Recaps

After becoming Li Wenqing's disciple, Qin Yan was tasked with escorting Madam Chen, her daughter Wan'er, and their attendants from Qinghe Town to his village. When famine refugees attacked their party, Qin Yan and the elderly servant fought back, leaving the attackers dead or fleeing.

• Qin Yan mastered the Six Harmonies Saber, and Li Wenqing accepted him as his sixth personal disciple.
• Li Wenqing gave Qin Yan a thirty-refined saber and tasked him with escorting Madam Chen and her daughter Wan'er to the countryside.
• Qin Yan met Madam Chen, Wan'er, their elderly servant, and a young maid, then set out with them and Seventh Uncle.
• Famine refugees blocked the road and tried to rob the carriage and ox cart, while a disheveled young man incited them against Qin Yan.
• Qin Yan and the elderly servant killed or injured the attackers, and the surviving refugees fled.

Qin Yan killed nearly thirty bandits while protecting Seventh Uncle and Qin Zhaoyang, then escorted Madam Chen and Jiang Wan to Clear Water Village. Impressed by his strength and decisiveness, Madam Chen considered recruiting him, and Jiang Wan eagerly supported the idea.

• Qin Yan checked that Seventh Uncle and Qin Zhaoyang were safe and urged Seventh Uncle not to risk his life for their belongings again.
• Uncle Chun praised Qin Yan’s fighting ability to Madam Chen and warned her and Jiang Wan to keep their distance from him.
• Qin Yan led the group on foot to Clear Water Village, carrying two shi of grain, and left after delivering them to Madam Chen’s courtyard.
• Uncle Chun described Qin Yan as strong, talented, decisive, and difficult to control, while regretting that he was a commoner.
• Madam Chen proposed recruiting Qin Yan to serve her husband, and Jiang Wan cheered at the idea of making him her guard.

Qin Yan gave Qin Xiaoyi grain to support his family and began training young men to build a force, while planning to move to Qinghe Town. After Uncle Chun delivered a generous reward, he told Madam Chen that Qin Yan showed unusual talent for training troops.

• Qin Yan gave Qin Xiaoyi a sack of rice and promised to feed him as long as he had food.
• Qin Yan began body-tempering cultivation, then told Qin Xiaoyi he would take the group to Qinghe Town once they could protect themselves.
• Qin Yan drilled the young men in physical training and fighting techniques on the mountain training ground.
• Uncle Chun thanked Qin Yan on behalf of Madam Chen and gave him a pouch containing at least fifty taels of silver.
• Qin Yan warned Song Bao and the others to avoid Madam Chen's family and sent them back to training.
• Uncle Chun reported Qin Yan's ambitions and apparent talent for training troops to Madam Chen, who was surprised by his abilities.

As famine worsened, Qin Yan stopped the fur trade and joined the villagers in seeking food, catching a large haul of fish. Qin Qing begged him for a fish, while Zhao He pleaded for help for the injured Qin Zhao, but Qin Yan refused and left after warning her.

• Seventh Uncle reported that famine and unrest had spread, and Qin Yan concluded that the disaster would continue, so he set aside the fur trade and agreed to hunt in the mountains.
• Qin Yan caught a large fish and several smaller ones in the lake, then sent Song Bao to give a fish to the old village chief.
• Qin Qing knelt and asked Qin Yan for a fish because his pregnant wife needed food, and Qin Yan told Qin Xiaoyi to give him one.
• Zhao He asked Qin Yan to save the injured Qin Zhao, but Qin Yan said Qin Zhao's fate had nothing to do with him.
• When Zhao He grabbed his sleeve and blamed him for Qin Zhao's worsening injury, Qin Yan lifted her by the throat, then dropped her and left after Qin Qing intervened.

Qin Yan refused to see his dying brother Qin Zhao, then trained his group and drove Jiang Wan away from the training ground. He entered the forest to hunt and discovered a wounded wild boar with something writhing inside its chest.

• Qin Yan rejected Qin Qing’s plea to visit Qin Zhao, who died that night, and he also refused the old village chief’s request to attend the funeral.
• Qin Yan put Song Bao and the other trainees through practical combat, improving his Dragon Wandering Step to Entry Level.
• Jiang Wan visited the training ground, but Qin Yan insulted her, and she left in tears.
• Qin Yan took his weapons into the forest, where he sensed blood near the place he had encountered the Withered Ghost Hand.
• Qin Yan found a large wild boar with a gash in its chest and something writhing inside.

