cavalrymen take their horses with them.
• At daybreak, Lu Yulin gathered the remaining troops, announced his plan to settle in Lu Province, and said he had glimpsed a chance to break through to the Great Grandmaster realm.
• Wu Shuangren and Xu Rong split their forces at a fork, with Wu Shuangren pursuing the group heading toward Ya Province and Xu Rong following Lu Yulin toward Lu Province.
• Lu Yulin warned his chiefs that their provisions and the horses' feed would soon run out, then proposed turning back to attack the pursuers.
• Lu Yulin explained that he wanted another fight with Wu Shuangren to complete his breakthrough, and Liang An and others agreed to follow him into battle.

Lu Yulin gained the support of the leaders around him and vowed not to be defeated again. Meanwhile, Xu Rong decided to turn back to Rong Province City, and Zhang Liao’s objection led to a break between them and a nighttime escape attempt.

• Lu Yulin won the support of the small and mid-level leaders, and Lin Qian agreed to return with him.
• Xu Rong ordered the Shannan Army to turn back to Rong Province City to seize the remaining spoils and confront the Yi Province Militia.
• Xu Rong accused Wu Shuangren of building private power and seeking border army armor, while Zhang Liao argued that the Yi Province Militia had earned merit against the Mount Liang rebels.
• Zhang Liao rejected Xu Rong’s plan and his offer to join the Shannan Army, then showed Xu Rong the jiaozi notes Wu Shuangren had given him.
• Xu Rong ordered his guards to watch Zhang Liao, who later tried to leave camp and knocked two guards aside with a burst of speed.

Zhang Liao escaped Xu Rong’s camp but failed to reach Rong Province City before the Shannan cavalry, so he rode toward Ya Province instead. Xu Rong arrived at the city to find its gates closed after Guo Jiwang’s warning system alerted the defenders, and he led his cavalry around to the western side.

• Zhang Liao escaped the camp by freeing warhorses in the woods and using the resulting chaos to break through the pursuing troops.
• Xu Rong ordered his cavalry to pursue Zhang Liao and advance toward Rong Province City, while the infantry followed the next morning.
• Zhang Liao saw Xu Rong’s cavalry pass ahead of him, then turned toward Ya Province rather than continue to Rong Province City.
• Hidden sentries warned Guo Jiwang of the approaching Shannan Army with firecrackers, and he ordered the city gates closed and the militia readied for battle.
• Xu Rong found Rong Province City fortified and led his cavalry around toward its western side.

Xu Rong used fires and hidden guards to attack Rong Province City’s south gate while Guo Jiwang shifted militia reinforcements between gates. The south gate fell to the Shannan Army, and Zhou Zhengqing urged Guo Jiwang to flee.

• Xu Rong signaled his hidden men in the city to start fires, prompting Guo Jiwang to reinforce the west gate and then the south gate.
• Xu Rong led his cavalry around to the south gate as his armored guards broke through the militia formation and fought their way up the gate tower.
• Xu Rong’s cavalry climbed the outer wall under covering fire while shouting that Wu Shuangren and the Yi Province Militia had been defeated.
• A Shannan Army general reached the wall, helped overwhelm the defenders, and the drawbridge lowered.
• After news of the south gate’s fall reached Guo Jiwang, Zhou Zhengqing urged him to escape, but Guo Jiwang did not panic.

Guo Jiwang fortified the streets around the Rong Province government offices while Xu Rong sent Xue Ting to break through his defenses. Meanwhile, Lu Yulin captured the Shannan Army’s supply train and chose to press on against the separated enemy infantry, leaving his force headed for another battle.

• Guo Jiwang ordered his defenders to barricade the streets near the government offices and set ambushes on rooftops as Xu Rong entered Rong Province City.
• Xu Rong sent Xue Ting and three hundred cavalrymen to break through the barricades; Xue Ting’s force overcame three defensive lines before crossbow fire and Militia Privates attacked them from both ends of a street.
• Lu Yulin led more than seven hundred cavalrymen against five hundred Shannan Army infantry escorting provisions, broke their formation, and forced them to surrender.
• Lu Yulin’s troops secured the provisions and learned that the Shannan Army had turned back toward Rong Province City while its cavalry had gone ahead.
• Lu Yulin persuaded his leaders to continue onward and attack the separated Shannan Army infantry, aiming to arm and restore the morale of the former Mount Liang soldiers among the laborers.

