Chapter Summaries

Lin Qian and Zhigang led Mount Liang’s riders and five hundred warrior monks toward Yi Prefecture City while Ciwen’s iron-armored monks launched a surprise attack from wagons inside the city. Xu Dengyun rallied the defenders at the north gate as Hong Zhanming’s plan to draw Wu Shuangren into a fatal fight began, and the battle at the gate was still underway.

• Boss Zhou learned that the shipment he had helped bring into the city included iron armor, and an old monk told him they had come to subdue the city’s sinners.
• Lin Qian met five hundred elite warrior monks sent by Abbot Ciwen and led them toward Yi Prefecture City.
• Xu Dengyun spotted the approaching force and ordered the city defenses prepared, but iron-armored monks emerged from wagons and attacked soldiers on a street near the north gate.
• Xu Dengyun fired the agreed signal, prompting Xu Rangzheng to send Cheng Yi and his disciples to the gate while Hong Zhanming watched the attack begin.
• Xu Dengyun led his guards and defenders against sixty iron-armored monks, whose armor resisted the spears as the two sides collided.

Ciwen and Mist Hidden Temple captured Yi Prefecture City after defeating Xu Dengyun’s defenders and driving Cheng Yi away. Outside the city, Wu Shuangren and Guo Jiwang learned that Mount Liang’s forces had entered and discussed Ciwen’s unexpected decision to hide inside the capital.

• Xu Dengyun rallied the defenders, but Ciwen defeated him and killed him at the city gate.
• Cheng Yi charged Ciwen on horseback, discovered his opponent was First Rank, and fled with his disciples after being wounded.
• Ciwen’s warrior monks opened Yi Province’s north gate, allowing Lin Qian and the others to enter and replace the city’s flags.
• Wu Shuangren received reports that Mount Liang’s cavalry and black-headscarved followers had entered the city.
• Guo Jiwang explained that he had expected Ciwen to delay their forces with Mist Hidden Temple’s troops, not abandon the temple and conceal himself in the capital.

After Yi Prefecture City fell to Mount Liang, Guo Jiwang advised Wu Shuangren to withdraw, but Wu Shuangren chose to ambush the enemy’s approaching troops. He seized Fan Yu’s equipment and horses, assembled a small force, and prepared to leave while Guo Jiwang stayed behind to defend the estates.

• Guo Jiwang explained that the fall of Yi Prefecture City had made Wu Shuangren’s force isolated and recommended withdrawing by cavalry and water routes.
• Wu Shuangren urged Fan Yu to join an ambush against Mount Liang’s six thousand approaching troops, but Fan Yu refused and blamed Wu Shuangren for the city’s fall.
• Wu Shuangren and Xu Yu subdued Fan Yu, Song Qi, and their guards, then forced Fan Yu to surrender their armor, crossbows, and horses.
• Wu Shuangren gathered 126 riders and militiamen for the ambush, while Guo Jiwang agreed to remain with Chen Tie to defend the estates.

Guo Jiwang persuaded Chen Tie to kill Yi Province Deputy General Fan Yu so he could not threaten Wu Shuangren’s militia or claim credit after the battle. Chen Tie gathered trusted men and disarmed Fan Yu’s guards, then entered Fan Yu’s room with his saber drawn.

• Guo Jiwang asked Chen Tie whether he would obey an order to kill Fan Yu and his personal guards, then argued that Fan Yu could endanger the militia and take credit for its sacrifices.
• Chen Tie agreed to carry out the mission after Guo Jiwang said Wu Shuangren was risking his life to protect Bo County and its families.
• Guo Jiwang told Zhou Zhengqing that he wanted to assist a ruthless conqueror, but also wanted to see how far Wu Shuangren’s heroism could take him.
• Chen Tie recruited more than two hundred trusted men from Bo County and repeated Guo Jiwang’s arguments until they agreed Fan Yu was a threat.
• Guo Jiwang made Song Qi and Fan Yu’s guards surrender their weapons after they had already handed over their armor and horses.
• Chen Tie entered the bound Fan Yu’s room, drew his saber, and faced the deputy general’s alarmed question.

