Chapter Summaries

Wu Shuangren encountered Pu Zheng and Pu Yuan while traveling to fetch his bride, and learned that Zhang Da’s men were pursuing them after the destruction of the Forged Edge Workshop. He refused to hand them over without a warrant, leaving his wedding procession in a tense confrontation with Zhang Yu and Long Lie.

• Pu Zheng told Wu Shuangren that the Forged Edge Workshop had been slaughtered and that the Pu Lineage had discovered a secret about Zhang Da.
• Long Lie arrived to claim Pu Zheng and Pu Yuan as fugitives, but Wu Shuangren demanded to see an official warrant and identification.
• Zhang Yu arrived and asked Wu Shuangren to hand over the fugitives, but Wu Shuangren refused and challenged him to ask Zhang Da whether he wanted to make an enemy of him.

Wu Shuangren learned that Zhang Da had secretly sold more than six thousand blades to Tubo and had the Pu Lineage massacred to conceal the crime. He took Pu Zheng and Pu Yuan under his protection and planned to bring them to Yi Province, while recognizing that Pu Yuan might be a gifted craftsman.

• After Zhang Yu withdrew, Wu Shuangren asked Pu Zheng and Pu Yuan to explain their secret.
• Pu Zheng revealed that Zhang Da had used the Forged Edge Workshop to forge and sell blades to Tubo, and that Pu Ding'an traced the weapons back to him.
• Pu Zheng recounted how Zhang Da's men attacked the workshop, forcing him and Pu Yuan to flee before they were captured and sent to Zhang Da's private mine.
• Pu Zheng told Wu Shuangren that the Forged Edge Workshop's ledger was hidden outside the workshop and that he knew its location.
• Wu Shuangren offered to take Pu Zheng and Pu Yuan to Yi Province and asked whether Pu Yuan's forging skill was among the workshop's best.

Wu Shuangren rescued Pu Zheng and Pu Yuan, promised to rebuild their Forged Edge Workshop, and considered how Pu Yuan’s Trait might help him become a master forger. Zhang Yu’s men attacked Wu Shuangren’s party at a border relay station, where Long Lie targeted the Pu family and Wu Shuangren confronted him.

• Wu Shuangren reassured Pu Yuan that he would rebuild the Forged Edge Workshop and suspected Pu Yuan’s [Iron Hou] Trait was connected to water and forging.
• Zhang Yu considered pursuing Wu Shuangren, but Long Lie warned him against an open clash and proposed a night attack instead.
• Wu Shuangren reached a relay station on the Yi Province border and arranged watches in anticipation of an attack.
• Long Lie’s men set the station ablaze and charged through the confusion, aiming to kill Pu Zheng and Pu Yuan.
• Long Lie forced open part of the guards’ formation but could not break through their armor and coordinated defenses.
• Wu Shuangren emerged and fought down the attackers, while Long Lie sent his elites after Miss Xu and charged at Wu Shuangren.

Wu Shuangren fought Long Lie in the forest and broke his most powerful attack, forcing him to retreat. Long Lie fled after discovering his elite companions had vanished, but a spear-wielding pursuer rapidly closed in on him.

• Wu Shuangren drew the Fish-Dragon Saber and fought Long Lie, whose speed and twin-saber techniques revealed him as the Feilong who had destroyed the Forged Edge Workshop.
• Long Lie used chains and airborne footwork to unleash a relentless attack, but Wu Shuangren adapted and taunted him throughout the fight.
• Long Lie charged with his spinning blade wheels, and Wu Shuangren broke one of his sabers by turning the attack against itself.
• Long Lie withdrew after his strongest move failed and threatened Wu Shuangren's family, but Wu Shuangren did not pursue him.
• Long Lie found that none of his elite companions answered his retreat signal and fled through the forest.
• A spear-wielding figure pursued Long Lie at a speed greater than his own, despite his desperate efforts to escape.

Lin Qian helped Wu Shuangren defeat Long Lie’s attackers, allowing Pu Yuan and Pu Zheng to confront the man who had tormented them. Wu Shuangren’s wedding procession reached Bo County, where he and Xu Yuebai married and entered the bridal chamber.