After Xu Rong captured Guo Jiwang in Rong Province City, Zhang Liao raced to warn Wu Shuangren that Xu Rong had turned against the Yi Province Militia. Wu Shuangren learned the city might be in danger and ordered his army to return immediately.

• Xu Rong captured Guo Jiwang and offered him a place in the Shannan Army, but Guo Jiwang refused to betray Wu Shuangren.
• Zhang Liao abandoned his exhausted horse, reached the grain column, and rode ahead to warn Wu Shuangren that Xu Rong had returned to attack Rong Province City.
• Wu Shuangren thanked Zhang Liao for the warning and gave him a medicinal pill to recover his strength.
• Xu Jing, Wu Dongrong, Liao Yu, and Xu Nanzhi joined Wu Shuangren to discuss whether Xu Rong could take Rong Province City, including the possibility that he had hidden troops inside.
• Wu Shuangren ordered the whole army to depart that night and return to Rong Province City.

Lu Yulin’s forces ambushed and captured most of Xiong Lang’s Shannan Army camp, then learned that Xu Rong had turned back to seize Rong Province City and attack the Yi Province Militia. Lu Yulin decided to march to Rong Province City for revenge, while Xu Rong prepared to use the city and Guo Jiwang as bait for Wu Shuangren.

• Lin Qian, Liang An, Yan Xiaobing, and Mount Liang fighters silently eliminated the Shannan Army’s perimeter sentries and spread lamp oil through its camp.
• After the Shannan Army raised the alarm, Lu Yulin led several hundred cavalrymen in a night charge, setting the camp ablaze and scattering its unprepared defenders.
• Lu Yulin defeated and captured Xiong Lang, and his forces secured the camp, capturing over three thousand Shannan Army soldiers while several hundred escaped.
• During interrogation, Xiong Lang told Lu Yulin that Xu Rong had turned back to seize Rong Province City and eliminate Wu Shuangren and the Yi Province Militia.
• Lu Yulin told his leaders to march to Rong Province City and take revenge on the Yi Province Militia, and they pledged to follow him.
• Xu Rong secured preliminary control of Rong Province City and planned to use the city and Guo Jiwang as bait to lure Wu Shuangren into a trap.

Xu Rong and Lu Yulin faced a standoff outside Rong Province City as Wu Shuangren arrived with the Yi Province Militia. With every side wary of striking first, Lu Yulin prepared to force a decisive battle, while the chapter ended with Zhigang asking Lin Qian to predict Wu Shuangren’s choice.

• Xu Rong learned that Lu Yulin had raided his camp and that only a little over seven hundred of his soldiers had returned.
• Xu Rong saw Lu Yulin’s forces camp northeast of Rong Province City and decided they were waiting to catch Wu Shuangren between two enemies.
• Wu Shuangren arrived with the Yi Province Militia, and Xu Rong brought Guo Jiwang onto the wall to argue that Wu Shuangren would have to withdraw or risk being trapped.
• Lu Yulin chose to wait outside Rong Province City rather than ambush the Yi Province Militia on the road, and he resolved to fight Wu Shuangren whichever choice he made.
• Zhigang asked Lin Qian what he thought Wu Shuangren would choose.

Wu Shuangren challenged Xu Rong by offering to scale Rong Province City’s wall alone, giving Xu Rong a chance to kill him while sparing the Yi Province Militia from a costly assault. After Xu Rong accepted, Wu Shuangren climbed the wall and began cutting through his elite guards, leaving Xu Rong stunned as the fight continued.

• Wu Shuangren rode alone to Rong Province City and challenged Xu Rong to let him scale the wall by himself.
• Lin Qian understood that Wu Shuangren’s challenge offered a way to protect both his comrades inside the city and the Yi Province Militia outside it.
• Xu Rong accepted the challenge and ordered his archers to stop shooting once his guards had assembled.
• Wu Shuangren leaped the moat, climbed the wall with hooked chains, and vaulted into the defenders.
• Wu Shuangren fought through Xu Rong’s elite personal guards, killing or wounding seven or eight in fewer than ten breaths.

