Recaps

Qin Yan returned to Azure Sun Abbey and found its people slaughtered, then killed several groups of suspects while searching for the attackers. He used Soul-Summoning to bring back Daoist Chen’s remnant soul, who awoke to find the abbey destroyed.

• Qin Yan found Daoist Chen and the other people at Azure Sun Abbey dead, with the mountain behind the abbey burning.
• Qin Yan killed five masked men from the Beigong Lineage after they admitted they had come seeking Azure Sun Abbey’s longevity method.
• Qin Yan caught three Grandmaster-level men fleeing the area, killed them, and concluded that an expert of at least the Third Realm had led the slaughter.
• Qin Yan returned to Azure Sun Abbey, killed several mysterious visitors with a spiritual attack, and used the Little Jade Turtle to summon Daoist Chen’s remnant soul.
• Daoist Chen regained clarity, saw the burning abbey, and mourned that his home was gone.

After Azure Sun Abbey was attacked over its Ghost Dao research, Qin Yan rescued Daoist Chen’s remnant soul and used the fortune of his Jade Turtle to enfeoff him as the Qinghe Land God. Chen Min’s soul stabilized as a weak Yin God, and Qin Yan planned to build him a temple so he could grow stronger.

• Daoist Chen told Qin Yan that a Supreme Grandmaster and a Daoist cultivator attacked Azure Sun Abbey for its Ghost Dao method, killing the abbey master and taking Shuyunzi.
• Qin Yan brought Daoist Chen’s remnant soul to Deep Mountain Base and learned that it was too damaged to survive without a new path of cultivation.
• Qin Yan proposed using the Incense-Fire Divine Dao and the fortune stored in his Jade Turtle to transform Daoist Chen into a Yin God.
• Qin Yan enfeoffed Chen Min as the Qinghe Land God, and golden merit power stabilized Chen Min’s soul and gave him a divine body.
• Chen Min found that he could use some Daoist arts but remained weak, so Qin Yan planned to build him a temple to help him grow stronger.

Qin Yan helped Chen Min establish a Land God Temple in Qinghe Town, where growing worship restored Chen Min’s strength and let him protect the townspeople. When a black cat led Qin Yan toward trouble in neighboring Qingquan Town, he investigated reports of a mysterious sedan chair and reached an eerie gorge.

• Qin Yan arranged for a Land God Temple to be built for Chen Min, and Chen Min merged with its statue to receive incense offerings.
• Qin Yan spread stories of Chen Min answering prayers and helped grant townspeople’s wishes, attracting worshippers and strengthening Chen Min as Qinghe Town’s guardian.
• A Demon-Seeking Envoy told Qin Yan that people were disappearing in Qingquan Town whenever a sedan chair appeared at night.
• Qin Yan followed the black cat to Qingquan Town, where Mayor Pang An reported that thirteen people and an exorcist had vanished in three days.
• Qin Yan rode into a misty forest with the black cat and reached a gorge near an ancient residence filled with Yin Qi.

Qin Yan fought his way into an old residence and defeated a powerful ghost woman who had come from the Underworld. He learned that her Yin-Yang Palanquin Crown could carry its owner between the Yin and Yang realms, then killed her after she fled.

• The Black Cat killed the Evil Corpses guarding the old residence while Qin Yan approached through the dense fog.
• A gaunt ghost servant and eight other Ghost Spirit Level servants attacked Qin Yan, but his Blood Qi overwhelmed them.
• Qin Yan destroyed the old residence and revealed a Red Sha Level woman and a magnificent palanquin.
• Qin Yan subdued the woman and learned that the Yin-Yang Palanquin Crown allowed travel between the Yin and Yang realms, and that the eight ghost servants were its bearers.
• After learning how to use the artifact, Qin Yan let the woman flee and then killed her with a blood-red palm strike.

Qin Yan claimed the Yin-Yang Palanquin Crown, enslaved the Sha Infant, and returned to the Underworld to confront the Evil Spirit that had once hunted him. He headed for Wuan County, while the Evil Spirit sensed a disturbance linked to their bloodlines.

• Qin Yan bonded with the Yin-Yang Palanquin Crown, questioned the gaunt old man about the Evil Spirit and the Mound of Ten Thousand Spirits, then killed him and let the Little Jade Turtle absorb him.
• Qin Yan released the Lunar Yin Corpse Puppet to absorb Yin Qi at the hidden residence and decided to wait there for whoever had built it.
• Qin Yan carved eighteen layers of Restrictions into the Sha Infant, brought it under control, and sealed it in the bronze coffin.
• Qin Yan rode the Yin-Yang Palanquin Crown back to the Underworld and flew toward Wuan County to settle his score with the Evil Spirit.
• At the Four Yin Gathering Sha, the woman in the red bridal gown sensed a disturbance and a connection between their bloodlines.

