Chapter Summaries

Wu Shuangren secured a partnership with the Xie Clan and prepared the Fist Academy for the Fist King Championship. After attending Xie Jingshan’s banquet without falling for his attempted seduction, Wu brought the leftover food back for Xu Yu.

• Wu Shuangren negotiated with Xie Jingshan, who agreed to give the Fist Academy fifty percent of the Xie Clan Boxing Arena’s profits.
• News spread that the Xie Clan Boxing Hall would enter fighters in the Fist King Championship, and the fighting platform was completed in West River Market.
• Wu Shuangren accepted Xie Jingshan’s banquet invitation and brought Mo Zhengxing, Xu Yu, and guards to the Xie residence.
• Xie Jingshan hosted a lavish meal and arranged for eight dancers to entertain Wu Shuangren, but Wu remained unmoved and asked to take the food home.
• Wu Shuangren returned to the Fist Academy safely and later brought the checked and reheated banquet dishes to Xu Yu.

Xu Yu warned Wu Shuangren of danger as they headed to the Fist King Championship, and Xie Jingshan’s forces ambushed them with repeating crossbows while the West River Gang surrounded the Fist Academy. Wu Shuangren kept the militia in formation and ordered them to advance through the attack.

• Xu Yu told Wu Shuangren he sensed danger on the deserted street, and Wu Shuangren ordered the fifty militiamen to form a shield wall.
• Xie Jingshan learned that the ambush had begun and prepared for the Xie Clan and West River Gang’s coordinated assault on Changsheng Street and the Fist Academy.
• The ambushers fired a volley of bolts at Wu Shuangren’s group, killing one militiaman and wounding others as the shield formation took shape.
• Wu Shuangren steadied the shield wall while Mo Zhengxing blew a whistle to signal for help.
• Wu Shuangren rejected turning back toward the Fist Academy and ordered the militia to hold formation and advance.

Wu Shuangren led his militia through an enemy blockade while Xu Yu fought at his side, shielding him from attacks. They broke into the Xie Clan guards’ formation, and Wu Shuangren reached the scar-faced commander.

• Wu Shuangren ordered the militia to charge the Xie Clan household guards blocking their path as Li Ming’s forces closed in from behind.
• Wu Shuangren broke through the enemy line, while Xu Yu followed and used his strength to knock guards aside and protect him.
• Xu Yu charged into the commander’s circular formation, shattered its front line, and threw the defenders into disarray.
• Wu Shuangren dodged the spear fighters and cut down one of them, leaving only the scar-faced man before him.
• Wu Shuangren locked [Match for One Person] onto the scar-faced man and strengthened his Internal Skill.

Wu Shuangren and Xu Yu killed Luo Zheng and routed the Xie Clan guards, then turned to face Li Ming and the charging West River Gang. Meanwhile, Bai Jinhuan led the militiamen out of the Fist Academy and found more than four hundred West River Gang and Xie Clan fighters surrounding them.

• Luo Zheng attacked Wu Shuangren with his twin halberds, but Wu Shuangren traded an injury for a saber strike that killed him while Xu Yu held off the other Xie Clan Attendants.
• Wu Shuangren and Xu Yu charged through the Xie Clan guards, and Mo Zhengxing ordered the militiamen forward to break their formation and rout them.
• Li Ming led two hundred West River Gang elites in a charge, and Wu Shuangren ordered the militiamen to reform with the rear ranks at the front.
• Wu Shuangren and Xu Yu prepared to stand against Li Ming and the West River Gang as the militiamen charged behind them.
• Bai Jinhuan led the militiamen remaining at the Fist Academy outside and found the building surrounded by more than four hundred West River Gang members and Xie Clan guards.

Bai Jinhuan led inexperienced militiamen into battle as Wu Shuangren and Xu Yu fought the West River Gang on Changsheng Street. The militia formation pushed the gang back, and Li Ming finally joined the fight with the other leaders to confront Wu Shuangren.