Qin Yan fought a blood-red mutant rat in the forest and killed it by blinding it with lime powder before striking it with his saber. He learned the creature was an Awakened Spirit Mouse, gained combat proficiency, and decided to take its corpse with him despite finding no inner core.

• Qin Yan shot at the rat emerging from a wild boar's chest, but it dodged and wounded his neck in a close-range attack.
• Qin Yan used his mental perception to track the rat and ran through the forest until its pursuit slowed.
• Qin Yan stopped and threw lime powder into the rat's eyes, then cut it in half with his straight saber.
• Qin Yan received proficiency gains from the kill, and Six Harmonies Saber advanced to Entry Level.
• Qin Yan identified the creature as an Awakened Spirit Mouse, found no inner core, and chose to take its corpse with him.

Qin Yan found a refreshing rocky site in the forest, killed an aberrant black snake, and gained strength by consuming its gallbladder. After discovering a jade-like plant bearing three red fruits and a crack that might lead to a Spirit Vein, he returned to the village with a wild boar and brought home a black kitten.

• Qin Yan followed the animals to a rocky site and killed the aberrant black snake that guarded it.
• Qin Yan consumed the snake's gallbladder, increasing his strength, speed, and spirit limits.
• Qin Yan found three red fruits on a jade-like plant and suspected the crack in the rock led to a Spirit Vein.
• Qin Yan returned to the village carrying a large wild boar and asked Qin Xiaoyi to find him a kitten or puppy.
• Qin Xiaoyi brought Qin Yan a black kitten, which lunged at the Spirit Mouse's corpse and began tearing into it.

Qin Yan used snake meat, wild boar, and strange fruits to strengthen himself and train his followers, while refusing to attend Qin Zhao’s burial. As the little black cat grew and Qin Yan’s group improved, reports from beyond the mountains described deadly attacks and spreading bandit raids.

• Qin Yan stopped the little creature from eating more, then fed Qin Xiaoyi stir-fried snake meat and sent him to run when its medicinal power made him overheated.
• Qin Yan had a butcher process a huge wild boar, shared pork with people who had helped him, and refused the old village chief’s request to attend Qin Zhao’s burial.
• Qin Yan ate the strange fruits, raised his attributes, and advanced the Basic Body-Tempering Technique to Proficient Level.
• Qin Xiaoyi, Song Bao, Shi Hu, Chen Ergou, and the other young men grew stronger through training and the effects of the snake meat.
• Three days after Qin Zhao died, the little black cat had grown nearly as large as an adult tabby and watched Qin Yan’s group train.
• People reported mangled bodies and deaths in the refugee camp outside Qinghe Town, while bandits raided nearby villages and carried off women.

Qin Yan confronted Liu Laodao and the Black Wind Mountain bandits when they came to demand grain, fish, or silver from Clear Water Village. After Qin Yan effortlessly struck down one bandit and slapped Liu Laodao, the standoff ended with the villagers stunned by his ferocity.

• The old village chief asked Qin Yan to help protect Clear Water Village after Zhao Family Village suffered heavy losses fighting the mountain bandits.
• Qin Zhaoyang reported that a dozen Black Wind Mountain bandits had arrived, and Qin Yan and the old village chief rushed to the entrance as Qin Xiaoyi summoned the trainees.
• Liu Laodao demanded monthly grain and fish or five hundred taels of silver, and threatened to kill the villagers and enslave their women if they refused.
• Qin Yan challenged Liu Laodao’s claim that Black Wind Mountain had several hundred men and invited the bandits to attack him.
• A young bandit slashed at Qin Yan, who deflected the attack and broke the bandit’s jaw with a slap.
• Liu Laodao told Qin Yan not to act rashly, but Qin Yan slapped him hard enough to knock out two teeth, leaving the villagers stunned.

Qin Yan defeated Black Wind Mountain’s bandits, captured the survivors, and forced Liu Laodao to reveal the mountain’s strength and leader. He then ordered his followers to execute the prisoners, leaving Qin Xiaoyi and the others bloodied and shaken.

• Qin Yan fought the bandits at Clear Water Village, crippling several and shooting the fleeing men with Qin Xiaoyi’s bow and arrows.
• Qin Yan ordered Qin Xiaoyi and the other youths to collect the surviving bandits and their belongings, including nearly 160 taels of silver, fifteen weapons, and three warhorses.
• Qin Yan tortured Liu Laodao until he revealed that Black Wind Mountain had about 120 bandits, led by the saber-wielding Cao Lian.
• Qin Yan killed Liu Laodao and ordered his followers to execute every captured bandit.
• Qin Xiaoyi killed the first prisoner, and Song Bao and the others followed, while the forest filled with screams before falling silent.