Qin Yan returned to the Four Yin Gathering Sha to take revenge on the evil spirit possessing Xu Xing'e. After unleashing his Slaughter Dharma Form and Magnetic Field Rotation, he gravely wounded her and destroyed Xu Xing'e's body, then attacked the evil spirit's exposed true form.

• Qin Yan confronted the evil spirit and formed his Slaughter Dharma Form from Blood Sha Qi.
• Qin Yan and the evil spirit fought fiercely as her black butterfly silhouettes clashed with his saber attacks.
• Qin Yan activated Magnetic Field Rotation, greatly increasing his power and cleaving apart the evil spirit's ghost butterfly.
• Qin Yan rushed the gravely wounded evil spirit and struck Xu Xing'e's body apart, forcing the evil spirit's true form to emerge.
• Qin Yan raised his saber to strike the evil spirit's true form before she could escape.

After killing a powerful Evil Spirit in the Underworld, Qin Yan narrowly avoided a much stronger monster and returned to the Yang Realm. By early March, he had surpassed ten thousand times an ordinary person’s strength and begun exploring his newly self-comprehended Electromagnetic Force.

• Qin Yan killed a Fourth Realm Evil Spirit, replenished the good fortune spent on his investiture, and concealed his presence before other Yin Souls arrived.
• A colossal scarred Evil Spirit reached the battlefield, sensed the clash of equals and the power of Blood Sha, then left after its voices warned of nearby dangers.
• Qin Yan returned to the Yang Realm, left the Lunar Yin Corpse Puppet to absorb Yin Qi, and reflected on his growing influence in Youshan Prefecture.
• By early March, Qin Yan’s strength exceeded ten thousand times that of an ordinary person, and he had self-comprehended Electromagnetic Force.
• Qin Yan tested his control by sending weapons flying, gathering metallic particles, and melting them into iron, though he could not yet separate all the impurities.

Qin Yan used his Magnetic Field System and artifact-refining knowledge to begin developing modern weapons while quietly building his strength in Qinghe Town. Meanwhile, the Great Li Dynasty faced a succession struggle, rampant banditry, refugees, and a worsening financial crisis.

• Qin Yan extracted nearly fifteen tons of iron and other metals from the Cypress Water River's sediment using electromagnetic force.
• Qin Yan drew weapon blueprints and ordered Qin Xiaoyi to gather skilled craftsmen and discreetly procure materials.
• Qin Yan planned to advance weapons manufacturing to a level approaching that of the Second World War within two or three years.
• The Hongjia Emperor's failing health intensified the struggle for succession among the crown prince, imperial princes, and the crown prince's sons.
• Bandits and Taiping Army remnants grew in Peng and Li Provinces as refugees and the imperial court's financial crisis deepened.
• Qin Yan continued cultivating and developing technology, drawing on the Tai Xuan Immortal Sect's artifact-refining texts for material science.

Qin Yan tested his newly manufactured M1 Garand Rifle and explained how technology could reshape warfare and ordinary people’s lives. He earned Ba Wei’s belief and devotion, while the factory’s output grew but remained constrained by ammunition shortages.

• Qin Yan assembled an M1 Garand Rifle and demonstrated that its eight bullets pierced a suit of armor from over a hundred meters away.
• Ba Wei judged that the rifle could threaten most martial artists below the Qi Origin Realm, though powerful body-tempering experts and Innate Martial Artists could resist it.
• Qin Yan explained technology as the practical study of the natural world and promised to bring food, meat, and schooling to the common people.
• Qin Yan ordered Qin Xiaoyi to keep the arms factory and its weapons secret, with Shadow and Qin Yan himself as backup if needed.
• After half a month, the factory’s production stabilized at about two hundred rifles a day, but ammunition output could not keep pace.

Qin Yan discovered black oil in land owned by the Jiang Family and refused their offer to give it to him in exchange for marrying their daughter. The Jiang Family decided to give him the land anyway, accept his favor, and invest further in his growing influence.

• Qin Xiaoyi reported that black oil had been found in Jiu'an Prefecture and gave Qin Yan a sample.
• Qin Yan ordered his people to buy the land, then rejected the Jiang Family's marriage proposal and offered to pay a high price while owing them a favor.
• Jiang Daozhen discussed Qin Yan's refusal with Jiang Daoxi and Jiang Daoqi, who explained that their family needed powerful allies to avoid decline.
• Jiang Daoqi urged the Jiang Family to give Qin Yan the land without conditions and use the favor as an opening for future dealings.
• Jiang Daozhen agreed and ordered the family to move some businesses to Youshan Prefecture and invest more in Qin Yan.

