Recaps

Ye Xuan led a swift northern campaign against the seventy-two rebel lords while his ministers worried about his reckless decision to command the expedition himself. The army advanced toward the North Sea as Shang Rong, Bi Gan, and the other ministers managed affairs in Chaoge.

• Zhang Kui asked Ye Xuan to help him take another concubine, and Ye Xuan kicked him off the One-Horned Black Smoke Beast after Zhang Kui compared their appetites for women.
• Daji and Wushuang laughed at Zhang Kui but privately wondered whether Ye Xuan found neither of them worthy of his attention.
• Ye Xuan's two-hundred-thousand-strong army hurried north with the aid of talismans, magical arts, and treasures, while Huang Feihu led eighty thousand cavalry ahead to reinforce Wen Zhong.
• In Chaoge, Shang Rong complained that Ye Xuan was recklessly leading another campaign, while Bi Gan urged the ministers to trust him and carry out his orders.

Chaoge mobilized more than five hundred thousand troops and vast supplies to reinforce Ye Xuan in the North Sea. After Shang Rong sent the army off with the Human Emperor Supreme Sword, the troops marched north.

• Su Changkong, Liu Sanhe, and Yang Yanzhao organized supplies, inspected the passes, and recalled generals as Chaoge prepared for war.
• Troops and grain and fodder poured into Chaoge, while common people and regional lords contributed support.
• Shang Rong raised the Human Emperor Supreme Sword before the assembled troops and declared that they would march to aid Ye Xuan against the seventy-two regional lords.
• Several generals discussed Shang Rong’s lengthy address, and one rebuked another for speaking disrespectfully about the Father of Shang.
• After Shang Rong finished the departure ceremony, more than five hundred thousand troops marched north.

Human Emperor Ye Xuan hurried his exhausted army toward the North Sea to rescue Grand Tutor Wen Zhong, while Wushuang and Daji used spirit rain and jade nectar to restore the soldiers’ strength. The army continued its rapid advance toward the lawless North Sea, where Yuan Futong had rallied seventy-two lords to rebel.

• Shang Rong considered raising a fourth army, despite the risk of leaving Yin Shang’s lands undefended, because Ye Xuan was leading the expedition himself.
• After five days and nights of marching, Zhang Kui warned Ye Xuan that the soldiers were exhausted, but Ye Xuan ran alongside them to encourage them onward.
• Ye Xuan asked Wushuang to summon spirit rain, which refreshed the soldiers and eased their fatigue.
• Daji mixed jade nectar into the rain, strengthening the soldiers and spurring them to march faster.
• The chapter described the North Sea as a vast, chaotic region of fierce tribes that often raided Yin Shang’s interior and had readily joined Yuan Futong’s rebellion.

Ye Xuan led a 200,000-strong Yin Shang army through the North Sea’s frozen wilderness to relieve Grand Tutor Wen Zhong, who was besieged at Beast God Mountain. Near the battlefield, Ye Xuan ordered Zhang Kui to attack the besieging forces and join Wen Zhong rather than split their troops.

• After reaching the North Sea, Ye Xuan asked who knew the route to Beast God Mountain, and Fang Xiang said he and Fang Bi were familiar with the region.
• Ye Xuan ordered the army to camp for the night, then the two hundred thousand soldiers resumed their march the next morning.
• The army passed several North Sea tribes without opposition and headed toward Beast God Mountain, where Wen Zhong had held off the allied forces of the seventy-two lords.
• When the army heard the battle raging nearby, Zhang Kui offered to scout ahead with his Earth Escape Technique, but Ye Xuan decided to bring their forces together instead.
• Ye Xuan ordered Zhang Kui to rout the troops besieging Wen Zhong and join forces with him.

Ye Xuan led Yin Shang’s two-hundred-thousand-strong army in a charge against the Scarlet Flame Clan in the North Sea snowfields. Zhang Kui, Gao Lanying, Fang Bi, and Fang Xiang tore through the clan’s warriors, leaving the battle raging in Yin Shang’s favor.

• Zhang Kui ordered the two-hundred-thousand-strong army to attack, and Ye Xuan urged the soldiers forward from the air.
• The Scarlet Flame Clan spotted the advancing army and charged to meet it, expecting an easy victory over Yin Shang’s forces.
• Zhang Kui, Gao Lanying, Fang Bi, Fang Xiang, and the other generals crashed into the Scarlet Flame Clan’s ranks and began cutting down its warriors.
• Zhang Kui slew enemies with his executioner’s saber, while Fang Bi and Fang Xiang swept through the ranks with their halberds.
• Gao Lanying used the Sun and Moon Golden Blades and circling golden needles to kill more enemies than the other generals, terrifying the Scarlet Flame Clan’s warriors.