Chen Tie killed Fan Yu and his personal guards on Guo Jiwang’s orders, leaving the remaining plans in Wu Shuangren’s hands. Wu Shuangren ambushed Mount Liang’s vanguard on the official road, trapping it between his armored force and the militiamen.

• Chen Tie beheaded Fan Yu and led the militiamen in killing all of Fan Yu’s personal guards.
• Chen Tie reported the mission complete to Guo Jiwang, who said the rest depended on Wu Shuangren.
• Wu Shuangren led more than two hundred riders along Guo Jiwang’s mapped route to an ambush site near the official road.
• Wu Shuangren’s men opened fire on Mount Liang’s approaching troops, killing and wounding soldiers and throwing the column into confusion.
• Wu Shuangren and his armored personal guards charged the column’s flank and cut through its middle.
• The militiamen formed ranks ahead of the vanguard as Wu Shuangren attacked from the rear, trapping more than a thousand Mount Liang soldiers between them.

Wu Shuangren and his forces broke through Mount Liang’s column, defeated the Great Saber Guards, and routed them. After the battle, Wu Shuangren saw that only a little over twenty of his thirty-eight heavily armored personal guards remained standing.

• Wu Shuangren advanced through the Mount Liang column, while Rong Province militiamen fled or were forced back into the fight by the disciplinary squad.
• Wu Shuangren killed Guo Fan in a swift duel, then joined Xu Yu in attacking the Great Saber Guards.
• Wu Shuangren and Xu Yu killed several of the Great Saber Guards’ leaders as their personal guards clashed with the enemy in a fierce melee.
• The Great Saber Guards’ morale collapsed and their formation routed; Wu Shuangren stopped pursuing and saw that many of his personal guards had fallen or were badly hurt.

Wu Shuangren and Xu Yu led the militia against a Mount Liang force of more than two thousand, while Xu Jing’s ambush struck from behind and turned the battle into a rout. Afterward, the exhausted survivors treated their wounded, and Wu Shuangren ordered them to recover the warhorses from the forest.

• Wu Shuangren formed his heavily armored guards and militia into a spear formation and pushed through Mount Liang’s ranks despite arrow volleys and a flanking attack.
• Wu Shuangren and Xu Yu fought through a group of Mount Liang experts, and Wu Shuangren’s advance frightened two leaders into fleeing.
• Xu Jing led his ambush force out of the forest, firing repeating crossbows into Mount Liang’s rear ranks and shouting that the enemy was surrounded.
• Mount Liang’s leaders fled, their force broke, and Xu Jing’s troops pursued as the militia routed the larger army.
• The militia treated its wounded after the battle, and Wu Shuangren ordered men to retrieve the warhorses from the forest.

Wu Shuangren’s militia won a costly ambush against Mount Liang’s forces on the official road, then recruited Rong Province militiamen who wanted to leave the rebels. Meanwhile, Mount Liang captured Yi Prefecture City, and Liang An confronted Governor Lu Hongjian, whose family had died by poison before the rebels arrived.

• Wu Shuangren tended to the wounded and counted twenty-three of his personal guards and nineteen other militiamen killed, with nineteen more severely wounded.
• Xu Jing praised Wu Shuangren’s fighters, and Wu Shuangren agreed to take five leaders of the Rong Province Militia to Yi Province so they could redeem themselves through service.
• Mount Liang’s forces and Mist Hidden Temple’s warrior monks took control of Yi Prefecture City, while Lin Qian and Liang An led their men to the governor’s residence.
• Liang An showed Lu Hongjian the severed heads of Xu Rangzheng and Cheng Yi, then demanded that Lu write a statement endorsing Mount Liang.
• Liang An learned that Lu Hongjian had poisoned his entire family, drew his saber, and charged at Lu before Lin Qian stopped him an inch from Lu’s forehead.
• Lu Hongjian remained defiant as black blood welled from his throat.

