Chapter Summaries

After transmigrating into the war-torn Great Jin Dynasty, Zhou Shan woke from a fatal injury and discovered that his new body belonged to a novice of the Iron Shirt Sect. He gained the Nine Breaths Assimilation talent, which automatically cultivated as he breathed, and felt Internal Force form within him.

• Zhou Shan woke after nearly being buried alive and was carried to a wooden hut by two men in gray.
• Zhou Shan absorbed the original owner's memories and learned that marauders had slaughtered his village, while he had joined the Iron Shirt Sect and been sent to guard West Ridge Iron Mine.
• Zhou Shan learned that the original owner had died from a shattered heart meridian during the thieves' attack on the mine.
• Zhou Shan received a transparent panel showing his Nine Breaths Assimilation talent and his uninitiated Eagle Claw Iron Shirt technique.
• Zhou Shan discovered that the talent absorbed vital energy with every breath and felt it refine into Internal Force.

After surviving the attack on West Ridge Iron Mine, Zhou Shan used his Nine Breaths Assimilation talent to rapidly advance his Eagle Claw Iron Shirt cultivation while learning that miners had been ordered to work. By noon the next day, he had reached a year of cultivation, but Zhang Hu blocked him and Huang Yun at the mine entrance and demanded their ore.

• Zhou Shan discovered that Nine Breaths Assimilation let him cultivate Eagle Claw Iron Shirt at extraordinary speed.
• Huang Yun told Zhou Shan that the mine attack had killed many miners and that the Black Armored Army had ordered survivors from several factions to mine ore.
• After Huang Yun left, Zhou Shan saw that he had gained four days of cultivation in just over ten minutes.
• The next day, Zhou Shan mined ore and found that his strength and physique were steadily improving.
• At noon, Zhou Shan checked his panel and saw that Eagle Claw Iron Shirt had reached one year of cultivation.
• Zhang Hu and his men blocked Zhou Shan and Huang Yun at the mine entrance and demanded the ore they had mined.

Zhou Shan faced down Zhang Hu and his three lackeys at West Ridge Iron Mine, then defeated them in the mine tunnel with his Eagle Claw Iron Shirt skills. He left Zhang Hu kneeling after beating him, while the conflict between them remained unresolved.

• Zhang Hu and his lackeys demanded Zhou Shan's ore, but Black Armored Guards stopped them from fighting outside the mine tunnel.
• Zhou Shan and Huang Yun ate with the miners, then returned to work; the next day Zhang Hu's group chose their tunnel to confront them.
• Zhou Shan said he would not mine while four free laborers were available, prompting Zhang Hu to order his lackeys to attack.
• Zhou Shan quickly incapacitated two lackeys and knocked a third unconscious against the tunnel wall.
• Zhang Hu fought Zhou Shan with Eagle Claw, but Zhou Shan injured his wrist, kicked his legs out from under him, and beat him while he knelt.

Zhou Shan defeated Zhang Hu and forced him and his lackeys to mine while he cultivated at West Ridge Iron Mine. Ten days after arriving in this world, Zhou Shan had reached ten years of Eagle Claw Iron Shirt cultivation and qualified to join the Black Armored Army, but he chose not to apply yet.

• Zhou Shan beat Zhang Hu, explained his strength as the result of being born with divine strength, and ordered Zhang Hu and his lackeys to finish the mining quota.
• Zhou Shan let Huang Yun rest while he cultivated, and Huang Yun praised his ability to cultivate for four hours.
• Zhou Shan told Huang Yun that he wanted only enough strength to protect himself in the troubled times, and Huang Yun spoke of the danger posed by bandits.
• Ten days after arriving in this world, Zhou Shan reached ten years of Eagle Claw Iron Shirt cultivation, grew stronger, and decided not to apply to join the Black Armored Army yet.

After the mining assignment ended, Zhou Shan received a Qi Boosting Pill and reached thirty years of cultivation in Eagle Claw Iron Shirt, becoming a second-class martial artist. When Zhao Gang tried to command him on patrol, Zhou Shan challenged his authority and defeated him, leaving Zhao Gang with a broken wrist and sending him flying.

