Chapter Summaries

Shen Jingchuan arranged a passport and visa so he could travel to Pakistan and buy explosives and weapons to help attack the Huang Household's and Pan Household's estates. After reaching Spin Boldak, he found a chaotic market selling heavy weapons and ammunition.

• Shen Jingchuan told Hu Tieniu to prepare for a siege and scout the Huang Household's and Pan Household's estates while he devised a way to breach their defenses.
• Shen Jingchuan cultivated overnight with upgraded Qi Nourishing Pills and decided to obtain explosives abroad to break through the estate walls.
• Shen Jingchuan asked Elder Wen to expedite his passport and visa, then booked a flight to Islamabad after Secretary Zhou delivered the documents.
• Shen Jingchuan traveled from Islamabad to Peshawar and hired Jimmy as a guide to Darra Town, where he asked a shopkeeper to arrange heavy weapons.
• Shen Jingchuan paid the shopkeeper and Jimmy with gold to arrange a trip to Spin Boldak, where he arrived at an open-air market full of heavy guns and ammunition.

Shen Jingchuan bought and test-fired a Maxim heavy machine gun and a mechanically modified aircraft cannon, impressing the dealer with his strength. He ordered rings and slings fitted to the cannon, planning to take both weapons to the other world, though he still did not know whether he could bring mechanical firearms there.

• Shen Jingchuan arranged to buy a Maxim heavy machine gun and a mechanically modified GSh-23 aircraft cannon, leaving a gold deposit with the dealer.
• The dealer demonstrated the Maxim and considered robbing Shen Jingchuan, but Shen noticed his suspicious glances and prepared to show his strength.
• Shen Jingchuan rigged a sling to fire the Maxim from his shoulder, endured its recoil, and sent a burst of bullets into the mountainside.
• The dealer abandoned his robbery plan and respectfully taught Shen Jingchuan to operate the aircraft cannon, which Shen test-fired from its secured mount.
• Shen Jingchuan ordered the dealer to weld rings onto the cannon and provide slings so he could carry it, while remaining unsure whether he could bring the weapons to the other world.

Shen Jingchuan tested whether mechanical weapons could cross worlds, then bought a large stock of guns, ammunition, and explosives from the border-market shopkeeper. He paid twelve kilograms of gold and prepared to transport the supplies to the other world.

• Shen Jingchuan carried a Maxim heavy machine gun, a 23 mm autocannon, and ammunition into the other world, confirming that non-electric equipment could cross over.
• After cultivating overnight, Shen Jingchuan returned to the border market and ordered the shopkeeper’s remaining Maxim and autocannons, plus large quantities of ammunition.
• Shen Jingchuan bought the shopkeeper’s C4, mechanical detonators, and tripwires after learning how they worked.
• Shen Jingchuan selected five Walther PPK pistols and five Vz. 61 Škorpion machine pistols for the women in his household, along with ammunition.
• The shopkeeper delivered the modified guns and all the ordered supplies, and Shen Jingchuan paid twelve kilograms of gold.

Shen Jingchuan acquired a large cache of weapons and explosives, returned to the other world, and stored them safely before spending the night with Lin Qingyao and Bai Ruoli. The next morning, he noticed Qinghe’s feelings as she served him, while Bai Ruoli’s earlier offer of help lingered in her mind.

• Shen Jingchuan paid the owner with twelve kilograms of gold for weapons and ammunition, then used his Storage Ring to make the goods disappear after the convoy left.
• Shen Jingchuan returned to the Capital, told Meng Ke that everything had gone smoothly, and agreed to meet her mother after preparing a gift.
• Shen Jingchuan crossed back to the Shen Residence and stored the firearms, cannons, and ammunition safely in his storage space.
• Shen Jingchuan spent the night with Lin Qingyao and Bai Ruoli, then cultivated with a Qi Nourishing Pill until morning.
• Qinghe blushed when Shen Jingchuan looked at her with interest, while Bai Ruoli's offer to let her help echoed in her thoughts.