Qin Yan accepted the Jiang Family’s offer to distribute Qinghe Town’s goods and sought help finding capable business managers. He recruited Song Huan’s assistance with a gift of a One Qi Pill and considered bringing the Imperial City Bureau in Youshan Prefecture under his influence.

• Li Yunsheng offered Qin Yan the deed to land in Fuyun County and proposed that the Jiang Family distribute Qinghe Town’s goods through its commercial channels.
• Qin Yan accepted the business partnership while insisting he would not take advantage of the Jiang Family.
• Qin Yan invited Song Huan to help find convicted merchants who could manage his growing businesses, and Song Huan promised an answer within three days.
• Qin Yan gave Song Huan a One Qi Pill to aid his cultivation, and Song Huan left grateful and eager to refine it.
• Qin Yan considered bringing the Imperial City Bureau in Youshan Prefecture under his command to ease the Capital’s concerns about him.

The crown prince learned that the Hongjia Emperor was pursuing longevity and launched a rebellion to seize the throne before his father could recover or continue ruling. He took control of the palace and the Capital, while Xia Chengqian fled toward an old pillar of the state for protection.

• The crown prince was barred from visiting the Hongjia Emperor at Qianqing Palace by the Hidden Dragon Guards commander.
• Eunuch Jing told the crown prince that the Hongjia Emperor had obtained a method of longevity and that an expert was performing the ritual.
• The crown prince ordered his followers to carry out their plan, and his forces seized control of the military command, Yanshan Camp, and the Capital.
• Peng Tao and a hidden Grandmaster evacuated Xia Chengqian from Prince Jing's Estate, and Xia Chengqian's party headed to the old pillar of the state.
• The crown prince took control of the imperial palace and ordered three Supreme Grandmasters to attack the Hidden Dragon Guards commander.

After the crown prince seized the throne, rival princes and local forces plunged Great Li into rebellion, while Qin Yan prepared to protect Youshan Prefecture. Prefect Li Muyun and Assistant Prefect Tao Wang persuaded Qin Yan to take charge of the prefecture, and he agreed.

• Qin Yan suspected the crown prince had usurped the throne because he learned the Hongjia Emperor might obtain the Ghost Cultivator method, but he told Qin Xiaoyi to continue their plans and prepare for chaos.
• Prince Jing proclaimed a campaign against the new emperor, and eighteen princely lords raised armies as rebellions spread throughout Great Li.
• After a clan in Lindong County rebelled with 1,200 men, Qin Yan ordered Shadow and Lei Tong to crush them; Ba Wei and Lei Tong routed the rebels, and Ba Wei slaughtered the Wei Family.
• Li Muyun and Tao Wang visited Qin Yan to thank him for protecting Youshan Prefecture and asked him to take charge of its defense.
• Qin Yan accepted responsibility for Youshan Prefecture, and Li Muyun and Tao Wang pledged their support.

Qin Yan prepared Youshan Prefecture to face Prince Fu’s approaching army while explaining to Lu Xiao why he intended to overthrow the Great Li Dynasty. Lu Xiao accepted Qin Yan’s invitation to join him.

• Li Muyun and Tao Wang pledged the Xu Character Camp, the Youcang Camp, and the prefectural forces to Qin Yan, who ordered the camps to gather at Danxiang County ahead of Prince Fu’s advance.
• Qin Yan ordered Shadow to kill Hai Fuchuan of the Ironedge Camp and have Lei Tong take over.
• At Abundant Harvest Tower, Lu Xiao confronted Qin Yan over his ambitions, and Qin Yan argued that he acted for the people against the corrupt Great Li Dynasty.
• Qin Yan asked Lu Xiao to stake his life alongside him, and Lu Xiao agreed.

Qin Yan consolidated control of Youshan Prefecture’s camps and received the Red Shadow Army, which he outfitted as heavy cavalry. The chapter ended with Prince Fu threatening to attack Danxiang County and slaughter its people after Qin Yan refused to open the gates.

• Lu Xiao warned Lu Chi that Qin Yan would eliminate anyone he considered an enemy, though he agreed to follow Qin Yan.
• Ba Wei reported that the Ironedge Camp had been taken and all who refused to submit had been eliminated.
• Qin Yan assessed his growing forces and kept his weapons production and military strength concealed while building his power.
• Qi Zhen arranged for Han Chen and the three thousand Red Shadow Army troops to return to Qin Yan.
• Qin Yan presented the Red Shadow Army with heavy armor for soldiers and horses, transforming them into heavy cavalry.
• Prince Fu arrived outside Danxiang County, threatened to attack and slaughter the city, and Qin Yan’s officers cursed his demand.