• Lin Qian pursued Long Lie through the forest and killed him after the attack on the relay station was defeated.
• Wu Shuangren presented Long Lie’s corpse to Pu Yuan and Pu Zheng, and Pu Yuan broke down in grief and relief.
• Wu Shuangren’s men reported that the attackers included Feilong’s bandits and Zhang Clan retainers, and Wu Shuangren suspected Zhang Yu had acted alone.
• The wedding procession passed two Yi Province Militia battalions, whose soldiers saluted Wu Shuangren as Xu Yuebai watched.
• Wu Shuangren and Xu Yuebai held their wedding ceremony in Bo County and entered the bridal chamber.

After their wedding night, Wu Shuangren discovered that Xu Yuebai enjoyed mathematics and offered her the chance to review the accounts of his businesses. The newlyweds traveled to the city in Yi Province, where Xu Yuebai began examining the books under Mo Zhengxing’s guidance, though Wu Shuangren had not yet handed her full control of the finances.

• Wu Shuangren and Xu Yuebai spent their wedding night together.
• The next morning, Wu Shuangren learned that Xu Yuebai enjoyed studying the mathematical arts and promised to support her interest.
• Wu Shuangren asked Xu Yuebai to help manage the accounts of his many businesses as his chief financial officer.
• Wu Shuangren took Xu Yuebai to the city in Yi Province and told Mo Zhengxing to give her the business account books to review.
• Wu Shuangren reserved full financial control until he could assess Xu Yuebai’s abilities and their trust had time to grow.

Wu Shuangren and Guo Jiwang planned to use the Yuan Clan’s influence to bring down Zhang Da while avoiding its demands, as Zhang Da grew alarmed over the Pu father and son. In the capital, Yuan Feng died after warning Yuan Shu to protect the clan, and Yuan Shu emerged as the leading candidate to succeed him as vice director of the Central Secretariat.

• Wu Shuangren told Guo Jiwang he wanted to defeat Zhang Da, avenge the Forged Edge Workshop, win over the Pu father and son, and gain a foothold in Shu Province; Guo Jiwang proposed borrowing the Yuan Clan’s influence without letting it dictate terms.
• Xu Cheng rejected Zhang Da’s apology and invitation, prompting Zhang Da to fear that the Yuan Clan would intervene and to consider silencing the Pu father and son.
• Yuan Feng, gravely ill, urged Yuan Shu to protect the Yuan Clan, secure the Shanbei Army and Jiannan Circuit, and act cautiously if the realm fell into chaos before he died.
• The emperor posthumously honored Yuan Feng, whose death shook the political order and left the vice director position of the Central Secretariat vacant.
• At the grand court assembly after Yuan Feng’s funeral, Yuan Shu became the leading candidate to succeed his father as vice director.

Court factional conflict weakened the Yuan Clan as the Lu and Cui Clans gained power, while Xu Jing told Wu Shuangren that Xu Ning had been pushed out of the capital’s Imperial Guard. Wu Shuangren abandoned the plan to use the Yuan Clan’s influence against Zhang Da and decided to take men to Shu Province himself.

• The emperor left the Central Secretariat vice minister post vacant, but elevated Lu Shiyi to chancellor and appointed Cui Jin to command the Northern Headquarters Imperial Guard, where Cui Jin removed officers tied to the Yuan Clan.
• Yuan Shu recognized that the Lu and Cui Clans had joined forces against him and resented his father’s advice to yield while Yuan Shao prospered.
• Xu Jing trained his Yi Province troops with methods he had learned from Wu Shuangren, though he found the garrison’s hereditary soldiers less disciplined than the militia.
• Xu Jing told Wu Shuangren that Cui Jin had taken command of the Imperial Guard and that Xu Ning had been transferred to a sinecure, making the Xu Family’s ties to the Yuan Clan a liability.
• Wu Shuangren decided the Xu Family should oppose Zhang Da directly rather than rely on the Yuan Clan, then returned to Yi Prefecture City and told Guo Jiwang he would lead men to Shu Province.

Wu Shuangren grew concerned about the Cui Clan’s rising power and decided to go to Shu Province with Guo Jiwang. There, Xu Cheng’s accusation against Zhang Da escalated into an open military confrontation, while Yuan Shu rejected Dong Zhuo’s proposal to bring troops to the capital and reaffirmed his claim to lead the Yuan Clan.