Shen Jingchuan taught his wives and maids to use guns in the rear garden, demonstrating their power and stressing safe handling. When Qinghe tried the machine pistol, she panicked and emptied its magazine, but Shen Jingchuan forced the muzzle down before anyone was hurt.

• Shen Jingchuan set up wooden boards as targets and handed pistols to Su Qingshu, Su Qinghua, Yue'er, and Ju'er.
• After Xiao Yue'er peered into a gun's muzzle, Shen Jingchuan smacked her and warned everyone never to point a gun at themselves or their companions.
• Shen Jingchuan demonstrated accurate pistol shooting, then taught Lin Qingyao how to load, aim, and fire; she hit the center of a target.
• Shen Jingchuan fired a machine pistol at a board, impressing the women, and gave the weapon to eager Qinghe for a lesson.
• Qinghe lost control of the machine pistol's recoil and emptied its magazine, but Shen Jingchuan pushed the muzzle toward the ground and no one was injured.

Shen Jingchuan taught Qinghe, Lin Qingyao, Bai Ruoli, and Yue'er how to use the firearms, while Lin Qingyao enthusiastically tried firing two machine pistols at once. The women began learning their strengths and limits, and Lin Qingyao’s shots with both guns quickly climbed toward the top of the target board.

• Shen Jingchuan steadied Qinghe as she recovered from her first shot, and she grew more accurate with another magazine.
• Lin Qingyao mastered the pistol quickly, while Shen Jingchuan explained the submachine gun to her and Yue'er.
• Bai Ruoli persuaded Shen Jingchuan to let her try a pistol; he guided her through firing and advised her to train her arms.
• Lin Qingyao asked for a second machine pistol, and Shen Jingchuan let her take one from the sack.
• Shen Jingchuan gave Yue'er a machine pistol to try, while Lin Qingyao fired both of hers at once and struggled to control their recoil.

Shen Jingchuan trained the women in using firearms, then welcomed Xiao Mingshu back from selling their goods. She gave him a storage ring and reported that someone had followed her, while her discovery of the bullet-riddled wall left her asking what weapons they had practiced with.

• Lin Qingyao improved her aim by firing one compact submachine gun at a time, and Shen Jingchuan taught the women to load magazines and handle their guns.
• Shen Jingchuan distributed pistols, compact submachine guns, and ammunition before storing the remaining weapons and ammunition in his space.
• Xiao Mingshu returned and warned Shen Jingchuan that indulging in sensual pleasures could hinder his cultivation.
• Xiao Mingshu gave Shen Jingchuan a storage ring containing Spirit Stones and pills, and told him that someone had followed her after she sold the goods.
• Xiao Mingshu decided to stay at Shen Jingchuan's residence and cultivate in seclusion, then asked about the bullet-riddled courtyard wall.

Shen Jingchuan demonstrated his submachine gun and water-cooled Maxim machine gun to Xiao Mingshu and Huan'er, revealing how dangerous the weapons could be to cultivators caught off guard. After seeing the Maxim's destructive power, Xiao Mingshu asked Shen Jingchuan to give her a machine gun.

• Shen Jingchuan showed Xiao Mingshu and Huan'er his submachine gun, and Xiao Mingshu tested its shots against her Spiritual Qi shield.
• Shen Jingchuan brought out a water-cooled Maxim machine gun, but Xiao Mingshu agreed to test it outside the city because of its noise.
• Shen Jingchuan fired the Maxim at trees in a secluded hollow, shattering trunks with a sustained barrage.
• Xiao Mingshu judged that the machine gun could kill unprepared mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators and said she would not take its fire head-on.
• Xiao Mingshu asked Shen Jingchuan whether he had a spare machine gun that she could use.

Shen Jingchuan let Xiao Mingshu try a Maxim machine gun, and she discovered how effectively it could surprise powerful cultivators. She accepted the gun and ammunition he offered before teasing him about marrying her, leaving the two of them to head home.

