Chapter Summaries

Qin Yan revealed the true form of his Primordial Spirit, then announced that Immortal Master Minghe and two Grandmasters had tried to kill him and been slain. The news spread across the Great Li Dynasty, while Qin Yan kept his backer’s identity secret and the Hong Heavenly King mourned the Taiping Army’s losses.

• Qin Yan recognized Slaughter as the true form of his Primordial Spirit and withdrew it after the Zheshen Ghost recoiled in terror.
• The Zheshen Ghost devoured the souls of two Grandmasters, told Qin Yan he was close to becoming a Red Sha, and went to refine the blood Qi Qin Yan gave him.
• Qin Yan told the martial world experts who arrived that Minghe Demon Daoist and two Grandmasters had tried to kill him, and said his elder had slain Minghe.
• News of Immortal Master Minghe’s death spread through the Great Li Dynasty, prompting speculation that a powerful expert or secluded sect backed Qin Yan.
• Lord Lu asked Qin Yan on the Hongjia Emperor’s behalf to identify his master, but Qin Yan declined and claimed his sect forbade him from revealing its affairs.
• The Hong Heavenly King raged over the deaths of Minghe and two Grandmasters, lamenting that the Taiping Army’s position had become even harder.

Qin Yan returned to Red Ridge Town and began training the Red Shadow Army while experimenting with ways to turn animals into spirit beasts. He successfully taught his horse Chilu to absorb primordial Qi, leaving him with a way to begin creating a force of martial cavalry.

• Qin Yan arrived at Red Ridge Town, where Tang Xianzong and Ye Yingshan welcomed him and he learned that Li Fu had risen to commander while Du Changfeng had taken a different path.
• Li Fu returned from patrol, pledged to follow Qin Yan again, and told him that five hundred light cavalry were ready to serve under him.
• Qin Yan drilled the Red Shadow Army and assigned Martial Hall members as junior officers to improve the soldiers’ training and coordination.
• Qin Yan tried to strengthen caged hares by filling them with primordial Qi, but most of them died because they could not absorb it themselves.
• Qin Yan used his breathing method to guide primordial Qi into Chilu, and the horse learned to absorb it on its own, marking the successful evolution of a mortal beast into a spirit beast.

After transforming Chilu with a breathing method, Qin Yan began turning the Red Shadow Army into a force of martial artists and training elite warhorses. The first fifty soldiers started cultivating in a concentrated essence Qi environment created by Qin Yan, and they quickly sensed their blood and Qi.

• Chilu completed his transformation after absorbing worldly essence Qi for a day and a night, and Qin Yan tested his new speed before returning to camp.
• Qin Yan told Han Chen, Zhang Xin, and the other generals that he would train the entire Red Shadow Army to the Qi-Blood Realm and create a batch of elite warhorses.
• Qin Yan ordered Zhang Xin to establish a horse ranch, while the generals began requiring their soldiers to learn to read.
• Qin Yan selected the Qi Origin Guidance General Outline for the first fifty soldiers and created a concentrated essence Qi environment for their cultivation.
• The soldiers began cultivating under Li Fu and the other generals' guidance, and they sensed their blood and Qi within half a day.

Qin Yan strengthened the Red Shadow Army and welcomed nearly a thousand reinforcements from Youshan Prefecture. He left the arrogant Innate Martial Artist Lei Tong humbled after defeating him with one punch.

• Qin Yan reached Proficient Level in Human Magnetic Field, extending his perception and Qi-gathering range to thirty kilometers.
• Qin Yan trained every soldier under his command into a martial artist, while most of their warhorses also transformed.
• Qin Yan learned that Leng Qing would lead 200,000 troops against the Taiping Army and prepared to move the Red Shadow Army to Dongying Prefecture.
• Qin Xiaoyi arrived with nearly a thousand recruits from Youshan Prefecture, including loyal members of the Infinite Martial Arts School and several Marrow-Washing Realm fighters.
• Qin Xiaoyi introduced Lei Tong, an arrogant axe-wielding Innate Martial Artist who had joined after losing a bet to Zong Xiaoshan.
• Qin Yan punched Lei Tong through his defenses and told him he had once killed a Grandmaster, leaving Lei Tong stunned.