Yin Shang’s army overwhelmed the Scarlet Flame Clan and broke through its blockade as Zhang Kui led the advance toward Beast God Mountain. The troops then encountered the Qiongqi Tribe and Jiu Ying Tribe, whose leader called for an attack in revenge for the Scarlet Flame Clan.

• Yin Shang’s chariots, infantry, and archers routed the Scarlet Flame Clan’s much larger force within moments.
• Zhang Kui led the charge into the Scarlet Flame Tribe’s heartland, following the Human Emperor’s order to break through and join Grand Tutor Wen Zhong.
• Ye Xuan watched as Yin Shang’s army continued its advance, leaving the Scarlet Flame Clan’s survivors fleeing and wounded across the battlefield.
• After advancing several li, Zhang Kui’s army met the Qiongqi Tribe and Jiu Ying Tribe, whose leaders had come to aid the Scarlet Flame Clan.
• The Qiongqi Tribe’s leader angrily ordered his warriors to kill the Shang troops and avenge their allies.

Zhang Kui led the Yin Shang army against the Qiongqi Tribe and Jiu Ying Clan, whose warriors charged alongside the Scarlet Flame Clan. After Zhang Kui and Gao Lanying killed a Jiu Ying leader through a coordinated attack, the allied tribes lost heart and were routed; the Yin Shang army regrouped and marched on.

• The Qiongqi Tribe and Jiu Ying Clan charged the Yin Shang army, and Zhang Kui and Gao Lanying led the troops into battle.
• Gao Lanying drew a Jiu Ying leader into range, and Zhang Kui used Earth Escape to kill him with a single strike.
• Zhang Kui announced the leader's death, causing the Jiu Ying warriors to panic and begin fleeing.
• The Qiongqi forces lost support and retreated as the Yin Shang army routed and wiped out the three tribes' forces.
• Zhang Kui ordered the army to tend to its wounded, replace damaged gear, and resume its march.

Grand Tutor Wen Zhong and Huang Feihu held Beast God Mountain while waiting for reinforcements, despite dwindling supplies and repeated attacks by the North Sea alliance. When fighting erupted to the south, Grand Tutor Wen Zhong concluded it was likely not internal strife and grew excited at what the battle might mean.

• The Yin Shang army counted five thousand casualties after routing three tribes and began ascending Beast God Mountain.
• Grand Tutor Wen Zhong had retreated to the mountain after months of fighting the North Sea alliance, and Huang Feihu had broken through with eighty thousand elite cavalry to join him.
• Grand Tutor Wen Zhong and Huang Feihu struggled to hold the mountain as their food ran low and their exhausted troops faced repeated attacks.
• A fierce battle erupted south of Beast God Mountain, and Huang Feihu identified the direction as the position of the Scarlet Flame Clan, the Qiongqi Tribe, the Jiu Ying Tribe, and other tribes.
• Grand Tutor Wen Zhong dismissed the possibility of internal strife, reasoned that Yuan Futong would have arranged the tribes to avoid it, and grew excited as the distant battle intensified.

Grand Tutor Wen Zhong used his Heavenly Eye to discover that the Human Emperor had arrived with reinforcements, then led Huang Feihu and hundreds of thousands of besieged troops down the mountain to join the battle. At the foot of the mountain, the Yin Shang forces had routed their enemies, but the Kui Ox Tribe arrived to reinforce the seventy-two rebel lords.

• Wen Zhong opened his Heavenly Eye, saw that the Human Emperor had personally come to rescue the army, and ordered the troops to assemble.
• Wen Zhong told the assembled soldiers that the reinforcements and Human Emperor had arrived, then urged them to fight their way down the mountain.
• Huang Feihu charged down the mountain on the Five-Colored Divine Ox, leading Wen Zhong's troops, including ten thousand war-elephant cavalry and seventy thousand elite cavalry.
• The Yin Shang army at the foot of the mountain routed the Scarlet Flame Clan, the Qiongqi Tribe, and the Jiu Ying Tribe.
• The Kui Ox Tribe arrived with reinforcements for the seventy-two lords, bringing more than a hundred thousand troops.

Zhang Kui killed Lei Kui of the Kui Ox Tribe with his Earth Escape Technique after the two fought to a standstill. The tribe’s chief, Tian Kui, then charged at Zhang Kui, beginning a new fight as Ye Xuan watched from above.