Wu Shuangren fought through Xu Rong’s traps and overwhelming force on the city wall while the Yi Province Militia charged to support him. After Xu Rong’s arrow struck him, Wu Shuangren killed Xue Ting with a counterattack and challenged Xu Rong to come at him again.

• Xu Rong attacked Wu Shuangren with heavy crossbowmen and an iron-hooked net, but Wu Shuangren used a corpse as a shield and fought his way through the ranks.
• The Yi Province Militia cavalry approached the wall and drew the defenders’ fire, easing the pressure on Wu Shuangren.
• Xu Rong sent Xue Ting and personal guards against Wu Shuangren, who escaped their chains and used Leakless Golden Body to endure their attacks and repeated nets.
• Xu Rong shot Wu Shuangren in the lower abdomen with a heavy armor-piercing arrow, and Xue Ting charged in, believing Wu Shuangren was weakened.
• Wu Shuangren redirected Xue Ting’s saber and stabbed him through the eye, killing him with a counterattack.
• Wu Shuangren pulled the arrow from his wound, snapped it in his hand, and called out to Xu Rong as he stood among the fallen guards.

Wu Shuangren fought on despite his grave wounds while Xu Nanzhi climbed the city wall and charged Xu Rong. Northeast of Rong Province City, Lin Qian rejected Lu Yulin’s plan to attack the Yi Province Militia, broke with his companions, and challenged Lu Yulin to a duel.

• Wu Shuangren’s fierce battle pushed his Internal Skill forward another step, even as Xu Rong offered a hundred gold to whoever took his head.
• Xu Nanzhi climbed the wall past the archers and rushed Xu Rong with her sword drawn.
• Lu Yulin ordered his forces to attack the Yi Province Militia, but Lin Qian refused and condemned the group as thieves and bandits.
• Lin Qian’s words marked his break with Lu Yulin’s followers, and Zhigang recognized that Lin Qian had experienced an epiphany.
• Lin Qian challenged Lu Yulin to a fight, offering to make him withdraw and leave the Yi Province Militia alone if Lin Qian won, and Lu Yulin accepted.

Lin Qian and Lu Yulin fought a fierce duel to decide whether Lu Yulin would spare the Yi Province Militia, while Xu Nanzhi, Wu Shuangren, and Xu Yu battled to seize Rong Province City's walls. Wu Shuangren activated the World-Purifying Wisdom King Mantra and pressed Xu Rong with a powerful attack.

• Lu Yulin and Lin Qian dismounted and began their duel, each unleashing the full force of their spear techniques.
• Lu Yulin's spear transformed toward the power of a true dragon, while Lin Qian countered with a defensive style that shifted into rising, wave-like attacks.
• Xu Nanzhi used her footwork and sword to break through Xu Rong's guards and engage Xu Rong on the wall.
• Xu Yu joined Wu Shuangren, and together they cleared part of the wall and blocked the gatehouse stairs against incoming Shannan Army soldiers.
• Wu Shuangren fought his way to Xu Rong, activated the World-Purifying Wisdom King Mantra, and drove his saber toward Xu Rong's face.

Wu Shuangren defeated and killed Xu Rong on the city wall, breaking the Shannan Army’s morale. Meanwhile, Lu Yulin defeated Lin Qian and reached the threshold of the Great Grandmaster realm, but Zhigang intervened to stop him from killing Lin Qian.

• Wu Shuangren overwhelmed Xu Rong in combat, foiled the guard’s attempt to use Guo Jiwang as a hostage, and killed Xu Rong with a strike to the eye.
• Wu Shuangren raised Xu Rong’s corpse above his blade and announced his death, causing the Shannan Army soldiers on the wall to lose morale.
• Lu Yulin defeated Lin Qian in their duel and realized that he had stepped into the realm of a Great Grandmaster.
• Zhigang stood between Lu Yulin and the wounded Lin Qian, demanding that Lu spare his friend.
• Lu Yulin hesitated as his followers urged him to kill Lin Qian, knowing he needed time to adapt to his new realm.