• Shen Jingchuan showed Xiao Mingshu how to use the Maxim machine gun and gave her a box of ammunition to try.
• Xiao Mingshu fired the gun on the ground, then flew on her sword while strafing a hillside with a second box of bullets.
• Xiao Mingshu judged the weapon could catch even high-stage Qi Refining cultivators off guard, and Shen Jingchuan gave her the gun and fifty boxes of ammunition.
• Xiao Mingshu teased Shen Jingchuan about wanting to marry her, and he blurted that he would marry her tomorrow.
• Xiao Mingshu tugged Shen Jingchuan's ear, accepted the weapon and ammunition into her storage ring, and told everyone to head home.

Xiao Mingshu agreed to bring Shen Jingchuan along on her next market trip after they discussed how his machine gun could protect them from Bandit Cultivators. Shen Jingchuan then stocked up on goods in the modern world and asked Meng Ke to receive his deliveries while he was away.

• Xiao Mingshu explained that the machine gun's sustained fire, speed, and low spiritual-power cost made it dangerous at close range, and she agreed that she and Shen Jingchuan could use their guns against Bandit Cultivators.
• Shen Jingchuan asked to join Xiao Mingshu at the market, and she agreed to take him after they rested for a few days and confirmed his goods were ready.
• Shen Jingchuan told the Lin brothers to bring the clan's carriages and matching parts to the Zhenyuan Escort Agency, then deliver them to the Zhou Household in Chang'an and decide for themselves whether to take any onward job to the capital.
• That night, Shen Jingchuan secretly crossed to the modern world and loaded titanium-alloy carriages and miscellaneous goods into his ancestral spatial ring, discovering that his ordinary storage ring did not work there.
• Shen Jingchuan placed bulk orders for goods he thought cultivators might need and changed the delivery address to his suburban warehouse.
• Shen Jingchuan asked Meng Ke to receive the deliveries and told her he might be out of contact, promising that his gift for his future mother-in-law would surprise her.

Shen Jingchuan brought Xiao Mingshu to the Azure Cloud Stronghold, where she saw the settlement he had built for refugees and the armed force he had trained. After reviewing the targets and troops, Shen Jingchuan ordered an attack on five estates belonging to the Four Great Lineages that night.

• Shen Jingchuan set out with Xiao Mingshu and explained his carriage business and conflict with the Four Great Lineages, including the Pan Household’s attempts to kill him.
• Shen Jingchuan told Xiao Mingshu how he had taken in refugees and established the Azure Cloud Stronghold, and she questioned why he involved himself in mortal affairs.
• Shen Jingchuan and Xiao Mingshu arrived at the stronghold, where Hu Tieniu reported that he had investigated five Huang Household and Pan Household estates.
• Shen Jingchuan ordered an attack on all five estates that night, and Hu Tieniu planned the first strike against two nearby Pan Household estates.
• Hu Tieniu assembled the stronghold’s thousand fighters, and Xiao Mingshu watched the organized troops gather in their unusual equipment.

Shen Jingchuan showed Xiao Mingshu his troops’ drill and treated her to a meal before taking her to the Wild Goose Tomb. At dusk, he prepared to leave on a nighttime operation, and Xiao Mingshu warned him not to interfere in mortal affairs.

• Hu Tieniu drilled the crossbowmen and spearmen while Shen Jingchuan and Xiao Mingshu watched.
• Shen Jingchuan took Xiao Mingshu and Huan'er to the Inquiring Goose Pavilion, where Xiao Mingshu admired the food and the glass windows.
• Shen Jingchuan led Xiao Mingshu to the Wild Goose Tomb and confirmed it held the pair of geese from his lyric.
• As Shen Jingchuan slipped out at dusk, Xiao Mingshu warned him that cultivators could not meddle in mortal affairs or attack mortals.
• Shen Jingchuan claimed he would only watch the night's operation, and Xiao Mingshu told him not to cause trouble.