• Lei Kui urged the Kui Ox warriors to attack Ye Xuan, hoping to kill the Human Emperor and win lasting fame.
• Zhang Kui met Lei Kui in battle, and they exchanged more than a hundred blows without either gaining the upper hand.
• Zhang Kui used his Earth Escape Technique to appear behind Lei Kui and behead him, after which Lei Kui’s true spirit was taken by the Investiture of the Gods.
• Tian Kui, the Kui Ox Tribe’s chief, charged at Zhang Kui with his Heaven-Shaking Hammer and Heaven-Shaking Axe as Ye Xuan watched the fight.

Zhang Kui fought the Kui Ox chieftain until Su Daji secretly knocked the chieftain down, allowing him to flee and breaking his army’s morale. After routing four tribes, Ye Xuan’s forces marched north to join Wen Zhong, but the Qiongqi Tribal Community and its allies blocked their way again.

• Zhang Kui clashed with the Kui Ox chieftain in a fierce battle while Ye Xuan asked Wushuang and Su Daji who had the advantage.
• Wushuang predicted Zhang Kui would prevail through superior skill, and Su Daji secretly struck the chieftain from behind.
• Zhang Kui attacked the fallen chieftain, who dodged and fled, causing the Kui Ox Tribe to lose morale and retreat.
• Zhang Kui, Gao Lanying, and the Yin Shang army routed the Kui Ox Tribe and marched north to join Wen Zhong after defeating four major tribes.
• Ye Xuan saw hundreds of thousands of troops led by the Qiongqi Tribal Community blocking the army’s route again.

Ye Xuan and Zhang Kui’s two-hundred-thousand-strong army faced a rapidly assembling force of more than three hundred thousand tribal soldiers intent on killing the Human Emperor. Ye Xuan refused to leave, and Zhang Kui formed the army into a defensive circle as the enemy charged.

• Qiongqi warriors and giant-wolf cavalry led a coalition of more than ten tribal communities toward Ye Xuan, while other forces continued converging.
• Zhang Kui warned Ye Xuan that the army risked being surrounded and urged him to retreat.
• Ye Xuan refused to abandon his troops and ordered Zhang Kui to arrange the army to meet the enemy.
• Zhang Kui reorganized the army into a circular defensive formation, placing flaming chariots, shield guards, and spear soldiers along its outer lines.
• More than three hundred thousand tribal soldiers charged toward the formation, led by a warrior riding a giant wolf.

Ye Xuan’s army became locked in a bloody stalemate with the North Sea alliance, leaving him doubtful that he could join forces with Grand Tutor Wen Zhong. Huang Feihu and Grand Tutor Wen Zhong then charged down from the mountain with their troops, striking the allied army from behind and turning the battle in Yin Shang’s favor.

• Zhang Kui fought the giant wolf clan leader while the Human Clan leaders engaged the northern generals and the armies clashed.
• Ye Xuan saw that Yin Shang’s smaller force was struggling against the North Sea alliance and considered using hidden means.
• Huang Feihu led his war elephants and cavalry down from the mountain and smashed into the allied army’s rear.
• Grand Tutor Wen Zhong followed with more than four hundred thousand troops, trapping the allied forces between his army and Ye Xuan’s.

The North Sea leaders launched a desperate attack on Ye Xuan, hoping to kill the Human Emperor and turn the tide against Great Shang. Su Daji, Huang Feihu, Zhang Kui, and Grand Tutor Wen Zhong protected him and halted the attackers as Yin Shang’s armies joined up and split the enemy forces.

• The North Sea leaders rallied their forces and sent more than a dozen experts to attack Ye Xuan directly.
• Su Daji shielded Ye Xuan and Wushuang with her enormous white tail, while the attackers’ spells failed to harm them.
• Huang Feihu and Zhang Kui rushed to defend Ye Xuan, and Grand Tutor Wen Zhong stopped the remaining enemy experts.
• Grand Tutor Wen Zhong killed an attacker with a golden beam from his Heavenly Eye after dispersing the man’s storm spell.
• Zhang Kui and Grand Tutor Wen Zhong’s kills shocked the enemy leaders and slowed their assault.
• Yin Shang’s armies joined forces and divided the opposing alliance, leaving it unable to pose a serious threat.

As Yin Shang fought the North Sea coalition, Ye Xuan used Su Daji’s hair to create a guqin and played “The General’s Command,” halting the million-strong battlefield and drawing the soldiers into a vision of the Human Clan’s origins. The vision showed the Innate Human Race struggling to survive amid the devastation caused by the Witch and Demon Clans.