Wu Shuangren returned to Yi Prefecture City with reinforcements and captured Mist Hidden Temple monks, while Guo Jiwang explained how he had eliminated Fan Yu and proposed drawing Mount Liang's leaders out. The next morning, Wu challenged Ciwen to a duel in exchange for the monks’ lives, but Ciwen hesitated as Wu noticed Lin Qian’s [Snow Leopard] Trait.

• The governor of Yi Province and his family died after taking poison, and Lin Qian ordered them given a proper burial.
• Wu Shuangren arrived outside Yi Prefecture City with more than two thousand Rong Province militiamen after defeating a much larger force, while Guo Jiwang brought further reinforcements and captured warrior monks.
• Guo Jiwang told Wu Shuangren that Fan Yu and his personal guards had been killed, removing a threat to Wu, and suggested they force the Mount Liang leaders to leave the city.
• Wu Shuangren arrayed his troops outside the northern gate and challenged Ciwen to fight, promising to spare more than eight hundred captured monks if Ciwen won.
• Ciwen hesitated to accept the duel, and Wu Shuangren spotted Lin Qian’s [Snow Leopard] Trait before threatening to kill the monks and burn Mist Hidden Mountain.

Outside Yi Prefecture City, Zhigang fought Wu Shuangren in a duel arranged to spare Mist Hidden Temple and its warrior monks. Zhigang’s overwhelming strength met Wu Shuangren’s increasingly powerful technique, and the fight remained unresolved as Wu Shuangren rose with each escalation.

• Zhigang accepted Wu Shuangren’s challenge, and Liang An secured a retreat of three hundred zhang and ruled out mounted combat before Zhigang descended from the wall.
• Zhigang and Wu Shuangren exchanged rapid attacks, with Zhigang winning their first direct clash of strength.
• Lin Qian judged that Wu Shuangren’s martial arts had reached the First Rank and estimated Zhigang had a slight advantage.
• Zhigang unleashed a secret technique, increasing his strength and attacking with his sixty-jin staff.
• Wu Shuangren’s power rose alongside Zhigang’s, and he began deflecting the staff’s force while circling Zhigang like a rising tide.

Wu Shuangren defeated Zhigang and pursued him toward the city, but Lin Qian and Ciwen intervened and trapped him between their spear and staff. As the two First Rank experts pressed their attack, Wu Shuangren’s enhanced Internal Skill began to produce Thunder Sound, though he struggled to control it.

• Wu Shuangren’s saber art advanced as he fought Zhigang, and he broke Zhigang’s right arm before driving him into retreat.
• Lin Qian left the city wall to aid Zhigang, and Ciwen followed after Liang An called for support.
• Wu Shuangren refused Lin Qian’s offer to withdraw and attacked him, prompting Lin Qian to fight back with his spear.
• Ciwen joined Lin Qian, and the two First Rank experts trapped Wu Shuangren between their attacks.
• Wu Shuangren’s Internal Skill produced Thunder Sound as he struggled to adapt to its enhanced power, and Lin Qian’s spear narrowly scraped past his breastplate.

Wu Shuangren held off Lin Qian and Ciwen long enough for Mount Liang’s loyalty to draw Zhigang and Liang An out of Yi Prefecture City, letting Wu’s riders attack the gate. The fighting turned into a chaotic melee, and Ciwen led warrior monks out to reinforce the defense as Wu’s guards neared the drawbridge.

• Wu Shuangren used Cloud Tiger Seven Kills to hold off Lin Qian and Ciwen, but Ciwen withdrew toward the city while Wu kept Lin engaged.
• Zhigang demanded that the gate be opened to rescue Lin, and Liang An agreed rather than risk being branded disloyal.
• Guo Jiwang’s plan succeeded when Zhigang and Liang An led Mount Liang fighters out, while Xu Yu led Wu Shuangren’s riders toward the gate.
• The two cavalry forces collided outside the gate and broke into a disorganized melee, where Xu Yu knocked Zhigang’s staff away before Liang An engaged him.
• Wu Shuangren’s armored guards fought toward the drawbridge, and Ciwen led fifty-nine warrior monks out of the gate to stop them.