• Wu Shuangren told Guo Jiwang that Cui Jin’s appointment and the Cui Clan’s influence made him fear worsening court factionalism, so Guo Jiwang offered to accompany him to Shu Province.
• Xu Cheng accused Zhang Da of secretly mining, forging weapons, murder, colluding with the enemy, and betraying the nation, then told Su Jinfan that witnesses and evidence were on their way.
• Wang Junning delivered Dong Zhuo’s proposal that Yuan Shu recruit generals and bring troops to the capital against the Cui Clan, but Yuan Shu called the suggestion alarmist and sent him away.
• Xu Cheng returned to the Shu Province garrison and assembled his troops to escort the witnesses, defying Ding Lin’s demand that he obey Zhang Da’s orders.

Xu Cheng and Wu Shuangren joined forces to bring Pu Zheng and Pu Yuan openly into Shu Province, hoping to force Zhang Da into a public confrontation and win the circuit intendant’s support. As their troops traveled toward Shu Province City, Xu Cheng began explaining Zhang Da’s past to Wu Shuangren.

• Xu Cheng denounced Ding Lin’s defense of Zhang Da and led every soldier on the drill ground away to retrieve the witnesses.
• Zhang Da considered whether Xu Cheng was baiting him, while Adviser Wang warned that acting against Xu Cheng might be exactly what he wanted.
• Guo Jiwang explained to Wu Shuangren that a public confrontation would reveal who had the advantage and influence the circuit intendant’s stance.
• On the forty-third day after killing Long Lie, Xu Cheng met Wu Shuangren at the Shu Province–Yi Province border, and the two groups set out for Shu Province City with Pu Zheng and Pu Yuan in plain view.
• As scouts and informants watched for an ambush, Xu Cheng told Wu Shuangren about Zhang Da’s military career and their nearly ten years of dealings.

Xu Cheng and Wu Shuangren prepared to confront Zhang Da, who gathered government troops, militias, gangs, and Zhou Family retainers at Zhou Family Village. Zhang Da’s more than four thousand men assembled for battle, and after paying them, he led them out to meet Xu Cheng’s approaching force.

• Xu Cheng explained that Zhang Da could command about a thousand government troops and might gather thousands more, while Wu Shuangren offered to handle Zhang Da’s elite personal soldiers.
• Zhang Da assembled his forces at Zhou Family Village with support from Zhou Xi, Yan Laoba, local gangs, and village men.
• Jiang Chuan struggled to drill the more than four thousand gathered men, whose discipline and training were poor.
• Zhang Da and his allies feasted and pledged to fight together, while officers promised the troops rewards for victory.
• The next morning, Zhang Da formed his forces near the official road, declared the battle a service to the imperial court, and distributed a string of coins to each man.

Xu Cheng and Zhang Da met in battle outside Zhou Family Village after accusing each other of rebellion and treachery. Xu Cheng’s smaller force held formation and gained the upper hand in the infantry clash, leaving Zhang Da’s larger army at risk of collapse.

• Zhang Da enforced military discipline among his troops and sent scouts to gather intelligence on Xu Cheng’s approaching force.
• Xu Cheng and Wu Shuangren discussed Zhang Da’s position as their armies drew close, then both sides exchanged accusations of rebellion and treachery.
• Xu Cheng advanced in an Arrowhead Formation while Zhang Da’s army formed a Flying Geese Formation, and their crossbowmen and archers traded volleys.
• The infantry formations collided, with Xu Cheng’s center pushing back Zhang Da’s troops as Zhang Da’s wings attempted to encircle them.
• Zhang Da sent his cavalry to attack Xu Cheng’s rear, but Xu Cheng’s cavalry intercepted them and performed better despite being outnumbered.
• Zhang Da’s encirclement failed to break Xu Cheng’s formation, and his center neared collapse as he ordered everyone to prepare.

Lu Yulin appeared on the battlefield and revealed himself as a Great Grandmaster, charging straight toward Wu Shuangren. His arrival overwhelmed the fighting forces, who stopped and made way for him.