• Bai Jinhuan promised the militiamen payment for victory and led them charging into battle.
• Wu Shuangren and Xu Yu broke through the West River Gang's front ranks, while the militia shield formation drove the gang backward.
• Xu Yu protected Wu Shuangren from attackers and archers as Wu Shuangren fought through the gang toward Li Ming.
• Li Ming judged that Wu Shuangren was weakened by injuries and exhaustion, then charged him with Chen Xiao, Zhao Kui, and Du Jianghe.
• Wu Shuangren welcomed the four leaders and went forward to meet them.

Wu Shuangren and Xu Yu defeated the West River Gang in a brutal street battle, killing its chief and several bosses before the survivors fled. After Bai Jinhuan reported that the militiamen had also routed the gang at the Fist Academy, the troops counted their casualties and began clearing the battlefield.

• Li Ming, Zhao Kui, Chen Xiao, and Du Jianghe attacked Wu Shuangren while Xu Yu fought to protect him.
• Wu Shuangren killed Zhao Kui and then killed Li Ming by throwing his Fish-Dragon Saber across Li Ming's throat, despite suffering severe wounds himself.
• Xu Yu killed Chen Xiao, Du Jianghe fled, and the West River Gang's remaining fighters scattered before the militiamen.
• Mo Zhengxing gave Wu Shuangren and Xu Yu pills and prepared to treat their wounds, but renewed battle cries made the survivors brace for another attack.
• Bai Jinhuan arrived and told Wu Shuangren and Mo Zhengxing that the militiamen had routed the West River Gang outside the Fist Academy.
• The militiamen cleared the street and counted their casualties: eight of Wu Shuangren's fifty veterans were dead, four were seriously wounded, and eleven were lightly wounded.

Wu Shuangren led the battered militiamen to the Xie residence after defeating the Xie Clan and West River Gang forces. He rejected Xie Jingshan’s offer to negotiate and left the household guards facing the heads of their fallen leaders.

• Wu Shuangren and Mo Zhengxing decided to march straight to the Xie residence, with 116 militiamen remaining.
• Xie Jingshan learned that Luo Zheng and the West River Gang leaders had died and that his men had failed to stop Wu Shuangren at the Fist Academy.
• Wu Shuangren led his bloodied troops through the streets and formed a shield-and-spear attack formation outside the Xie residence.
• Xie Jingshan ordered Afu to offer the Xie Clan Boxing Arena and one thousand taels of silver in exchange for peace.
• Wu Shuangren refused to negotiate, declared that Xie Jingshan had wasted his chances, and ordered his men to throw the severed heads of the defeated leaders before the guards.

Wu Shuangren led his militiamen into the Xie residence, where he defeated the remaining guards and leveled up [Match for One Person]. Xie Jingshan surrendered the Xie Clan Chamber of Commerce, and the chapter ended with the militia gathering the family’s vast wealth and supplies.

• Wu Shuangren’s militiamen broke through the Xie household guards and surrounded the residence while Wu Shuangren led the first squad inside.
• Wu Shuangren fought and killed three Xie Attendants, causing [Match for One Person] to level up and increasing its duration and combat efficiency.
• Xie Jingshan refused to flee, surrendered to Wu Shuangren, and offered the Xie Clan Chamber of Commerce in exchange for his life.
• Wu Shuangren ordered Xie Jingshan bound, then had the militiamen search the residence with his cooperation.
• Mo Zhengxing counted 15,653 strings in ready money, while the militia also gathered valuables, grain, weapons, property deeds, and account books.

After the militia defeated the Xie Clan and the West River Gang, Wu Shuangren executed Xie Jingshan and the Xie Family members at the residence, then announced rewards and compensation for his soldiers. Back at the Fist Academy, he dismissed fourteen recruits who had fled during the battle, despite their pleas to stay.