Qin Yan sent the Red Shadow Army to confront Prince Fu’s forces and led a devastating cavalry charge that routed them. Prince Fu watched his thirty-thousand-man army collapse and fell over in rage.

• Qin Yan ordered Han Cui and Li Fu to prepare to punch through Prince Fu’s army, while refusing the other generals’ requests to join the first attack.
• Prince Fu rejected his advisers’ warnings and ordered Deng Rong to lead the attack, with Sun Wuqing holding the line.
• Qin Yan led a thousand Red Shadow Army cavalry out of the city and used the Ink Sun Bow to blast holes through Deng Rong’s defenses.
• A blood-armored guard engaged Sun Wuqing as the Red Shadow Army charged through Prince Fu’s troops and wheeled around for another attack.
• Qin Yan shot Deng Rong and more than a dozen high-level generals, causing Prince Fu’s army to rout.
• Prince Fu saw his thirty thousand troops overwhelmed and collapsed in rage as those around him panicked.

Qin Yan routed Prince Fu’s army, captured Prince Fu, and demanded five million taels in exchange for his release. News of the defeat unsettled the other princely lords, who sent gifts to keep Qin Yan from supporting the Yuanqing Emperor.

• Qin Yan and the Red Shadow Army shattered Prince Fu’s forces and pursued Prince Fu’s sedan chair.
• Qin Yan captured Prince Fu and demanded five million taels, threatening to mutilate him if the ransom was late.
• Prince Fu’s surviving generals laid down their weapons, and Qin Yan ordered them to camp where they were.
• Ba Wei defeated Sun Wuqing and knocked him to the ground after Prince Fu’s capture was announced.
• The eighteen princely lords learned of Prince Fu’s defeat, cursed his decision to attack Qin Yan, and sent gifts to placate the Youshan Marquis.

After defeating Prince Fu, Qin Yan attracted lavish offers of allegiance and an imperial promotion while strengthening his control over Youshan Prefecture. His policies won him popular support, and even the Taiping Army slaves at his mine hoped he would remain safe and offered to fight for him.

• Qin Yan received lavish gifts from rival princely lords and continued demanding payment from Prince Fu for the captives' release.
• The Yuanqing Emperor promoted Qin Yan to first-rank Youshan Marquis, while Prince Jing resolved to keep him neutral and prevent him from joining the emperor.
• Qin Yan refused to expand his army, paid homeless people to reclaim wasteland, and crushed several lineages that opposed his rule.
• Gao Daniu and other Taiping Army slaves discussed Qin Yan's defeat of Prince Fu and feared the court might punish the marquis who treated them well.
• Gao Daniu said he would take up a blade for Qin Yan if the marquis accepted men of their status.

Qin Yan visited the Cloudskull Mountain mine, where grateful mine slaves wanted to join his army, and used his influence to expose corruption and heal an injured miner. He left the miners reassured that he would protect them.

• Qin Yan agreed to accept Taiping Army mine slaves into his forces and reshape them into an army loyal to him.
• Qin Yan arrived at the Cloudskull Mountain mine and told Li Qi that miners did not need to kneel before him.
• Qin Yan sensed that Xu Shan had embezzled money from the miners’ provisions, and Qin Xiaoyi ordered guards to take him away for questioning.
• Qin Yan visited the infirmary and healed a middle-aged miner’s injured leg, promising to keep the miners safe.

Qin Yan inspired miners and former Taiping Army soldiers with promises of dignity, freedom, and a fairer world, while quietly building an army in Youshan Prefecture. His ideas alarmed some scholars and officials, while a young scholar set off for Qinghe Town to see whether Qin Yan could fulfill his vision.

• Qin Yan listened to the miners' requests and agreed to build more latrines.
• Gao Daniu asked to join Qin Yan's soldiers, explaining that Qin Yan treated ordinary people as human beings.
• Qin Yan promised the miners he would free them from slavery and let people live with dignity, stirring fervor among the miners and Taiping Army members.
• Qin Yan gained the Speech Skill and gradually assembled an army of nearly ten thousand former Taiping Army members.
• Scholars and officials in Youshan Prefecture learned of Qin Yan's ideas, and a young scholar left for Qinghe Town to investigate them.

Qin Yan strengthened his body through thunder tempering while expanding his army and dealing with resistance from powerful clans. As Qinghe Town prospered and the princes continued their wars, Sun Wuqing submitted to Qin Yan and was healed.