Shen Jingchuan led Hu Tieniu and eight hundred crossbowmen and two hundred spearmen to attack Pan Household Manor, using an aircraft cannon to blast open its gate. After the soldiers overwhelmed the manor guards and loaded the spoils onto wagons, Shen Jingchuan asked Hu Tieniu what had happened to the people.

• Shen Jingchuan met Hu Tieniu and the soldiers near Pan Household Manor, then summoned an aircraft cannon from his Storage Ring and had Hu Tieniu secure its mount.
• Shen Jingchuan ordered the soldiers to approach the manor in formation, and the crossbowmen shot a guard who spotted them.
• Shen Jingchuan fired the aircraft cannon and destroyed the ironbound gate, allowing Hu Tieniu and the soldiers to charge into the manor.
• The Azure Cloud Stronghold troops defeated the manor guards in a one-sided battle and cleared the manor courtyard by courtyard.
• Shen Jingchuan removed and stored the cannon, while Hu Tieniu's men loaded grain, cloth, money, and other valuables onto wagons.
• Hu Tieniu reported that the looting was finished, and Shen Jingchuan asked what had happened to the people.

Shen Jingchuan’s forces looted one Pan Household estate, then marched openly to the clan’s principal estate and blasted through its gate. Zhao Kui recognized the attackers as the Azure Cloud Stronghold, but his guards were overwhelmed as Shen Jingchuan’s soldiers poured inside.

• Hu Tieniu reported that the Pan Household’s principal figures were at another estate, and Shen Jingchuan ordered the captured people and supplies taken back to the stronghold.
• Shen Jingchuan summoned more porters, then led his soldiers toward the Pan Household’s principal estate with torches blazing.
• Zhao Kui sent two guards to warn the clan leaders and ordered the estate’s defenders to prepare for an attack.
• After recognizing the red-hatted attackers as the Azure Cloud Stronghold, Zhao Kui returned to bed, but the force arrived soon afterward.
• Shen Jingchuan blasted open the estate gate with his 23 mm autocannon, and his soldiers overwhelmed the guards and entered the estate.

Hu Tieniu organized the looting and defense of the Pan Household Manor while Shen Jingchuan left decisions to him. At Yuxi Prefecture, a city guard carried news of the manor’s fall to the Pan Residence, where the steward paid him one hundred taels before hearing the message.

• Hu Tieniu ordered the manor’s communal stores and valuables moved, protected its poor residents, and left their private property untouched.
• Shen Jingchuan told Hu Tieniu to make his own decisions, and Hu positioned a thousand fighters along the official road while arranging food, rest, and scouts.
• Two Pan Household guards reached Yuxi Prefecture’s city gate at night and offered the city guards one hundred taels to relay urgent news.
• The squad leader sent Sun Laosan to notify the Pan Residence and dispatched Ergouzi to alert the military commander.
• Sun Laosan demanded the promised silver from the Pan Residence steward, accepted a genuine note for one hundred taels, and told him that bandits had taken the manor.

After the Azure Cloud Stronghold raided both Pan Household estates, Pan Wenbai and Pan Hongxuan sought help from the prefect. The prefect ordered Garrison Commander Li to muster troops, though Li knew his poorly equipped force was unlikely to confront the bandits.

• The steward confirmed that bandits had overrun the Pan Household estate east of the city and informed Pan Wenbai during the night.
• Pan Wenbai told Pan Hongxuan at dawn, and they learned that the estate north of the city had also been raided by people wearing red hats and carrying goods away.
• Pan Hongxuan identified the attackers as the Azure Cloud Stronghold, and Pan Wenbai warned that losing the estates' wealth and grain could ruin the household.
• Pan Wenbai asked the prefect to send troops, and the prefect summoned Garrison Commander Li to muster his men.
• Garrison Commander Li agreed despite knowing that his understrength, poorly equipped soldiers were unlikely to face the bandits, while the prefect condemned their continued looting.