Ciwen withdrew after his armored monks were worn down by Xu Jing and Chen Tie’s militia, while Lin Qian escaped Wu Shuangren’s pursuit and the Mount Liang forces retreated into Yi Prefecture City. Wu Shuangren retook the city, and Xu Jing learned that his third uncle, Xu Dengyun, had died defending its gate.

• Ciwen led his armored warrior monks through three militia battalions, but withdrew toward the city gate rather than risk losing more of his men.
• Lin Qian unleashed his potential and escaped after Wu Shuangren wounded his shoulder; Liang An and the other Mount Liang fighters then retreated toward the city.
• Wu Shuangren led the militia across the drawbridge and into Yi Prefecture City as the Mist Hidden Temple and Mount Liang forces fled through the other gates.
• Wu Shuangren ordered the gates closed and the wounded treated, securing Yi Prefecture City for the militia.
• Xu Jing questioned veterans about his third uncle and learned that Xu Dengyun had been killed defending the north gate.

After Yi Prefecture City was retaken, Xu Jing searched unsuccessfully for news of Xu Dengyun’s body, while Guo Jiwang and Wu Shuangren dealt with the dead, the city’s defenses, and the forces still threatening it. That night, Wu Shuangren visited Xu Jing, who sat alone beneath a tree in his armor.

• Xu Jing asked many people what had happened to Xu Dengyun’s body, found no answers, and returned to work reorganizing the city’s defenses and clearing out enemies.
• Guo Jiwang stood in the hall where Lu Hongjian had died, remembered their brief friendship, and poured wine onto the ground in farewell before leaving with Zhou Zhengqing.
• Chen Tie reported the battle’s casualties and captured equipment to Wu Shuangren, who ordered proper care for the fallen and strict discipline among the troops.
• Wu Shuangren and Guo Jiwang discussed guarding Yi Prefecture City, controlling the Rong Province militia, rewarding its commanders, and preparing for Mist Hidden Temple’s likely return.
• After curfew, Wu Shuangren went to the Xu residence and found Xu Jing sitting alone under a tree in his armor.

Wu Shuangren gathered powerful bows and swift horses from Xu Jing and rode out with him and eleven archers to hunt Ciwen’s departing forces. They found the Mount Liang and Mist Hidden Temple column at night and began a surprise attack from the rear.

• Xu Jing showed Wu Shuangren his third uncle’s hidden bow collection and gave him the Startled Tiger Bow, a mounted bow, and armor-piercing arrows.
• Wu Shuangren chose Azure Fire and Thunder Treader and told Xu Jing he intended to kill Ciwen; Xu Jing agreed to go with him.
• Wu Shuangren, Xu Jing, and eleven archers left Yi Prefecture City after dark and followed the tracks from Mist Hidden Mountain.
• The group found the forces of Mount Liang and Mist Hidden Temple transporting supplies, while Lin Qian told Liang An that Wu Shuangren had bested him in their fight.
• Wu Shuangren and the archers charged the rear of the column, and Wu Shuangren’s first arrow struck a warrior monk in the back of the neck.

Wu Shuangren and his riders harassed Mount Liang’s column, killing many pursuers before Liang An and the other leaders recognized him. When Ciwen, Liang An, Zhigang, and Lin Qian rode out together to kill him, Wu Shuangren fled with his men and used his heavy bow to unhorse Zhigang, then turned his fire on Lin Qian.

• Wu Shuangren’s thirteen riders shot at Mount Liang’s column from beyond bow range, then drew out more than thirty pursuers.
• Wu Shuangren shot down six Mount Liang riders, and he and his companions chased the survivors until fewer than ten returned to the column.
• Liang An led a dozen warrior monks in a charge, but Wu Shuangren switched to Thunder Treader and his saber, killing several before Liang An ordered a retreat.
• Wu Shuangren pursued the retreating monks, killing more, while Liang An returned to the column and identified him to Lin Qian, Ciwen, and Zhigang.
• Ciwen, Liang An, Zhigang, and Lin Qian rode out together, and Wu Shuangren withdrew with Xu Jing’s riders before turning to shoot Zhigang’s horse down.
• Wu Shuangren then shot a heavy arrow at Lin Qian, who deflected it with his spear.