Qin Yan learned of the deep-mountain base’s growth and Cat Lord’s strength before leading the Red Shadow Army to seize Chiyu County. The county fell quickly, opening the way into Pengzhou as Qin Yan’s forces continued their advance.

• Qin Yan learned from Qin Xiaoyi that natural Qi at the deep-mountain base had grown denser, young Shanxiao had nearly reached adult size, and Cat Lord had become as strong as an innate martial artist.
• Ye Yingshan received orders to lead his nearly seventy thousand troops south and intercept Taiping Army reinforcements while the Dingyuan Marquis attacked Lang Futian at Yuli City.
• Qin Yan led three thousand Red Shadow Army cavalry toward Chiyu County, the gateway to northwestern Pengzhou.
• Qin Yan used the Ink Sun Bow to shatter Chiyu’s gate and breach its walls, allowing the Red Shadow Army to storm the county town.
• Lei Tong charged through the Taiping Army’s defenses, while Qin Yan killed an old swordsman and the general he guarded with two arrows.
• The Taiping Army collapsed, and Chiyu County returned to Great Li rule.

Qin Yan’s Red Shadow Army swept through two county seats and raced toward Changxin, using its speed and his Condensed Sha Arrows to break through defenses. After restoring his exhausted troops, Qin Yan launched a sudden assault on Changxin and charged through its gate with Lei Tong.

• Zhang Xin counted the spoils at Chiyu, where the army seized about 110,000 taels of silver and gold, supplies, and 250,000 shi of grain, while Qin Yan healed the wounded soldiers.
• After Ye Yingshan’s troops arrived to hold Chiyu, Qin Yan led the Red Shadow Army onward and recaptured two cities in one day.
• Qin Yan pushed toward Changxin without waiting for Ye Yingshan, who sent Shi Xiong and Feng Yi with 5,000 cavalry to support him.
• After a forced march, Qin Yan reached a point thirty li from Changxin, found only 3,400 defenders inside, and restored his soldiers’ and horses’ stamina with Magnetic Field Healing.
• Qin Yan bombarded Changxin’s gate tower with Condensed Sha Arrows, then seized Lei Tong and charged through the city gate.

Qin Yan and Lei Tong led the Red Shadow Army in a surprise attack that retook Changxin City, then secured the city and welcomed Shi Xiong and Feng Yi. The news left Lang Futian isolated and forced Hong Sheng to consider sending troops back to defend Pengzhou.

• Qin Yan and Lei Tong held Changxin's gates while Han Cui and the Red Shadow Army charged into the city and routed the Taiping Army.
• Qin Yan ordered repairs to Changxin's gates and walls and instructed Han Chen to reassure the residents as the army cleared the streets and gathered the dead for cremation.
• Shi Xiong and Feng Yi arrived with their troops, and Qin Yan welcomed them as they prepared to wait for Ye Yingshan's main force.
• Ye Yingshan celebrated Changxin's capture and ordered ten thousand infantrymen to reinforce the city.
• Lang Futian learned that Changxin had fallen and realized his forces were isolated, while Hong Sheng received the report and faced the need to send troops back toward Pengzhou.

Qin Yan decided to seize Xifeng before Taiping Army reinforcements arrived, then use the Red Shadow Army’s mobility to disrupt their supplies. His seven thousand cavalry captured the county with little resistance, leaving the Taiping Army’s next force of fifteen thousand without its stronghold.

• Qin Yan received Ye Yingshan’s order to hold Changxin for two months and proposed attacking Xifeng before its reinforcements arrived.
• Qin Yan persuaded Shi Xiong and Feng Yi to join the attack and told them to evacuate the people within a hundred li after Xifeng fell.
• Qin Yan led seven thousand cavalry toward Xifeng, while one thousand men remained to defend Changxin.
• Qin Yan blasted open Xifeng’s gate with his Ink Sun Bow and killed the Taiping Army’s general and skilled fighters from a distance.
• Lei Tong, Shi Xiong, and Feng Yi led the cavalry through the city as Qin Yan suppressed resistance, and the Great Li army wiped out the Xifeng garrison.