• Qin Yan endured a storm of heavenly lightning, increasing his strength and spirit before returning to the marquis's residence.
• Qin Yan ordered Qin Xiaoyi to warn influential clans obstructing his policies and authorized him to handle any further defiance.
• Refugees arrived in Qinghe Town, where Tian Dafu and his family found factory work, housing, and the chance to draw wages in advance.
• Prince Jing expanded his power by taking three provinces, while Prince Fu became a laughingstock after Qin Yan defeated and captured him.
• Qin Yan visited the imprisoned Sun Wuqing, accepted his submission, removed the chains from his shoulders, and healed his injuries.

Sun Wuqing joined Qin Yan at the Deep Mountain Base, where he saw Zong Xiaoshan break through to the Grandmaster level and become commander of the Red Shadow Army. After Qin Yan demonstrated his overwhelming strength, Sun Wuqing settled into teaching the base’s disciples and sharing martial knowledge.

• Qin Yan brought Sun Wuqing and Ba Wei to the Deep Mountain Base, where he assigned Sun Wuqing to cultivate and teach the disciples.
• Qin Yan led the group to watch Zong Xiaoshan break through to the Grandmaster level, then appointed him commander of the Red Shadow Army.
• Sun Wuqing learned that Chuan Ya was one of Qin Yan’s allies and was easily defeated by Qin Yan in fewer than ten moves.
• Sun Wuqing watched Qin Yan and Ba Wei spar, seeing Qin Yan repeatedly suppress and heal Ba Wei through their brutal training.
• Sun Wuqing grew accustomed to patiently teaching the disciples, whose cultivation improved under his guidance.

Qin Yan received an update on Qinghe Town’s rapid growth and expanding industrial production, then discussed how to increase output and develop new technology. He reflected on his belief that strength shaped the world and resolved to build a new, science-based era, beginning by educating children.

• Qin Xiaoyi reported Qinghe Town’s population growth, new housing, factory sales, steel and ammunition production, and the oil field’s output to Qin Yan.
• Qin Yan ordered greater steel and oil production and more prospecting for mineral resources.
• Qin Yan explained to Qin Xiaoyi that engines could harness the power of many people and perform difficult tasks.
• Qin Yan reflected that violence and strength underlay the world’s rules and that he would fight to establish his own vision.
• Qin Yan began compiling knowledge from his previous life into books so children could become pioneers of science.

Qin Yan mastered the Heaven-Splitting Fist and returned to Qinghe Town as the dynasty’s civil war neared the capital. The Yuanqing Emperor sent Pure Jia Commandery Princess to Qin Yan in hopes of winning his support, but Qin Yan had no intention of rescuing him.

• Qin Yan lifted and pulverized a mountain with his new Heaven-Splitting Fist, then recovered from the strain and announced that his training was complete.
• Qin Yan, Sun Wuqing, and Ba Wei returned to Qinghe Town after more than forty days away, while the princely lords’ campaign against the Yuanqing Emperor spread toward the capital.
• The beleaguered Yuanqing Emperor ordered Li Zhen to offer Qin Yan a princely title and Pure Jia Commandery Princess’s hand in marriage in exchange for help.
• In mid-July, Liu Jin arrived with Pure Jia Commandery Princess and the imperial edict; Qin Yan refused to commit to saving the Yuanqing Emperor and arranged for the princess to stay at Idle-Dust Lodge.

Princess Chunjia, Xia Wanjun, considered her mission to win Qin Yan over as Qin Yan focused on the Demon-Suppressing Bureau's extraordinary mobilization. As the Capital fell, the Yuanqing Emperor died after discovering that the Hongjia Emperor had survived as a Ghost Cultivator, while ancient powers began sending their young heirs into the world.

• Xia Wanjun told Jinxi that Qin Yan was no ordinary man and reflected on how the Yuanqing Emperor had sent her to win him over.
• Qin Yan ordered an investigation into the Demon-Suppressing Bureau after its experts converged on the Capital in an unprecedented mobilization.
• As the Capital faced its imminent fall, the Yuanqing Emperor told his sons and grandsons to escape through a secret passage, while Li Zhen escorted them away and Li Daban stayed behind.
• The Hongjia Emperor appeared before the dying Yuanqing Emperor, revealed that he had become a Ghost Cultivator, and claimed he had let his son rule as a form of paternal nurturing.
• After the Capital's gates were blasted open, the Yuanqing Emperor died, and the Hongjia Emperor declared that he would reign over the world again with powerful Third Realm figures behind him.
• Ancient sects watched the upheaval as their young heirs emerged from secluded lands, prompting one of them to wonder how long the newly awakened age would last.