• Huang Feihu’s cavalry and Zhang Kui’s forces attacked alongside Wen Zhong, inflicting heavy losses on the North Sea coalition.
• North Sea leaders urged their warriors to target Ye Xuan and promised the victor leadership of the seventy-two clans.
• Ye Xuan pulled Su Daji beside him, took several strands of her hair, and fashioned them into a guqin with his magic power.
• Ye Xuan played “The General’s Command,” and its music suppressed everyone on the battlefield, stopping the fighting.
• The music sent the soldiers into a vision of the Innate Human Race struggling to survive as the Witch and Demon Clans fought for control of the Primordial World.

As Ye Xuan played The General's Command, the Great Shang soldiers witnessed the Human Clan's history of suffering, resistance, rise, and decline. The music awakened their fighting spirit, and they charged the allied forces of the North Sea's feudal lords with renewed ferocity.

• Ye Xuan's zither showed the Human Clan's ancestors being slaughtered by the Witch and Demon Clans, while Empress Nuwa failed to save them and the survivors turned away from her.
• The vision followed the Human Clan's ancestors through the destruction of the Witch and Demon Clans and the rise of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, who brought the Human Clan to its height.
• Old Ancestor Hongjun imposed Heavenly Dao shackles on the Human Clan, and its strength declined, though the current Human Emperor still sought to restore its former glory.
• The Great Shang soldiers felt the Human Emperor's resolve through Ye Xuan's music, and Daji and Wushuang were astonished by its effect.
• As The General's Command reached its climax, the soldiers awoke filled with fighting spirit and charged the allied forces, cutting down their enemies.

The Human Emperor’s army defeated the allied forces of the North Sea lords at Beast God Mountain after his music turned the battle in Yin Shang’s favor. Ye Xuan ordered his exhausted troops to rest while both sides gathered to plan their next moves.

• The North Sea lords’ armies lost their will to fight under The General's Command, and the Yin Shang soldiers routed them.
• The rebel leaders ordered a full retreat, but the Yin Shang army pursued them for more than ten li before stopping.
• Ye Xuan reflected on the victory, the loss of more than a hundred thousand troops, and the hidden forces that might be supporting the North Sea rebellion.
• Ye Xuan ordered the army to set up camp and rest, then met with Grand Tutor Wen Zhong, Huang Feihu, Zhang Kui, and the other generals to discuss the next battles.
• The North Sea lords gathered in another tent, where nearly a hundred rebels met to discuss their plans.

Yuan Futong warned the leaders of the North Sea factions that the Human Emperor and his forces were too dangerous to underestimate, but arguments over the recent defeat soon erupted among the gathered lords. The meeting descended into chaos as rival leaders turned on one another.

• Yuan Futong told the faction leaders to unite and act cautiously, citing the Human Emperor's strength and the losses they had suffered.
• Several leaders discussed how the Human Emperor's forces had routed their army and how two women had blocked their attacks.
• A leader mocked the tribes that had fought on the front lines, provoking the Qiongqi Tribal Community, Kui Ox Tribe, and Demon Wolf Clan leaders.
• Tian Kui and other leaders condemned the mocker for avoiding battle while their tribes suffered heavy losses.
• More than twenty leaders rose to attack the mocker, while his allies tried to stop them and the camp erupted into chaos.

Yuan Futong broke up a quarrel among the North Sea leaders and warned them that their forces could not rely on numbers alone to defeat Yin Shang. He began explaining that their enemy’s powerful generals were the true threat, but the chapter ended before he finished his warning.

• Yuan Futong struck the ground to silence the North Sea leaders as they nearly came to blows.
• Yuan Futong rebuked the leaders for infighting and urged them to focus on defeating Wen Zhong, Huang Feihu, and the Yin Shang army.
• A reckless leader argued that the North Sea army should attack directly because it still outnumbered Yin Shang’s forces.
• Yuan Futong rejected the proposal, explaining that Yin Shang’s equipment and superior fighters gave it the advantage.
• Yuan Futong listed the enemy’s formidable generals and began warning that the leaders’ deaths would decide the battle.

The North Sea tribal leaders debated how to counter Yin Shang after their defeat, with some proposing they summon their ancient demon ancestors and Yuan Futong warning of the risks. An envoy from Yin Shang arrived at night, and the leaders’ reaction changed when they saw her.