Qin Yan led the Red Shadow Army deep into Taiping Army territory to destroy its supplies, using his storage ability and keen perception to evade enemies and strike a major grain depot. After killing the depot’s guards and taking its provisions, he ordered the rest burned, leaving the Taiping Army facing a severe supply crisis.

• Qin Yan absorbed Xifeng County’s grain, evacuated its people, and burned the county seat before asking his three thousand armored cavalry to ride behind enemy lines with him.
• Qin Yan’s Red Shadow Army evaded Taiping Army forces and located a hidden grain camp guarded by Daoist Mingxu and other powerful fighters.
• Qin Yan shot Daoist Mingxu’s fleeing soul with the Ink Sun Bow, then destroyed the camp’s palisade and killed its defenders, including Wang Zhao.
• Zhang Xin reported that the camp held at least 2.1 million shi of provisions, and Qin Yan stored as much grain as the Cloud Luo Pearl could hold.
• Qin Yan ordered the remaining supplies burned, and the Hong Heavenly King nearly fainted with rage when he received the news.

After Qin Yan destroyed the Taiping Army’s grain stores, the Great Li commanders prepared to exploit the starving enemy at Xifeng while their other forces pressed the siege of Yuli. With Qin Yan’s cavalry back in Changxin, Huang Doufu decided to abandon Xifeng and flee with his trusted aides.

• Hong Sheng ordered his forces to seize grain from the people and powerful clans after the fire destroyed more than two million shi of provisions.
• Ye Yingshan halted the siege and ordered his army toward Changxin to take advantage of the Taiping Army’s supply crisis.
• Leng Qing continued the assault on Yuli, while Lang Futian relied on the city’s ample provisions to hold out.
• Qin Yan returned to Changxin, reported that the Taiping Army at Xifeng was nearly out of grain, and ordered an attack in three days.
• Huang Doufu learned that Qin Yan’s Red Shadow Army had returned, announced a retreat from Xifeng, and told his trusted aides he intended to flee.

Qin Yan caught the Taiping Army fleeing after Huang Doufu and the other officers abandoned their troops, then accepted the surrender of twelve thousand soldiers. At the prisoner camp, Qin Yan offered reduced punishments to prisoners who identified rebel officers and criminals, and the first accusation ended with Wang Qingliang being killed.

• Qin Yan learned that Huang Doufu's Taiping Army was retreating and led eight thousand men to pursue them.
• The abandoned Taiping soldiers panicked when Qin Yan's Red Shadow Army caught up, and more than twelve thousand surrendered after Qin Yan promised to spare those who laid down their arms.
• Qin Yan ordered the surrendered soldiers disarmed and guarded separately, then decided that rebel leaders should be executed to prevent future uprisings.
• Qin Yan offered prisoners reduced punishments and rewards for identifying officers and criminals among them.
• Chen Cai identified Wang Qingliang as a Taiping commander who had abused and killed women, and Qin Yan's men killed Wang when he lunged at Chen.

Qin Yan used promises of freedom and silver to make Taiping Army captives betray their comrades, then ordered the identified officers and criminals killed. Two days later, Ye Yingshan arrived and explained that the Taiping Army had concentrated its forces to defend Pengzhou, while the Great Li Dynasty had also deployed hidden reserves.

• After Qin Yan killed Wang Liangqing, Chen Cai pledged himself to Qin Yan and was released with silver for the journey home.
• Gao Daniu reported seven Taiping Army officers and collected his reward, prompting other captives to expose their comrades’ crimes and ranks.
• Qin Yan ordered the reported officers and criminals killed, and Han Cui led the execution while the Zheshen Ghost devoured the Vengeful Ghosts from their burning corpses.
• Two days later, Ye Yingshan arrived and praised Qin Yan for capturing more than ten thousand Taiping Army soldiers without a fight.
• Ye Yingshan told Qin Yan that the Taiping Army had rushed to defend Pengzhou with more than a hundred thousand men, and Qin Yan sensed powerful forces from the Great Li Dynasty’s Attendant Hall.

