Chapter Summaries

Wu Shuangren helped repel a cavalry attack on the hillside, then joined Xu Jing in preparing the militia to withstand a renewed assault. The riders charged the southeastern slope, and the chapter ended with the defenders forming a makeshift barricade bristling with spears.

• Wu Shuangren killed the enemy leader and a charging rider, while the remaining cavalry retreated down the slope.
• Wu Dongrong stopped Wu Shuangren from pursuing, and Xu Jing, Mo Zhenglin, and Mo Zhengxing led guards in killing fallen riders.
• Xu Jing ordered the militia to shelter beneath boards as the surviving riders shot arrows uphill, which the boards blocked.
• More than fifty riders returned, regrouped with the survivors, and decided to attack the hill again.
• The cavalry charged the southeastern slope, where horse pits disrupted the leading riders, while Xu Jing directed the archers against them.
• Wu Shuangren ordered the veterans to build a rough board barricade and drove frightened recruits to take up spears behind it.

Wu Shuangren and the Bo County militia used a hillside defense to repel the Mist Hidden Temple’s cavalry and win their first victory with few casualties. After the fighters returned to the county seat with captured weapons, armor, and horses, county magistrate He Zhixu was awakened by the alarm gong.

• The lead cavalry riders halted at the crest when they saw the militia’s spear barricades, and the archers’ fire forced the attackers into retreat.
• Wu Shuangren, Wu Dongrong, Liao Yu, and Bai Jinhuan pursued the fleeing riders, while Wu Shuangren killed seven men and Bai Jinhuan cut down more.
• Wu Dongrong warned Wu Shuangren not to underestimate cavalry, and the militia celebrated its first victory since being reestablished.
• The militia counted thirty-four dead enemy riders, captured their armor and weapons, and recovered fifteen unharmed warhorses.
• Xu Jing ordered the bodies burned and the militia returned to the county seat; He Zhixu woke when the gong sounded on the city wall.

After leading the militia to victory against the mounted bandits, Wu Shuangren strengthened his Internal Skill and rewarded the fighters while planning their next training. At Mist Hidden Temple, Hong Zhanming faced pressure from the Warrior Monk Hall over control of the weakened cavalry, while Abbot Ciwen underwent an oil ritual.

• He Zhixu learned that Xu Jing and Wu Shuangren had returned victorious, and he reluctantly accepted the news after condemning their expedition.
• Wu Shuangren realized the battle had changed his state of mind, and his Internal Skill advanced another level that night.
• Wu Shuangren tried to persuade Xu Nanzhi to spar, then gave each of the fifty militiamen who fought in the battle one hundred wen.
• Liao Yu told Wu Shuangren that Xu Jing had taken ten warhorses and that the Mo Family had declined a share of the spoils; Wu Shuangren decided to learn riding from Wu Dongrong.
• Hong Zhanming ordered a man to watch the Warrior Monk Hall after learning it wanted control of the cavalry unit.
• Master Ciwen sat beneath a golden Buddha statue as a monk poured golden oil over his body.

Ciwen reached the First Rank and warned Hong Zhanming to set aside Bo County and strengthen ties with West River Market. In Bo County, Wu Shuangren trained the militia and tested his Crouching Tiger technique against Liao Yu’s mounted spear charge.

• Ciwen endured the warrior monks’ iron-staff blows and revealed that he had mastered his divine skill and entered the First Rank.
• Hong Zhanming confessed that he had caused dozens of deaths, and Ciwen spared him while directing him to focus on West River Market instead of Bo County.
• Wu Shuangren drilled the Bo County militiamen in ranks and spear formations with help from Wu Dongrong and Liao Yu.
• Wu Shuangren faced Liao Yu’s mounted charge and struck the spear shaft at its weak point, deflecting it past his shoulder.

Wu Shuangren trained with Liao Yu and Wu Dongrong, rebuilt the militia, and searched for a way to earn money so he could strengthen his forces against the Mist Hidden Temple. When the Mo Family’s illicit salt supply was cut off, he proposed holding boxing matches in Xi Province and making money through wagers.