Wu Shuangren forced Ciwen to accept a duel after threatening the Mist Hidden Temple’s monks, then fought him on a hillside beneath the moon. Wu Shuangren found a way to break Ciwen’s defenses and injured both his legs, leaving their battle unresolved.

• Wu Shuangren challenged Ciwen to a one-on-one fight and threatened to pick off the Mist Hidden Temple’s monks if he refused.
• After Liang An and Lin Qian warned him that the group’s morale was collapsing, Ciwen accepted Wu Shuangren’s challenge and walked to a nearby hillside.
• Wu Shuangren attacked Ciwen, but Ciwen’s armor and mastered Leakless Golden Body let him withstand repeated blows and press him with his iron staff.
• On the seventy-eighth move, Wu Shuangren used his saber to disrupt Ciwen’s Qi and blood, breaking through the defense of his Leakless Golden Body and buckling his left leg.
• Ciwen unleashed the World-Purifying Wisdom King Mantra, but Wu Shuangren outmaneuvered him and struck his right leg as their fight continued.

After killing Ciwen and declaring Mist Hidden Temple finished, Wu Shuangren explained the raid to Guo Jiwang and recovered in Yi Prefecture City. He reflected on the battle and his growing strength, then met the captured Mist Hidden Temple chief steward, Hong Zhanming.

• Wu Shuangren killed Ciwen with the iron staff and announced that Mist Hidden Temple was no more.
• Wu Shuangren told Guo Jiwang how he had raided the enemy camp, and they drank together as Guo Jiwang accepted the result.
• Guo Jiwang proposed clearing out Mist Hidden Temple while Wu Shuangren recovered from his injuries.
• Wu Shuangren reviewed how his Trait had strengthened Hegemon-King Strips Armor and realized he was close to another Trait upgrade and an Internal Skill breakthrough.
• Guo Jiwang returned with the captured Hong Zhanming, who recognized Wu Shuangren and remarked on his youth.

Wu Shuangren captured Hong Zhanming, took control of Mist Hidden Temple, and discovered its hidden treasury, weapons, and martial arts manuals. The story then shifted to Mount Liang’s stalled siege of Tiger Soul Pass, where Lu Yulin planned a renewed assault after learning that Song Hai had captured Heavenly Spring Pass.

• Guo Jiwang explained how he traced Hong Zhanming through the rice shop where Ciwen had hidden, and Hong Zhanming agreed to reveal Mist Hidden Temple’s secrets after learning Ciwen was dead.
• Wu Shuangren led his men to Mist Hidden Temple, subdued more than three hundred returning warrior monks, and ordered the temple searched.
• Hong Zhanming revealed a concealed cave containing money, armor, weapons, and martial arts manuals, including the World-Purifying Wisdom King Mantra and Leakless Golden Body.
• At Tiger Soul Pass, Lu Yulin’s army remained unable to break through Zhang Liao’s defenses after six days of attacks.
• After receiving news that Song Hai had captured Heavenly Spring Pass, Lu Yulin ordered a major assault at daybreak and assigned the generals their roles.

Zhang Liao’s night raid burned Mount Liang’s supplies at Tiger Soul Pass, and reinforcements from Shannan Circuit later forced Song Hai’s army to withdraw. Three days after Ciwen’s death, Yi Prefecture City gathered to witness the execution of Mist Hidden Temple’s leaders, who were escorted toward the platform.

• Zhang Liao led a hundred riders into Mount Liang’s camp, killed defenders, and set fire to tents and a supply depot.
• Lu Yulin pursued Zhang Liao and fought him on horseback, but Zhang Liao escaped into Tiger Soul Pass.
• Lu Yulin’s attacks failed the next day, and Song Hai later arrived with over fifteen thousand troops to renew the siege.
• Thirty thousand reinforcements from Shannan Circuit entered Tiger Soul Pass, forcing Song Hai to retreat with Mount Liang’s army.
• Townspeople and prominent figures gathered in Yi Prefecture City as Hong Zhanming escorted more than thirty Mist Hidden Temple leaders toward the execution platform.