The Taiping Army gathered nearly 150,000 soldiers and marched on Changxin, where Qin Yan and the Great Li forces prepared to defend the city. Before dawn, Ba Wei shattered the city gate, and a fierce battle began inside Changxin.

• The Taiping Army's numbers grew to over 120,000, with more soldiers on the way, prompting Qin Yan and Ye Yingshan to prepare for a major assault on Changxin.
• Chen Shizhong praised Qin Yan and asked whether Qin Yan's senior would join the battle, but Qin Yan explained that the elder would not act unless a Supreme Grandmaster made a move.
• Hong Sheng ordered the march to continue, and Mu Old Ghost used a secret technique to drive the Taiping soldiers into an unnatural state of strength and excitement.
• Before dawn, Ba Wei attacked and blasted open Changxin's city gate while the Taiping Army brought siege equipment to the walls.
• Chen Shizhong confronted Hong Sheng as six formidable presences began fighting inside the city, and Great Li's troops suffered heavy casualties at the breached gate.

Qin Yan defended Changxin from the Taiping Army, killing its martial artists with his arrows and turning the tide of the battle. After slaying two Grandmasters in succession, he left the Taiping Army's experts shaken and Great Li's forces greatly encouraged.

• Qin Yan killed an Innate Martial Artist attacking Great Li's soldiers and blasted open a gap in the city gate with a blood-red arrow.
• Two Taiping Army Grandmasters charged Qin Yan, while Hong Sheng ordered that Qin Yan be killed.
• Qin Yan shot one Grandmaster to pieces before Shen Wei tried to approach him under cover of the buildings.
• Qin Yan battered Shen Wei's treasured armor with repeated arrows and then killed him with Four Stars Linked Beads.
• Qin Yan's successive Grandmaster kills lifted Great Li's morale and frightened the Taiping Army's martial world experts.

Qin Yan’s archery decimated the Taiping Army’s experts, prompting Hong Heavenly King to reveal his hidden strength and send Mu Old Ghost after him. Qin Yan lured Mu Old Ghost away from the city and killed him, while Hong Heavenly King continued fighting Chen Shizhong and Azure Register High Person.

• Qin Yan’s arrows killed Taiping Army martial artists at a devastating rate, and Hong Heavenly King ordered Mu Old Ghost to kill him.
• Hong Heavenly King unleashed Ten Thousand Abysses Return to the Sea, trapping Chen Shizhong and Azure Register High Person and revealing his overwhelming strength.
• Qin Yan fled beyond the city walls with Mu Old Ghost pursuing him, while Hong Heavenly King struck Chen Shizhong and left Azure Register High Person’s fate uncertain.
• Chen Shizhong took a pill that burned his potential and resumed fighting Hong Heavenly King despite his grave injuries.
• Qin Yan stopped in the forest, resisted Mu Old Ghost’s pressure, and killed him with a punch before seizing his illusory figure.

Qin Yan killed Mu Old Ghost and used his full strength to fire an arrow at Hong Sheng after Chen Shizhong was defeated. The shot badly wounded Hong Sheng and forced him to retreat, leaving the battle for Changxin City in turmoil.

• Qin Yan crushed Mu Old Ghost's soul, and Zheshen Ghost absorbed it before retreating to the Cloud Luo Pearl to sleep and advance.
• Qin Yan watched Hong Sheng defeat Chen Shizhong and judged that the Great Li Army was close to losing Changxin City.
• Qin Yan drew the Ink Sun Bow, gathered his full strength, and fired a blood-red arrow at Hong Sheng from afar.
• Hong Sheng was gravely wounded by Qin Yan's arrow and fled, while both armies were stunned by the mysterious intervention.
• Zuo Qingwen realized that the Taiping Army faced an unprecedented defeat if it failed to capture Changxin City.

Qin Yan returned to Changxin and killed Taiping Army commanders with precise arrows, turning the battle in Great Li’s favor. As Taiping leaders fled and their exhausted soldiers collapsed at dawn, the army’s defeat became imminent.