• Wu Shuangren loaded the Xie Clan’s valuables onto carts and refused to split his forces to raid the West River Gang’s headquarters.
• Wu Shuangren executed Xie Jingshan and ordered the militia to kill the remaining Xie Family members, declaring, “Blood for blood!”
• Wu Shuangren awarded each militiaman one string of coins and announced extra rewards and compensation for the wounded and fallen soldiers’ families.
• Bai Jinhuan reported that eleven recruits had died, nine were gravely wounded, and fourteen had fled before returning to the Fist Academy.
• Wu Shuangren expelled the fourteen recruits who had fled and ordered them to leave West River Market for Bo County; they begged him to let them remain.

After punishing deserters and rewarding the militia for their bravery, Wu Shuangren learned the truth about Xu Yu’s past and treated him kindly without questioning him. The next morning, Wu Shuangren led fifty militiamen to the Xie Clan Chamber of Commerce’s largest warehouse.

• Wu Shuangren drove away fourteen deserters, warned the militia that future flight would be punished by death, and gave the remaining men a chance to leave.
• Wu Shuangren rewarded nine brave militiamen with ten guan each, promoted Chen Tie, Zhao Shen, and Sun Eryong to company leaders, and appointed Bai Jinhuan battalion leader with a hundred taels of silver.
• Wu Shuangren gave Xu Yu a hundred taels, while Mo Zhengxing reported that the Flying Feather Gang and the Zhang Clan were fighting over the West River Gang’s valuables.
• A scout told Wu Shuangren and Mo Zhengxing that Xu Yu was actually Wang Yu, whose father had died in a fire after Wang Yu allegedly killed him, and that the county had issued a warrant for him.
• Wu Shuangren shared a lavish meal with Xu Yu without asking about his past.
• The next morning, Wu Shuangren led fifty militiamen to the guarded Xie Clan Granary.

Wu Shuangren discovered twenty suits of forbidden infantry armor hidden among the Xie Clan Chamber of Commerce’s goods and traced their shipments to the Mist Hidden Temple in Yi Province. After securing the armor and taking steps to inherit the Xie Clan’s businesses, he examined a suit with Bai Jinhuan.

• Wu Shuangren and the militiamen opened the warehouse chests and found fine salt, other trade goods, and twenty suits of infantry armor.
• Wu Shuangren threatened Afu until the steward revealed that chests had been shipped to Yi Province in four shipments, totaling eighty chests, alongside grain bought by the Mist Hidden Temple.
• Wu Shuangren and Mo Zhengxing concluded that the Mist Hidden Temple was likely receiving the armor, then ordered the militiamen to keep the discovery secret.
• Wu Shuangren had the armor sealed and moved, while Mo Zhengxing took charge of selling the Xie Clan’s warehouse goods and inheriting its business.
• Wu Shuangren skipped the Fist King Championship and returned to the Fist Academy, where he and Bai Jinhuan examined the armor and Wu Shuangren put on a suit.

Wu Shuangren tested the infantry armor and sparred with Bai Jinhuan, discovering that his upgraded Trait had brought his Internal Skill up to Bai Jinhuan’s level. He defeated Bai Jinhuan in seven moves, leaving the two to recognize how far his saber technique had advanced.

• Wu Shuangren wore the infantry armor while Bai Jinhuan tested it with half-strength and full-strength saber strikes, and the armor withstood them.
• Wu Shuangren and Bai Jinhuan discussed the battlefield advantages of armor and long weapons, then put on armor to spar.
• Wu Shuangren realized that his upgraded Trait had made his Internal Skill equal to Bai Jinhuan’s as their weapons clashed.
• Wu Shuangren used fluid saber techniques and footwork to disarm and overwhelm Bai Jinhuan in seven moves, stopping his saber at Bai Jinhuan’s nose.
• Bai Jinhuan admitted defeat and regarded Wu Shuangren as a First Rate expert.

Wu Shuangren developed Cloud Tiger Seven Kills and chose a mo saber to adapt the technique for long weapons, while his letter prompted Wu Dongrong and Liao Yu to recruit militiamen on a large scale. As the remains of fallen militiamen returned to Bo County, Liao Yu addressed their grieving families and the shaken militia.