After Qin Yan killed the mountain bandits, he convinced his shaken followers that the weak would remain prey unless they grew strong and fought back. With Black Wind Mountain poised to retaliate, Qin Yan set out alone to test his strength while Qin Xiaoyi, Song Bao, and the others began training harder.

• Qin Yan ordered Qin Xiaoyi to bury the bandits, while Qin Qing regretted the family’s estrangement from Qin Yan and Zhao He collapsed under the villagers’ criticism.
• Qin Yan told Qin Xiaoyi, Song Bao, and the others that the bandits had preyed on them because they were weak, urging them to fight back against anyone who bullied them.
• Qin Xiaoyi warned Qin Yan that Black Wind Mountain would seek revenge, but Qin Yan said he would go alone to test his strength.
• Qin Xiaoyi, Song Bao, and the others asked to accompany Qin Yan, but he told them they were too weak and urged them to train until they could fight beside him.
• Qin Xiaoyi, Song Bao, and the others went to the training ground to intensify their physical and martial training.

Qin Yan joined forces with Zong Xiaoshan to kill the Black Wind Mountain bandits who had murdered Zong Xiaoshan’s sister, then went ahead alone to attack their stronghold at night. He left the bandits under Cao Lian’s command trapped behind the stockade walls, repeatedly striking from the darkness.

• Qin Yan found Black Wind Mountain bandits dead along the trail and discovered Zong Xiaoshan fighting three more with an axe.
• Qin Yan shot two bandits while Zong Xiaoshan killed the third, and Zong Xiaoshan told him the bandits had murdered his older sister.
• Qin Yan gave the wounded Zong Xiaoshan medicine and continued alone toward Black Wind Mountain.
• Qin Yan surveyed the area around the stockade, then shot its sentries and other bandits from the darkness.
• Cao Lian ordered the bandits to stay alert, but Qin Yan resumed his attacks after resting in a tree and killed another sentry.

Qin Yan hunted the Black Wind Mountain Stronghold’s bandits from the forest, killing dozens and gaining new combat abilities. He left the survivors barricaded inside the stronghold, then piled their dead outside the gate, deepening their fear.

• Cao Lian ordered the bandits to search the forest for Qin Yan after eight men were killed by arrows overnight.
• Qin Yan ambushed and killed a three-man patrol, gaining the Assassination Technique and increasing its proficiency.
• Qin Yan used the forest to kill more bandits until Cao Lian ordered his men to withdraw after their losses mounted.
• Cao Lian decided the bandits would stay inside the stronghold, while Qin Yan’s Unlimited Combat skill reached Proficient Level.
• A bandit reported that Qin Yan had piled the dead outside the gate, and Cao Lian and the others saw the mound of corpses.

Qin Yan infiltrated Black Wind Stronghold and set its granary ablaze, then used the chaos to attack the bandits from the shadows. He escaped whenever the chiefs tried to corner him, returning to shoot the men fighting the fire and taunting the three chiefs.

• Cao Lian and Qian Renyi suspected that a powerful rival was trying to punish the stronghold, while Cao Lian warned his brothers to stay alert.
• Qin Yan surveyed the stronghold from its wall and identified the guarded granary as a target.
• Qin Yan killed the two guards, broke into the granary, and used oil to set the grain stores on fire.
• As the bandits scrambled to put out the blaze, Qin Yan shot several of them, including the archers, before escaping over the wall when Liu Dongshan pursued him.
• Qin Yan returned to shoot and wound the bandits fighting the fire, then taunted Cao Lian, Liu Dongshan, and Qian Renyi: "I'm back again!"

Qin Yan lured the three chiefs of Black Wind Stronghold into the forest and used his speed, archery, and ruthless tactics to defeat them. After killing Liu Dongshan and Qian Renyi, he killed Cao Lian in a saber fight that ended with lime powder and a low blow.

• Qin Yan evaded Liu Dongshan's flying daggers, then shot Liu Dongshan twice as the three chiefs tried to retreat.
• Cao Lian abandoned Liu Dongshan, and Qian Renyi fled as well, leaving Qin Yan to kill Liu Dongshan.
• Qin Yan caught Qian Renyi, broke his sword hand, gouged out his eyes, and killed him with a series of attacks.
• Qin Yan confronted Cao Lian in the forest and overwhelmed him with his saber strength.
• Qin Yan threw lime powder at Cao Lian, stabbed him in the groin, and killed him with a slash through his chest.