• The North Sea leaders feared they could not match Yin Shang’s generals, while one leader urged them to rely on their numerical advantage.
• A leader proposed summoning the tribes’ ancestors, ancient demons who protected them in exchange for offerings and blood food.
• Yuan Futong warned that waking the ancestors could bring disaster and that they might refuse to oppose the Human Emperor because of his fortune.
• A guard announced that a woman from Yin Shang had arrived as an envoy, and Yuan Futong invited her into the camp.
• The black-cloaked woman appeared, and the leaders’ expressions changed.

Su Daji arrived at the North Sea leaders’ hall as the Human Emperor’s envoy and used her beauty to capture their attention before delivering his challenge. The leaders erupted in anger, and Yuan Futong urged her to reveal the rest of the message.

• Su Daji entered the hall and captivated the North Sea leaders with her beauty.
• Yuan Futong asked who she was and why she had come, and Su Daji introduced herself as a maidservant to the Human Emperor.
• Su Daji announced that the Human Emperor had challenged the leaders as lowborn barbarians and dared them to face him in battle.
• The North Sea leaders grew furious, and Yuan Futong accused the Human Emperor of provoking them.
• Su Daji said she had one more message that might anger the leaders, and Yuan Futong told her to speak freely.

Su Daji confronted Yuan Futong and the North Sea leaders, goading them into accepting the Human Emperor’s challenge before revealing her overwhelming strength. As she fought them, the Yin Shang army launched a nighttime surprise attack on the North Sea camp, and the furious leaders turned their anger toward Daji.

• Su Daji told Yuan Futong and the North Sea leaders that the Human Emperor considered them trash, provoking their outrage.
• Yuan Futong tried to keep Su Daji in the North Sea, but she asked whether the leaders would accept the Human Emperor’s challenge, and they agreed.
• Su Daji announced that she would send the leaders on their way, then unleashed a powerful energy storm that overturned the camp and sent them flying.
• Yuan Futong and the other leaders attacked Su Daji together, but she dodged their strikes and quickly brought down several powerful fighters.
• Battle cries sounded across the camp as the Yin Shang army launched a surprise attack, and the North Sea leaders turned their fury on Daji.

Su Daji and the Yin Shang army crushed the North Sea rebels in a night-long assault, though Yuan Futong and several other leaders escaped. At dawn, Daji reported her failure to capture them to Ye Xuan, who reconsidered how formidable the North Sea leaders were.

• Su Daji killed many North Sea leaders, then Zhang Kui, Gao Lanying, Wen Zhong, and Huang Feihu arrived to support her.
• The Yin Shang army stormed the North Sea camp, setting tents ablaze and killing or driving off the rebel warriors as Ye Xuan watched without intervening.
• The massacre lasted all night, and the combined forces of the seventy-two North Sea lords were routed.
• At dawn, Su Daji appeared beside Ye Xuan and said that Yuan Futong and about a dozen other leaders had escaped.
• Ye Xuan was surprised that the North Sea leaders had escaped Su Daji and realized he had underestimated them.

After Yin Shang routed the North Sea lords’ allied army, a terrifying dragon-like creature descended amid thunder and lightning. Grand Tutor Wen Zhong identified it as an ancient Thunder Beast rather than a true dragon, and Ye Xuan’s companions and commanders moved to protect him.

• Yin Shang’s forces counted more than four hundred thousand North Sea barbarians killed in a decisive victory, though many enemies escaped.
• As the exhausted soldiers cleared the battlefield, a terrifying presence descended and caused some of them to collapse and spit blood.
• Dark clouds and raging lightning revealed a thousand-meter dragon-like creature in the sky.
• Wushuang, Su Daji, Grand Tutor Wen Zhong, Huang Feihu, Zhang Kui, and Gao Lanying positioned themselves between the creature and Ye Xuan.
• Grand Tutor Wen Zhong explained that the creature was an ancient Thunder Beast, a dragon-like being distinct from the Dragon Clan and similar to Empress Nuwa’s Soaring Serpent and White Hornless Dragon.

Ye Xuan disguised himself as Wuming and confronted the thunder beast that had emerged as hidden strength of the North Sea. After Wuming withstood its thunderbolts, the chapter left him facing the beast as everyone watched in alarm.

• Ye Xuan realized the thunder beast was among the North Sea's hidden forces and wondered how many ancient beasts remained there.
• Ye Xuan left an avatar behind, put on his corpse-driving set, and appeared before the thunder beast as Wuming.
• Wen Zhong sensed Wuming's strength and moved to protect the Human Emperor, while Wushuang and Su Daji recognized Wuming as Ye Xuan.
• Wuming taunted the thunder beast, which unleashed a storm of thunder serpents that engulfed him.
• Wuming emerged unharmed from the thunderbolts, and his presence filled the onlookers with fear.