• Wu Shuangren and Zhang Da led their elite personal troops into the battle at Zhou Family Village.
• A black-robed man on the village wall ordered his hidden experts to move, then charged onto the battlefield with a spear.
• The spear-wielding man cut through the cavalry with ease, killing riders as he advanced toward Wu Shuangren.
• Xu Cheng sent Lin Qian to intervene after Lin Qian sensed something was wrong.
• The newcomer called out Wu Shuangren's name, and the wind tore away his conical hat, revealing Lu Yulin and his golden [White Qilin] Trait.
• Lu Yulin's presence and booming voice stopped the nearby fighters and cleared a path through the battlefield.

Wu Shuangren faced Lu Yulin, who had arrived as a Great Grandmaster to support Zhang Da, while Lin Qian confronted the meaning of Lu Yulin’s path. Wu Shuangren fought Lu Yulin alone after sending Lin Qian to attack Zhang Da, and the chapter ended as Lu Yulin launched another spear thrust.

• Wu Shuangren noticed Lu Yulin’s Traits had turned golden, and Lin Qian arrived to face the Great Grandmaster.
• Zhang Da celebrated Lu Yulin’s arrival, while Lu Yulin argued that rebellion meant rejecting the rules imposed by others and challenged Lin Qian to break free of his constraints.
• Wu Shuangren sent Lin Qian to kill Zhang Da and stepped forward to fight Lu Yulin alone as the battlefield erupted into chaos.
• Lu Yulin crossed the distance and thrust at Wu Shuangren four times, but Wu Shuangren deflected each attack and revealed his heightened strength.
• Lu Yulin wondered whether Wu Shuangren’s power gave him confidence, then attacked again after Wu Shuangren denied it.

Lu Yulin used his newly attained Great Grandmaster spear Dao to suppress Wu Shuangren, but Wu Shuangren kept surviving each attack without finding a chance to counter. Meanwhile, Lin Qian fought through Lu Yulin’s allies toward Zhang Da, leaving Lu Yulin worried that the battle was slipping beyond his control.

• Lu Yulin intensified his spear attacks, using the Spear of Fate to narrow Wu Shuangren’s paths of escape until Wu was forced to block a direct thrust and suffered internal injuries.
• Wu Shuangren realized that Lu Yulin’s golden Trait enhanced his martial arts, yet he continued to withstand the attacks with flawless defenses despite falling behind in speed, strength, and technique.
• After more than fifty exchanges, Lu Yulin found he could neither break Wu Shuangren’s defense nor force him into the fatal outcome his spear Dao prescribed.
• Lin Qian smashed through Zhang Da’s heavily armored guards and charged toward Zhang Da, believing Wu Shuangren was only holding Lu Yulin back for him.
• Yan Xiaobing and Liang An joined forces with Lu Yulin’s other experts to stop Lin Qian, but Lin’s reckless spear assault drove them back and wounded several fighters.
• Lu Yulin saw that Lin Qian might kill Zhang Da before the duel ended and feared the battle would repeat the earlier crisis outside Yi Prefecture City.

Wu Shuangren used the Method of the Escaped One and a sudden burst of power to defeat Lu Yulin, who fled after suffering a near-fatal slash. Wu Shuangren survived but was badly injured, and he wondered whether he could kill Lu Yulin without risking Lin Qian’s life.

• Lu Yulin unleashed his full strength, but Wu Shuangren repeatedly found openings to counterattack and endured the spear blows with his heavy armor.
• As their battle continued, Lin Qian and Xu Yu’s forces gained ground, and Lin Qian killed Zhang Da, disrupting Lu Yulin’s state of mind.
• Wu Shuangren activated the [World-Purifying Wisdom King Mantra] and slashed Lu Yulin deeply when the opening in his spearwork widened.
• Lu Yulin fled, while Yan Xiaobing and Liang An retreated after him; Lin Qian stayed to protect Wu Shuangren.
• Wu Shuangren spat blood as Lin Qian helped suppress his turbulent Qi and blood, and he decided not to send Lin Qian after the wounded Lu Yulin.

After Wu Shuangren defeated Great Grandmaster Lu Yulin, Xu Cheng’s forces routed Zhang Da’s troops and captured their equipment and witnesses. Wu Shuangren reflected on the risks and gains of his victory, while the chapter ended three days later at the Mount Shu Sect’s compound in Shu Province City.