• Wu Shuangren faced mounted charges from Liao Yu and Wu Dongrong, broke his wooden saber against Wu Dongrong’s attack, and then practiced riding with him.
• Wu Shuangren recruited enough men to bring the militia to a hundred and set long-, mid-, and short-term goals centered on defeating the Mist Hidden Temple and finding new income.
• Wu Shuangren asked Liao Yu and Wu Dongrong about places where martial contests were popular, then decided to explore holding matches in Xi Province.
• Mo Zhengxing told Mo Zhenglin that salt merchants in Yun Province had stopped supplying the Mo Family, and they suspected the Mist Hidden Temple had driven up prices.
• Wu Shuangren met Mo Zhenglin and Mo Zhengxing and proposed staging several public boxing matches each day in Xi Province, with income from spectators and betting.

Wu Shuangren convinced the Mo Family to build a boxing business at West River Market, arguing it could help them grow strong enough to challenge the Mist Hidden Temple. Mo Zhengxing established a boxing hall, recruited eight fighters, and launched a publicity campaign, leaving the matches poised to begin.

• Wu Shuangren explained his boxing-match business plan to Mo Zhengxing and Mo Zhenglin, including betting, fighter pay, protective gear, and scoring rules.
• Mo Zhengxing agreed that West River Market was a suitable location, and Mo Zhenglin approved the plan as an opportunity to strengthen the Mo Family while the Mist Hidden Temple held back.
• Ten days after the ambush on the Mist Hidden Temple cavalry, Mo Zhengxing traveled from Bo County to West River Market with guards and helpers to find a venue.
• Mo Zhengxing bought an old theater for 212 taels of silver and had it renovated into a boxing hall with a ring, spectator seating, and private viewing boxes.
• Mo Zhengxing recruited eight fighters and advertised nightly matches with pay for every fighter and a bonus for winners, distributing flyers that emphasized free admission.

Mo Zhengxing opened the West River Market Boxing Hall, where Wu Shuangren’s rules and promotions drew growing crowds to watch and bet on matches. By the seventh day, betting had made the fights even more popular, and Mo Zhengxing ended the night by promising another four matches the next day.

• Mo Zhengxing opened the Boxing Hall, where Bai Jinhuan explained the rules and refereed the first match between Zhou Hu and Wang Tong.
• Wang Tong knocked Zhou Hu down repeatedly and won the opening match, earning extra pay as spectators cheered and martial artists considered joining the hall.
• Mo Zhengxing signed three more fighters as crowds grew over the following days, eventually filling the hall and its private rooms.
• On the seventh day, Mo Zhengxing opened betting tables, and wagers intensified the crowd’s excitement during the four matches.
• After spectators demanded a fifth match, Mo Zhengxing said the hall would hold only four matches each night and urged them to return early the next day.

Mo Zhengxing’s boxing courtyard began earning admission and private-room fees, while Wu Shuangren trained the militia to face cavalry charges and trust their comrades. The West River Gang’s Chen Xiao challenged the boxing courtyard to a barehanded fight, and Mo Zhengxing asked what would happen if his side won or lost.

• Mo Zhengxing calculated that the boxing courtyard had lost money that night but expected its growing popularity to make it profitable, then sent a letter to Wu Shuangren.
• Wu Shuangren, Wu Dongrong, and Liao Yu trained the militiamen to stand firm against a cavalry charge, then Wu Shuangren taught them to fall backward and trust their comrades to catch them.
• A Mo Family guard arrived at the training camp with a letter for Wu Shuangren.
• On the eleventh night after opening, Mo Zhengxing charged two wen for admission and raised private-room prices to thirty wen, while the boxing courtyard filled with customers.
• Chen Xiao of the West River Gang condemned the padded-glove bouts and demanded that the boxing courtyard send a fighter to face his barehanded man; Mo Zhengxing accepted and asked what the terms would be if either side won.