Qin Yan slaughtered the bandits at Black Wind Stronghold with Cao Lian’s saber, which he renamed Qin, then killed the captives’ tormentors and the three chiefs’ children. The chapter ended with the stronghold’s bandits and their families dead.

• Qin Yan beheaded Cao Lian and took his long saber, naming it Qin.
• Qin Yan shot down bandits fleeing through Black Wind Stronghold’s main gate, then charged in and killed the rest.
• Qin Yan rescued a girl from a bandit holding her hostage and killed the man.
• The captive women beat an old woman to death after identifying her as a bandit’s mother.
• Qin Yan killed everyone in the eastern wing, including the three chiefs’ children.

After wiping out Black Wind Mountain, Qin Yan divided silver among the rescued women and took Zong Xiaoshan on as a follower. He returned to the village with his loot and Xiaoyi learned that he had killed every bandit in the stronghold.

• Qin Yan gained Sha Qi and improved his skills after killing the bandits, then looted more than 1,800 taels of silver, 27 taels of gold, and two manuals.
• Qin Yan gave the rescued women ten taels each and let Xia E and the others remain temporarily on Black Wind Mountain until they could find somewhere to live.
• Qin Yan burned the bandits’ bodies and left the mountain with the loot and weapons.
• Zong Xiaoshan thanked Qin Yan for avenging his sister and agreed to follow him as his subordinate.
• Qin Yan returned to the village, where Qin Xiaoyi greeted him and heard that he had killed all the bandits.

After wiping out Black Wind Mountain, Qin Yan armed the village youths and began training them while news spread of man-eating monsters near Qinghe Town. Alarmed that the world might hold supernatural dangers, he intensified his own training, leaving Zong Xiaoshan astonished by his strength.

• Qin Yan gave Qin Xiaoyi a large pile of weapons and promised to teach the youths saber techniques, while villagers and the old village chief praised his victory over Black Wind Mountain.
• Elder Chun suggested recruiting Qin Yan through a marriage alliance with Jiang Wan, but Madam Chen and Jiang Wan rejected the idea.
• Qin Yan welcomed the injured Zong Xiaoshan and began teaching the village teenagers the Six Harmonies Saber Technique with weapons taken from the bandits.
• News spread that man-eating monsters had appeared near Qinghe Town and that the county commandant had called in Green Mountain Camp and a reclusive expert to deal with one.
• Qin Yan feared the world held supernatural threats and began training more fiercely, carrying a thousand-jin boulder as Zong Xiaoshan watched in disbelief.

Qin Yan trained with Zong Xiaoshan and his followers while worrying about dwindling grain supplies. When Mu Feng tried to buy villagers’ farmland at a steep discount, Qin Yan offered Li You a better price and struck Mu Feng after he threatened him.

• Qin Yan sparred with Zong Xiaoshan, improving his strength, speed, and combat skills.
• Qin Yan fought Song Bao and the other ten youths in the training ground, leaving them battered.
• Zong Xiaoshan warned Qin Yan that their grain was running low, and children told Qin Yan that strangers had arrived in the village.
• Mu Feng of the Mu Lineage pressured farmers to sell their prime farmland for five taels of silver per mu and had Li You dragged away when he protested.
• Qin Yan offered to buy Li You’s fields for ten taels per mu, then slapped Mu Feng and asked whether the Mu Lineage was so impressive.

Qin Yan fought off Mu Feng and his servants, then abandoned his plan to buy land in Clear Water Village after the villagers tried to pressure him for money. He left with Zong Xiaoshan and the others to buy land elsewhere, while ordering Shi Hu to teach Qiao Laizi a lesson.

• Zong Xiaoshan, Qin Xiaoyi, Shi Hu, and Song Bao defeated Mu Feng’s servants, and Qin Yan beat Mu Feng until he begged for mercy.
• Qin Yan offered Li You ten taels of silver per mu for his land, but rebuked villagers who demanded loans and withdrew his offer.
• Li You tried to accept Qin Yan’s offer, but Qin Yan refused and returned home, saying he would buy land elsewhere.
• Qin Yan promised his followers land, houses, and wives once he succeeded, then told Shi Hu to teach Qiao Laizi a lesson.
• Qin Yan led his followers out of Clear Water Village with a chest of silver to buy land, ignoring villagers who wished he would buy their fields instead.

Qin Yan bought nearly 160 mu of land in Shanghe Village and faced retaliation from the Mu Lineage. He defeated Mu Youcheng’s men and had Mu Feng’s legs broken.