Garrison Commander Li took silver from Pan Hongxuan to march against the Azure Cloud Stronghold, but his troops fled when they faced the stronghold’s disciplined force and powerful crossbows. Hu Tieniu then led his men back to Pan Household Manor.

• Pan Hongxuan promised Garrison Commander Li five thousand taels to suppress the bandits, and Li took two thousand taels up front.
• Li led his soldiers out of the north gate and spotted the Azure Cloud Stronghold’s force blocking the road.
• The stronghold’s soldiers marched forward and fired warning volleys over Li’s men, causing them to panic and flee.
• Li recognized that the stronghold had spared them deliberately and led his remaining guards back at an unhurried pace.
• Hu Tieniu watched the government troops retreat, then led his force back toward Pan Household Manor.

After Garrison Commander Li’s troops retreated, Shen Jingchuan and Hu Tieniu led the capture of the Huang Household’s three remaining estates. Back at Azure Cloud Stronghold, Shen Jingchuan questioned Zhao Kui about the ambushes against him, and Zhao Kui admitted he had taken part in one.

• Garrison Commander Li told the prefect and Pan Hongxuan that his troops had been routed by Azure Cloud Stronghold, leaving Pan Hongxuan convinced the Pan Household’s wealth was lost.
• Hu Tieniu asked Shen Jingchuan to help attack the three remaining Huang Household estates, and Shen Jingchuan agreed to watch the operation.
• Hu Tieniu’s forces took all three estates with Shen Jingchuan’s autocannon and crossbow volleys, while Shen Jingchuan watched from a distance.
• Shen Jingchuan returned to Azure Cloud Stronghold and asked the captured Pan Household guards who had the best martial arts; the prisoners pointed to Zhao Kui.
• Shen Jingchuan questioned Zhao Kui about the attempts on his life, and Zhao Kui admitted he had joined the attack on the official road below Azure Cloud Stronghold.

Shen Jingchuan learned from Zhao Kui that Prince Jing's Heir had ordered the earlier attempt on his life, then let Zhao Kui leave with money and an invitation to join Azure Cloud Stronghold. After advising Hu Tieniu on defending the stronghold and managing its people, Shen Jingchuan returned toward Yuxi Prefecture and bribed the gate guards to let him enter.

• Zhao Kui told Shen Jingchuan that Prince Jing's Heir had ordered the attempt to intercept and kill him, though Zhao Kui did not know why.
• Shen Jingchuan invited Zhao Kui to stay at Azure Cloud Stronghold as a martial arts instructor, gave him travel money, and let him leave to settle matters at home.
• Shen Jingchuan rode down the mountain, met Hu Tieniu, and advised him to guard the stronghold, watch for internal threats, and find educated helpers.
• Shen Jingchuan reached Yuxi Prefecture's south gate, where tense guards initially hesitated to admit him.
• Shen Jingchuan gave gold melon seeds to the gate soldier and officer, who ordered the guards to let him through.

Shen Jingchuan returned to the Shen Residence and decided to reinforce a carriage so he could mount a 23mm autocannon on it. After arranging the modifications in the modern world and reassuring Meng Ke by message, he crossed back to the Shen Residence.

• Shen Jingchuan returned to the Shen Residence, where Lin Qingyao worried about the bandits and Xiao Mingshu said they would set out the next day.
• Shen Jingchuan considered the danger of facing cultivators stronger than the Maxim Heavy Machine Gun could handle and decided to mount a 23mm autocannon on a reinforced carriage.
• Shen Jingchuan crossed to the modern world and asked Factory Director Zhou to reinforce a carriage, strengthen its axles, and add a roof-mounted adjustable support.
• Factory Director Zhou agreed to finish the modifications within three days and deliver the carriage to Shen Jingchuan's suburban warehouse.
• Shen Jingchuan messaged Meng Ke that he was safe but would be away for about ten more days, then returned to the west courtyard of the Shen Residence.