Bai Jinhuan defeated Yu Cheng in an unarmed wagered fight, winning the boxing house the right to continue operating while suffering a serious shoulder injury. As Mo Zhengxing anticipated further challenges from the West River Gang, Zhang Yan of the Zhang Clan arrived at the boxing house to pay a visit.

• Chen Xiao forced Mo Zhengxing to accept a wagered unarmed match between Bai Jinhuan and Yu Cheng, with the boxing house’s future at stake.
• Bai Jinhuan endured Yu Cheng’s attacks and, using the stage ropes to counter, struck him hard enough to send him off the stage.
• Chen Xiao paid the wager and left, while Mo Zhengxing announced that the boxing house’s fights would continue.
• Bai Jinhuan told Mo Zhengxing that his shoulder tendons and bones were injured and that he would need at least a month to recover.
• Mo Zhengxing expected the West River Gang to demand more matches and hoped Wu Shuangren would arrive soon.
• Zhang Yan of the Zhang Clan of West River County arrived with two martial artists and asked to be announced.

Zhang Yan tried to make Mo Zhengxing surrender ninety percent of the boxing arena’s profits in exchange for the Zhang Clan’s protection, but Mo Zhengxing refused. Wu Shuangren arrived with fifty disciplined militiamen and money from the Mo Family, and prepared to face the West River Gang’s next challenge.

• Zhang Yan offered the Zhang Clan’s protection in exchange for ninety percent of the boxing arena’s profits, but Mo Zhengxing rejected the deal.
• Li Ming decided that the West River Gang would first win back its lost face and then take the boxing arena by force.
• Wu Shuangren led fifty militiamen into West River Market in precise formation, drawing wary attention from the locals.
• Mo Zhengxing welcomed Wu Shuangren to the boxing arena, where Wu Shuangren proposed buying nearby courtyards and expanding the venue.
• Wu Shuangren gave Mo Zhengxing four hundred taels of silver from the Mo Family and said he had recruited another hundred militiamen.
• After hearing that the West River Gang might attack again that night, Wu Shuangren said he would take any one-on-one fight.

Wu Shuangren expanded the Fist Academy’s business and militia, bringing Bai Jinhuan in to help organize the troops. After learning that Wu Shuangren was only seventeen and the Bo County militia was small, the West River Gang’s chiefs laughed and prepared to reassess the threat.

• Wu Shuangren and Mo Zhengxing counted a profitable night at the Fist Academy, and Wu Shuangren proposed star fighters, rankings, and a Fist King championship to grow the business.
• Wu Shuangren led the militiamen in trust training, and Bai Jinhuan praised his methods before considering joining the militia.
• Mo Zhengxing bought three courtyards beside the Fist Academy, and Wu Shuangren connected them to create space for the militia.
• Bai Jinhuan joined the militia as a temporary company commander, organized watches, and learned Wu Shuangren’s method of staging night-attack drills.
• The West River Gang’s chiefs learned that Wu Shuangren was a seventeen-year-old commander with only a little over a hundred militiamen, and Chen Xiao laughed at the news.

Wu Shuangren accepted the West River Gang’s challenge to a five-on-five public martial match, with the Fist Academy’s business at stake. On the morning of the match, the rival powers and spectators gathered as Wu Shuangren arrived with the Fist Academy’s people and a disciplined group of militiamen.

• Li Ming decided the West River Gang should challenge the Fist Academy to a five-person match rather than risk a direct clash with its militia.
• Wu Shuangren negotiated stakes of five hundred taels of silver and a ban on West River Gang members entering the Fist Academy, then chose West River Market’s central open space as the venue.
• Spectators filled the market’s central open space before dawn, and the West River Gang’s five chiefs arrived led by Li Ming.
• Zhang He, Xie Jingshan, and Luo Heng arrived as representatives of West River Market’s other major powers.
• Wu Shuangren arrived with Mo Zhengxing, Bai Jinhuan, guards, and ten militiamen marching in formation.