• Wu Shuangren named his seven-form saber technique Cloud Tiger Seven Kills and practiced it in the courtyard.
• Wu Shuangren selected a mo saber from the Xie residence's weapon storehouse and gave the second one to Xu Yu to practice with.
• Wu Dongrong and Liao Yu read Wu Shuangren's account of defeating the West River Gang and destroying the Xie residence, then received his order to recruit as many militiamen as possible.
• A convoy brought the fallen militiamen's remains from West River Market to Bo County, where their families gathered to claim them.
• Wu Dongrong and Liao Yu met the convoy with a hundred militiamen, and Liao Yu addressed the gathered villagers about the risks of joining the militia.

Wu Dongrong and Liao Yu paid the fallen militiamen’s families, recruited hundreds of men, and sent most of the new force to West River Market. At the Fist Academy, Wu Shuangren recognized that Xu Yu’s lack of an Internal Skill kept him from mastering saber techniques and considered whether an adult Internal Skill could suit him.

• Liao Yu announced that families of militiamen killed in battle could receive thirty strings of cash or monthly payments for twenty years, and the families collected their compensation.
• Wu Dongrong and Liao Yu recruited 878 men for the Bo County militia after explaining the requirements and the dangers of service.
• Wu Dongrong led the new recruits out of the county town toward West River Market, recalling Wu Shuangren’s prediction that they would one day go beyond Mist Hidden Mountain.
• Hong Zhanming told Abbot Ciwen that the people of Bo County had destroyed the Xie Clan Chamber of Commerce and killed the West River Gang’s four chiefs, and Ciwen ordered them sent to meet the Buddha.
• Wu Shuangren saw that Xu Yu’s saber technique lacked its true power because Xu Yu did not know an Internal Skill, and wondered if an adult Internal Skill could work for him.

Wu Shuangren welcomed his father, Wu Dongrong, and the hundreds of recruits he had brought from Bo County. With the Fist Academy’s forces now numbering over a thousand, Wu Shuangren marched on the former West River Gang compound, leaving Luo Heng alarmed and outnumbered.

• Mo Zhengxing told Wu Shuangren that Luo Heng had begun cultivating martial arts as an adult and had risen from dock laborer to leader of the Flying Feather Gang.
• Wu Dongrong arrived near West River Market with 878 recruits, having led them along back roads with help from veterans and militiamen.
• Wu Shuangren greeted his father, inspected the recruits, and ordered them to obey him as their commander.
• Wu Dongrong refused to stay and returned to Bo County to help Uncle Liao train recruits and oversee the prison.
• Wu Shuangren armed and assembled more than a thousand men, then marched toward the former West River Gang compound.
• Luo Heng ordered the Flying Feather Gang to assemble and sought help from the Zhang Clan, but his hall master warned that their local force was far smaller than Wu Shuangren’s.

Wu Shuangren seized the Flying Feather Gang’s stockade, reorganized his expanded militia, and weighed the costs of maintaining it against new sources of income. He decided to continue collecting passage money at the docks and arrange to buy grain from government transport boats as the Mist Hidden Temple stockpiled supplies.

• Luo Heng ordered the Flying Feather Gang to abandon its stockade rather than risk fighting Wu Shuangren’s force, and Wu Shuangren’s men occupied it.
• Wu Shuangren established the stockade as his main base while Mo Zhengxing planned stronger defenses and the militia was reorganized into ten companies.
• Wu Shuangren appointed Bai Jinhuan commander of the First Company, promoted Chen Tie to command the Third Company, and selected thirty-two relatives for his personal guard.
• Mo Zhengxing estimated that maintaining the militia would cost at least three hundred guan a month, while boxing matches could bring in about two hundred guan monthly.
• Mo Zhengxing explained that the West River Gang profited from collecting passage money at the docks, and Wu Shuangren ordered his men to continue collecting it and to buy grain from transport boats.

