Chapter Summaries

After killing Qiao Laosan, Qin Yan trained through the night to advance his Ape Strike Staff Technique and then met Azure Blade Gang leader Li Wenqing. Li accepted him as a gang disciple and gave him his father’s trading position, while deciding to observe him before taking him as a personal disciple.

• Qin Yan considered dealing with the surviving Qiao family members and began practicing the Ape Strike Staff Technique, reaching Entry Level after training all night.
• Qin Yan practiced the Basic Body-Tempering Technique, then Chen Hui arrived with word that the gang leader wanted to meet him.
• Qin Yan traveled with Chen Hui to Qinghe Town, learned to ride on the way, and acquired the Riding skill.
• Li Wenqing examined Qin Yan, accepted him as a formal disciple of the Azure Blade Gang, and assigned him his father’s trading position.
• Chen Hui asked why Li Wenqing had not taken Qin Yan as a personal disciple, and Li Wenqing said he wanted to observe him first.

Qin Yan arranged for Zhao Yang and Seventh Uncle Qin to help with the Azure Blade Gang’s mountain-produce business, then defended Song Bao when thugs confronted him over a stolen Coiling Tiger Staff. The chapter ended with Song Bao beating the men on Qin Yan’s orders while the villagers watched.

• Di Feng approached Qin Yan with information and an offer to make him rich, but Qin Yan rejected him and walked away.
• Qin Yan asked the old village chief to have Zhao Yang help with the mountain-produce business, promising him fifteen percent of the proceeds, and made the same offer to Seventh Uncle Qin.
• Qin Zhao resented Qin Yan’s decision, while Zhao He regretted how she had treated him and Qin Qing accepted that Third Brother still hated them.
• Qin Yan found Song Bao fighting Gao Gouzi over the Coiling Tiger Staff, which Gao Gouzi had stolen from Qin Yan.
• Shi Xiaodao and another thug joined the fight, but Qin Yan slapped Shi Xiaodao and ordered Song Bao to beat the two men.

Qin Yan accepted eleven village youths as followers and began clearing a training ground with them, using the work to train his body and develop his boxing. After three days, his strength had grown so formidable that he uprooted a tree stump while his followers watched in awe.

• Qin Yan raised his Basic Body-Tempering Technique to Entry Level and wondered why his skin showed no obvious transformation.
• Song Bao brought eleven youths who wanted to follow Qin Yan, and Qin Yan agreed to train them as long as they called him boss and remained loyal.
• Qin Yan began clearing trees for a training ground by punching a thick tree until it fell, and he comprehended Beginner Level Boxing.
• Over the next three days, Qin Yan trained by smashing down trees while feeding and allowing his exhausted followers time to rest.
• Qin Yan continued to grow stronger, then pulled a tree stump from the ground by its roots as his followers watched in amazement.

Qin Yan’s growing strength and fearsome reputation helped protect his group as they transported goods through the flood-stricken countryside to Qinghe Town. After they entered town, they saw soaring grain prices and Qin Yan recognized Zhang Dangxing, one of his father’s killers.

• Qin Yan continued training as his strength and boxing proficiency increased, while floods left villagers struggling to find food and work.
• Qin Yan refused to let disaster victims use moral pressure to lower his buying prices and fought off thugs who tried to cause trouble.
• Qin Yan protected Seventh Uncle and Qin Zhaoyang from a crowd of refugees by lifting their spokesman by the throat and threatening the crowd.
• Seventh Uncle paid the garrison soldiers’ entry fees, and the group entered Qinghe Town, where grain prices had risen sharply.
• Qin Yan saw Zhang Dangxing, the shopkeeper of Qingfu Leather Goods Shop and one of his father’s killers.

Qin Yan sold his mountain goods to Zhang Dangxing, who was relieved that Qin Yan seemed unaware of his role in Qin Zhaolin’s death. After the sale, Li Wenqing summoned Qin Yan and personally taught him the Six Harmonies Saber, leaving the gang members stunned when Qin Yan mastered and performed it after watching once.

• Zhang Dangxing bought Qin Yan’s pelts, game, and herbs for five taels of silver and 143 copper coins, then privately concluded that Qin Yan did not know about his part in Qin Zhaolin’s death.
• Qin Yan, Seventh Uncle, and Qin Zhaoyang discussed using their earnings to buy grain, and an Azure Blade Gang member summoned Qin Yan at Li Wenqing’s request.
• Qin Yan arrived at Qingfu Gambling House and watched Li Wenqing demonstrate his saber technique to the gang members.
• Li Wenqing offered to teach Qin Yan the Six Harmonies Saber, and Qin Yan accepted as the onlookers wondered whether he would become Li Wenqing’s sixth personal disciple.
• After watching Li Wenqing demonstrate the technique once, Qin Yan said he had remembered it and performed the moves smoothly, astonishing everyone present.

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.