Wu Shuangren represented the Fist Academy in its public match against the West River Gang, with the stakes and rules formally confirmed by the arbiters. He defeated and killed the West River Gang’s first fighter, Sun Lie, with the Fish-Dragon Saber, leaving the match underway.

• Xie Jingshan verified the West River Gang’s jiaozi stake and the Fist Academy’s land deed, then declared the match begun.
• Wu Shuangren challenged Chen Xiao’s mockery and leaped onto the platform as the Fist Academy’s first fighter.
• Li Ming sent Sun Lie to fight Wu Shuangren after judging that Wu’s footwork might be formidable.
• Sun Lie launched a rapid series of saber attacks, but Wu Shuangren blocked them without giving ground.
• Wu Shuangren dodged Sun Lie’s unleashed attack and cut open his abdomen with the Fish-Dragon Saber.
• Sun Lie praised Wu Shuangren’s saber before Wu ended his suffering with a final strike.

Wu Shuangren defeated Sun Lie and Ma Jun in the first two matches against the West River Gang, then faced the gang’s third leader, Zhao Kui. As the next fight began, Wu Shuangren looked forward to testing how much more his martial arts could improve under pressure.

• Xie Jingshan declared Wu Shuangren the winner after he killed Sun Lie, giving the Fist Academy the first match.
• Li Ming sent Ma Jun to challenge Wu Shuangren, hoping to force a contest of Internal Skills.
• Ma Jun drove Wu Shuangren to the platform’s edge with powerful kicks, but Wu Shuangren used the flagpole and ground to evade him and cut his thigh before beheading him.
• Xie Jingshan declared the Fist Academy the winner of the second match, and Li Ming sent the West River Gang’s third leader, Zhao Kui, onto the platform.
• Wu Shuangren assessed Zhao Kui’s strength, reflected on how his own Internal Skill helped him improve his techniques, and beckoned Zhao Kui to attack.

Wu Shuangren defeated Zhao Kui after countering his blade-grabbing techniques and knocking him off the platform, giving the Fist Academy a third consecutive victory. Han Tieshan then took the West River Gang’s place in the fourth match and began fighting Wu Shuangren with an iron spear.

• Zhao Kui attacked Wu Shuangren with his iron gauntlets and repeatedly tried to seize the Fish-Dragon Saber, but Wu Shuangren countered his attempts and wounded his forearm.
• Zhao Kui powered up and managed to lock the Fish-Dragon Saber in his grip, but Wu Shuangren let go of it and struck Zhao Kui in the chest with his palm.
• Zhao Kui leaped backward to lessen the blow, then rolled off the platform and struggled to his feet below it.
• Xie Jingshan announced the Fist Academy’s third victory, while Li Ming comforted Zhao Kui and Chen Xiao held back his anger.
• Han Tieshan volunteered to fight Wu Shuangren, then attacked with his iron spear; Wu Shuangren dodged and blocked as Han changed a thrust into a sweep.

Wu Shuangren defeated Han Tieshan in the fourth match, prompting Li Ming to surrender and concede the contest to the Fist Academy. The Fist Academy claimed the wager and its victory over the West River Gang, while Mo Zhengxing prepared for possible retaliation.

• Wu Shuangren broke through Han Tieshan’s spear defense and killed him with a saber strike to the throat.
• After seeing Wu Shuangren’s strength, Li Ming refused to enter the arena and announced that the West River Gang admitted defeat.
• Xie Jingshan declared the Fist Academy the winner, awarded it the five hundred strings of cash, and barred West River Gang members from entering the academy.
• That night, Mo Zhengxing ordered workers to begin expanding the Fist Academy while keeping its boxing matches running.
• Wu Shuangren reviewed how the contest had strengthened his saber technique and footwork, and Mo Zhengxing ordered continued night-raid drills in case the West River Gang retaliated.