Wu Shuangren strengthened the newly captured stronghold, negotiated thirty Internal Skills from the Flying Feather Gang, and confirmed that his martial ability had reached the threshold for the Seventh Rank assessment. After choosing a skill suited to Xu Yu’s strong constitution, he began teaching him to practice it.

• Liu Chang brought five chests of valuables from the Flying Feather Gang, but Wu Shuangren sent them back and demanded thirty Internal Skills instead.
• Wu Shuangren explained that he wanted the manuals to give talented militiamen a path to advance, then planned the stronghold’s defenses and the militia’s training with Mo Zhengxing and Bai Jinhuan.
• Wu Shuangren tested his leaps and jump, judged that he could pass the Seventh Rank assessment once his shoulder healed, and reflected on how quickly he had advanced.
• Liu Chang returned with thirty Internal Skills, including Luo Heng’s Light Feather Flying Swallow, and Wu Shuangren said the Flying Feather Gang might become an affiliated force.
• After reviewing the manuals, Wu Shuangren chose Metal and Stone Qi for Xu Yu, who admitted that he could not read, and Wu Shuangren offered to teach him.

Wu Shuangren learned that Mist Hidden Temple planned to attack West River Market and secured Luo Heng and the Flying Feather Gang as allies. He decided to ambush the temple’s forces before they could strike.

• Wu Shuangren taught Xu Yu the Metal and Stone Method, and Xu Yu quickly developed a sense of Qi.
• Mo Zhengxing failed to meet the officials overseeing the grain fleet, who refused to receive him.
• Luo Heng told Wu Shuangren that Mist Hidden Temple had asked the Flying Feather Gang and the Zhang Clan to join an assault on West River Market.
• Luo Heng pledged the Flying Feather Gang to Wu Shuangren, who promised it a place in West River Market.
• After learning that Mist Hidden Temple would attack within ten days with a First Rate expert and cavalry, Wu Shuangren proposed ambushing its forces on the road.

Wu Shuangren concealed militia and Flying Feather Gang fighters aboard five cargo ships to ambush Mist Hidden Temple’s force as it advanced toward West River Market. The attack caught the warrior monks in a narrow pass, and the chapter ended as they raised shields against a third volley and prepared to shoot back amid a disturbance on the cliffs above.

• Wu Shuangren secretly boarded three hundred militia and more than fifty Flying Feather Gang fighters onto five cargo ships bound for the canal pass.
• Kongzheng led more than 180 mounted men and three hundred warrior monks south, meeting Zhou Fang and Liu Yu to collect grain and reward chests.
• Three scouts reported no danger ahead and spotted the Flying Feather Gang ships, so Kongzheng led his column into the narrow pass.
• The ships drew alongside the warrior monks, and Wu Shuangren’s men opened fire with repeating crossbows and bows, causing numerous casualties.
• Kongzheng ordered the monks to raise shields and prepare to return fire, just as a commotion broke out on the cliffs above them.

Wu Shuangren led an ambush that trapped Mist Hidden Temple’s warrior monks in the narrow pass, then confronted Kongzheng, the temple’s Second Rank leader. Their fierce duel continued as Kongzheng shifted from weapon attacks to close combat, and Wu Shuangren broke free of his first grapple.

• The warrior monks came under attack from arrows fired from cargo boats and stones thrown from the cliffs, and Kongzheng ordered them to retreat.
• Wu Shuangren led more than two hundred fighters out of the woods, while the militiamen formed a spear array and the Flying Feather Gang’s martial artists joined the assault.
• Wu Shuangren fought through the monks’ ranks and accepted Kongzheng’s challenge to duel.
• Wu Shuangren’s [Match for One Person] Trait raised his strength to contend with Kongzheng, and the two exchanged more than twenty weapon strikes.
• Kongzheng trapped Wu Shuangren’s modao and attacked with his palm, but Wu Shuangren released the weapon and broke free of Kongzheng’s wrist-grabbing technique.