• Qin Yan bought nearly 160 mu of farmland in Shanghe Village and purchased a wasteland plot from Lin Xiangfu for a future residence.
• Mu Youcheng learned that Qin Yan had bought land he wanted and ordered Mu Feng to gather men and deal with him.
• Lin Xiangfu warned Qin Yan that the Mu Lineage would retaliate, and Chen Ergou reported that Mu Feng had arrived with more than thirty men.
• Mo Yan attacked Qin Yan with a sword, but Qin Yan struck him in the groin and crippled him.
• Qin Yan and his men routed Mu Feng’s group, then Qin Xiaoyi smashed Mu Feng’s legs at Qin Yan’s command.

Qin Yan raided the Mu Lineage compound, killed Mu Youcheng, and stole a locked box of silver before encountering the Green-Faced Corpse Monster. After a fierce fight, Qin Yan fled as cavalry approached, leaving the monster amid the collapsed buildings.

• Qin Yan ignored Zong Xiaoshan’s concern about Mu Lineage revenge and sent his group back to Clear Water Village.
• Mu Youcheng vowed to report Qin Yan to the authorities after his household servants returned badly injured.
• Qin Yan infiltrated the Mu Lineage compound, killed Mu Youcheng, and found a heavy box that seemed to contain at least a thousand taels of silver.
• Qin Yan encountered the Green-Faced Corpse Monster, which attacked the Mu Lineage servants and then lunged at him.
• Qin Yan struck the monster repeatedly, smashing it through buildings, then escaped with the box when he sensed cavalry approaching.

The Green Mountain Army commandant and Chen Daoist investigated the ruined Mu residence and speculated that Qin Yan’s master had killed Squire Mu and fought the Green-Clothed Walking Corpse. The commandant then summoned Qin Yan, leaving Qin Yan to convincingly deny responsibility while his companions stood by him.

• The commandant arrived at the Mu residence with Chen Daoist, killed the wounded Green-Clothed Walking Corpse with one slash, and found signs of a separate battle and murder.
• Chen Daoist linked the Mu Lineage’s recent conflict with Qin Yan to the deaths, but the commandant suspected Qin Yan’s master had been responsible.
• The commandant and Chen Daoist left the revenge killing to local authorities, and the commandant said he wanted to meet Qin Yan.
• Qin Yan learned that the Green Mountain Army had come to the Mu residence and worried that Mu Youcheng’s death might bring him trouble.
• Chen Ergou told Qin Yan that soldiers had arrived in the village, and Qin Xiaoyi, Zong Xiaoshan, and Shi Hu offered to flee with him if needed.
• Qin Yan met the commandant, who questioned him about the Mu Lineage’s attack, and Qin Yan indignantly denied any involvement.

Qin Yan rejected Lu Xiao’s offer to join the Green Mountain Army and continued training while Qinghe Town’s gates remained closed. He broke through his physical limits, gained the Heart Burst skill, and hurled a thousand-jin boulder through a tree.

• The old village chief told Lu Xiao that Qin Yan had wiped out the Black Wind Mountain bandits and taken their spoils.
• Lu Xiao invited Qin Yan to join the army, but Qin Yan refused and Lu Xiao left with his men.
• Lu Xiao told his guard he suspected Qin Yan might have killed the Mu Lineage people, but chose not to pursue him.
• Qin Yan told Zong Xiaoshan the authorities would not come after them for now and decided to seek help from his gang leader over the Mu Lineage trouble.
• Qin Yan pushed through nearly a thousand squats while carrying a thousand-jin boulder and broke his body’s limits.
• Qin Yan gained the Heart Burst skill, increased his strength and spirit, and threw the boulder through a tall tree.

Qin Yan recovered from using Heart Burst and, with grain supplies dwindling, went into the mountains to hunt. He captured a White Jade Centipede and killed a giant black bear, then returned to the village with the bear as villagers marveled at his growing strength.

• Qin Yan recovered quickly from Heart Burst but warned himself to save the skill for emergencies.
• Qin Xiaoyi told Qin Yan that local wealthy families refused to sell grain, and Qin Yan decided to hunt in the mountains.
• Qin Yan captured a White Jade Centipede and shot a giant black bear between the eyes.
• Xiaoxuan ran into the forest to greet Qin Yan, who promised the little black cat some bear meat.
• Zong Xiaoshan and the villagers admired the giant bear, while the old village chief reflected on Qin Yan's rapid growth.