Wu Shuangren and Mo Zhengxing expanded the Fist Academy’s venue and built its audience, then prepared to compete with the Xie Clan by training fighters to deliver more entertaining matches. Wu Shuangren used his [Match for One Person] Trait to improve the fighters and threatened to punish any who broke their contracts.

• Wu Shuangren told Mo Zhengxing to build their forces and eventually take West River Market, and Mo Zhengxing agreed to follow his lead.
• Mo Zhengxing bought nearby properties while workers expanded the Fist Academy into a larger viewing venue with private rooms.
• The renovated Fist Academy drew nearly five hundred spectators, sold all twenty-four private rooms, and earned over four guan in net profit.
• After learning that the Xie Clan Trading Company planned to hold its own fights, Wu Shuangren explained how suspenseful reversals and flashy moves could make matches more entertaining.
• Wu Shuangren trained eight fighters, used his [Match for One Person] Trait to identify their weaknesses, and had them sign ten-year contracts with the Fist Academy.
• When Mo Zhengxing worried that the Xie Clan might poach the fighters, Wu Shuangren threatened to deal personally with anyone who broke their contracts.

Wu Shuangren helped the Fist Academy recover from the Xie Clan Boxing Arena’s challenge by improving its matches and publicity. Just as business neared its former peak, a gaunt young man stormed into the arena and fought off its guards, and Wu Shuangren recognized a Trait above his head.

• The Xie Clan Boxing Arena opened with free matches and drew crowds away from the Fist Academy, whose attendance and income fell.
• Wu Shuangren improved the Fist Academy’s fights, and prematch press conferences helped attract spectators and build its reputation.
• The Fist Academy promoted its fighters and matches, and business gradually recovered, with more than three hundred spectators attending one night.
• Wu Shuangren sparred unarmed against Bai Jinhuan’s guandao to strengthen his skills when a militiaman reported trouble.
• A gaunt young man burst into the Fist Academy and knocked aside guards and militiamen before Wu Shuangren arrived and saw a Trait above him.

Wu Shuangren subdued Xu Yu, a seemingly untrained teenager whose [Lean Tiger] Trait appeared to grant him exceptional strength and instincts, then questioned him after he woke. Xu Yu explained that he had come to West River Market seeking work as a fighter and revealed that his late mother had told him to come there to support himself.

• Wu Shuangren confronted Xu Yu at the Fist Academy and fought him, recognizing his immense strength and uncanny instincts despite his lack of martial arts training.
• Wu Shuangren restrained Xu Yu by attacking his joints and acupoints, then sent him away unconscious and calmed the spectators by adding another match.
• Wu Shuangren watched Xu Yu's blood-red [Lean Tiger] Trait and suspected it represented a fate or fortune that he alone could see.
• After Xu Yu woke, Wu Shuangren questioned him and learned that he had attacked the gatekeepers after they refused him entry and insulted his mother.
• Xu Yu told Wu Shuangren that he was sixteen, had never practiced martial arts, and had come to West River Market because his late mother said he could find work there.

Wu Shuangren took in Xu Yu after discovering his strength and enormous appetite, then welcomed 150 trained militiamen into West River Market and announced a Fist King Championship. Xie Jingshan visited the Fist Academy to propose cooperation, offering the Xie Clan’s fighters academy training and twenty percent of their arena profits.

• Wu Shuangren hired Xu Yu, promised to provide him with food and lodging, and made him his subordinate after Xu Yu agreed to fight.
• Wu Shuangren asked Mo Zhengxing to investigate Xu Yu’s origins in Wang Clan Village and then celebrated over drinks.
• Chen Tie led 150 militiamen from Bo County to West River Market, bringing Wu Shuangren’s forces there to 200.
• Wu Shuangren announced a Fist King Championship to pressure the Xie Clan and promote the Fist Academy.
• Xie Jingshan visited Wu Shuangren and Mo Zhengxing, conceded the Xie Clan was losing ground, and proposed sharing fighters and profits.