• Qin Yan reflected that his attempt to kill Hong Sheng had weakened both the Taiping Army and the Great Li imperial family, while supernatural threats kept the Demon-Suppressing Bureau’s strongest fighters occupied.
• Qin Yan returned to Changxin, where Azure Register High Person held the Great Li Army’s line against the Taiping Army.
• Qin Yan killed a senior Taiping general with an arrow, and Zuo Qingwen realized Mu Old Ghost had likely died and that an exceptionally powerful figure backed Qin Yan.
• Qin Yan picked off Taiping Army commanders, causing their forces to lose leadership and allowing Great Li’s senior generals to organize a counterattack.
• A bearded Taiping general and other commanders fled the battlefield, while Zuo Qingwen failed to stop them.
• At dawn, the Taiping Army’s soldiers lost their strength and collapsed as their frenzy wore off.

After the costly victory at Changxin City, Qin Yan healed the wounded and discussed the aftermath with Ye Yingshan, who warned that Qin Yan’s extraordinary achievements and youth could alarm the emperor. Qin Yan accepted that further military merit might bring more trouble than reward and turned his thoughts to the Taiping Army’s hoarded wealth.

• The Great Li Army dug Chen Shizhong from the ruins, and Azure Register High Person and Ruthless Sword Xiao Qi stabilized his grave injuries.
• Qin Yan returned safely, learned that the Great Li Army had won at terrible cost, and used Magnetic Field Healing to treat the wounded Red Shadow Army soldiers.
• Ye Yingshan asked Qin Yan to help guard nearly eighty-five thousand Taiping Army prisoners and said Ba Wei had escaped with remnants of the defeated forces.
• Qin Yan proposed attacking Lin Yang Prefecture, but Ye Yingshan warned that their existing accomplishments were already great enough to make the emperor wary, especially of Qin Yan’s talent and youth.
• Qin Yan thanked Ye Yingshan for his advice and decided to seek profit from the gold, silver, and treasures the Taiping Army had collected.

After the imperial army defeated the Taiping Army’s main force, Qin Yan infiltrated Wanghai City and plundered the homes of Hong Sheng and other Taiping generals. A rumor credited him with stealing 100 million taels, and he headed for Lizhou to seek another fortune.

• The Hongjia Emperor celebrated Ye Yingshan and Qin Yan’s victory but pressed the Demon-Suppressing Bureau for news of its immortality research.
• Leng Qing intensified his assault on Yuli City, forcing Lang Futian to hold out and wait for Hong Sheng’s rescue.
• Qin Yan traveled to Wanghai City and used his concealment and strength to raid the Hong Residence’s seven treasure vaults.
• Qin Yan plundered the mansions of Taiping Army leaders overnight, taking more than thirty million taels’ worth of wealth along with medicines and manuals.
• News blamed a mysterious God of Thieves for stealing 100 million taels from Wanghai City, leaving Qin Yan bewildered at the inflated figure.
• Qin Yan decided to go to Lizhou, where he expected the Taiping Army’s plundered wealth to remain.

As the Taiping Army collapsed across Lizhou, Qin Yan pursued its remnants and tested the newly advanced Zheshen Ghost, who slaughtered a looting force. Qin Yan then found the wounded Hong Sheng and Ba Wei and attacked the experts in their tent, leaving Hong Sheng to recognize his presence.

• Ye Yingshan led thirty thousand troops to reclaim territory as clans across Lizhou rebelled against the weakened Taiping Army.
• Qin Yan ordered Han Chen to guard the prisoner camp, then went to Lizhou and found Ba Long's men hauling away treasure.
• The Zheshen Ghost awakened at Red Sha Level and killed Ba Long and more than a hundred soldiers, then devoured their souls and vital blood.
• Qin Yan collected fifteen chests of treasure worth at least 270,000 taels of silver and continued searching Lizhou.
• Qin Yan found the wounded Hong Sheng and Ba Wei at Phoenix Perch Mountain and killed more than a dozen experts in their tent.
• Hong Sheng recognized Qin Yan's familiar presence as the attack began.