• Wu Shuangren told Lin Qian that Lu Yulin had been defeated but not killed, and that his shattered state of mind would make another defeat likely.
• After Lin Qian killed Zhang Da and Lu Yulin fled, Xu Cheng’s forces pursued the fleeing troops, while most of Zhang Da’s soldiers surrendered.
• Wu Shuangren told Xu Cheng he had won through luck, then considered how his battle with Lu Yulin had strengthened his Traits and [Method of One Person].
• Xu Cheng gave Wu Shuangren captured armor, weapons, horses, and crossbows, and planned to use captured Mount Liang rebels as witnesses against Zhang Da.
• Three days after Lu Yulin’s defeat, disciples practiced swordsmanship at the Mount Shu Sect’s compound in Shu Province City, where leader Li Xiao oversaw the sect’s affairs.

After Wu Shuangren defeated Lu Yulin and Zhang Da died, Li Xiao learned that the nineteen-year-old Wu had stopped a Great Grandmaster and worried he would expand into Shu Province. Zhang Da’s crimes were exposed, and news of Wu Shuangren’s victory reached Chang’an, where people across the capital began debating his strength.

• Li Xiao met Su Jinfan, who told him that Wu Shuangren had defeated Lu Yulin and Zhang Da had died during the clash with Xu Cheng.
• Su Jinfan warned Li Xiao that Wu Shuangren might next expand into Shu Province, and Li Xiao agreed to prepare the Mount Shu Sect.
• Xu Cheng returned to Shu Province City with Zhang Da’s associates, while the Pu father and son presented evidence about the Forged Edge Workshop and retrieved the hidden account book.
• Captured former Mount Liang experts and Adviser Wang confessed to collusion with Zhang Da, and government troops uncovered bones at the private mine on the Shu-Yi border.
• Su Jinfan sent Zhang Da’s crimes to the court, and the memorial reached Chang’an, where officials learned that Wu Shuangren had defeated Lu Yulin.
• News of Wu Shuangren’s victory spread through Chang’an, prompting widespread debate over whether Lu Yulin had truly become a Great Grandmaster.

Yuan Shu learned that Wu Shuangren had founded the Yi Province Militia and rejected the Yuan Clan, then turned to cultivating ties with Lü Fengxian, the emperor’s Great Grandmaster guardian. The chapter ended with Lü Fengxian accepting Yuan Shu’s invitation and arriving for a wine banquet.

• Yuan Shu blamed Xue Ling and Peng Cheng for underestimating Wu Shuangren and ordered them beaten to death.
• Yuan Shu realized Wu Shuangren had built the Yi Province Militia himself and that the Xu Family had chosen him over the Yuan Clan.
• Wang Junning secretly visited Yuan Shu that evening to speak with him.
• Emperor Li Bian asked Lü Fengxian whether a nineteen-year-old could become a Great Grandmaster, and Lü dismissed the reports as rumors.
• Lü Fengxian told Li Bian that imperial authority outweighed individual martial prowess, then escorted him to Cining Palace.
• Lü Fengxian accepted Yuan Shu’s invitation and arrived at the Yuan residence, where Yuan Shu welcomed him to drink wine.

Yuan Shu tested Lü Fengxian’s views on who could shape the realm’s future and sent him home with Du Xiu'er, then secretly wrote to Dong Zhuo. The story shifted to Shannan Circuit, where Dong Zhuo rewarded the Western Liang Guard after watching their training.

• Yuan Shu asked Lü Fengxian about rumors of a nineteen-year-old Great Grandmaster and who could steer the realm’s greater course; Lü named Yuan Shu, the Prince of the Western Capital, and several other powerful figures, but dismissed Han Shizhong and Zhao Yunlong as unsuitable.
• Yuan Shu described Dong Zhuo as ambitious and said a divine general was needed to rein him in, then introduced Du Xiu'er and offered her to Lü Fengxian.
• Lü Fengxian accepted Du Xiu'er and returned home with her and several jars of wine.
• After Lü Fengxian left, Yuan Shu wrote a letter to Dong Zhuo and ordered a trusted aide to deliver it through Wang Junning.
• At the Western Liang Guard’s drill grounds, Hua Xiong stopped the soldiers’ training when Dong Zhuo arrived, and the guards saluted their military governor.
• Dong Zhuo praised the Western Liang Guard, promised them extra meat, and rewarded Ma Chen with his saber for performing best in a military exercise.