• Zhou Shan finished the mining assignment while Zhang Hu and three others completed his quota, then received a Qi Boosting Pill with the other martial artists.
• Zhou Shan checked his stats and found that Eagle Claw Iron Shirt had reached thirty years of cultivation and gained the Solid as a Rock trait.
• Zhao Gang appointed himself squad leader and ordered Zhou Shan and others to patrol, but Zhou Shan refused to obey him.
• Zhao Gang's lackey attacked Zhou Shan and was slapped aside, then Zhao Gang challenged Zhou Shan himself.
• Zhou Shan broke Zhao Gang's wrist with Eagle Claw and kicked him several meters away.

After defeating Zhao Gang and becoming a squad captain, Zhou Shan reached the limit of Eagle Claw Iron Shirt and sought a stronger martial art to support his growing Internal Force. He applied to join the Black Armored Army at West Ridge Iron Mine, where Wang Ping questioned his claims of exceptional strength and cultivation.

• Zhou Shan defeated Zhao Gang, took command of his squad, and assigned Zhao Gang and his followers to patrol.
• A month later, Zhou Shan’s Eagle Claw Iron Shirt reached Perfection after sixty years of cultivation, granting him Bronze Skin Iron Bones and Pierce Stone Through Metal.
• Zhou Shan realized Eagle Claw Iron Shirt could no longer strengthen his body enough to contain more Internal Force, so he decided to seek a supreme martial art from the Guiyuan Sect.
• Zhou Shan asked Centurion Wang Ping to let him join the Black Armored Army, and Wang Ping warned him that applicants needed at least ten years of cultivation.
• Zhou Shan claimed he had possessed Innate Divine Strength since childhood, and Wang Ping listened as he explained that the Iron Shirt Sect had never tested him before sending him to the mine.
• Wang Ping suspected the local forces had sent unqualified disciples to West Ridge Iron Mine and noted that some remained secretly connected to the Vajra Sect’s remnants.

Zhou Shan tested his cultivation before Commandant Chen Tianhu and used the result to join the Black Armored Army as a Centurion. He asked for a stronger martial art, and Chen assigned him an escort mission to the prefectural city, where he could seek the Commander-in-Chief’s approval.

• Wang Ping brought Zhou Shan to Chen Tianhu, who used a Cultivation Power Stone to test Zhou Shan’s cultivation.
• Zhou Shan revealed thirty years of cultivation and was appointed a Centurion of the Black Armored Army.
• Zhou Shan asked Chen Tianhu for a higher-level martial art, and Chen offered him an escort mission to the prefectural city to deliver a letter to the Commander-in-Chief.
• Zhou Shan accepted the mission, which was set to depart the next day.
• Wang Ping congratulated Zhou Shan and offered to take him to his new residence and help him collect his Centurion’s equipment.

Zhou Shan joined the Black Armored Army as a Centurion and escorted military supplies from the West Ridge Iron Mine. Blood Fiend Sect Helmsman Yang Yunshan gathered bandits and Blood Flame Army soldiers to ambush the convoy, and the chapter ended as the attackers launched their arrows.

• The Black Armored Army sent Zhou Shan and six hundred other guards and martial artists to escort military supplies toward the commandery city.
• Huang Yun was astonished by Zhou Shan's promotion, while Zhao Gang and his companions feared that Zhou Shan might punish them.
• Scouts spotted the convoy leaving the West Ridge Iron Mine and reported its departure to the Blood Fiend Sect.
• Yang Yunshan ordered the Thirteen Villages of Hengyun and a hundred Blood Flame Army soldiers to gather for an ambush.
• The convoy traveled slowly through the Horizontal Cloud Mountain Range and entered a dense forest, where Yang Yunshan ordered the bandits to loose their arrows.

An ambush by the Blood Fiend Sect and the Thirteen Villages of Hengyun threw the escort into a chaotic melee. Zhou Shan killed more than twenty bandits before facing the Great Chieftain of Savage Bull Village, whose powerful axe strike he easily dodged.

• The Blood Fiend Sect and the Thirteen Villages of Hengyun ambushed the escort with a rain of arrows, killing dozens of martial artists.
• Li Wentao ordered the escort to form a shield wall, then sent the Black Armored Guard into the woods to attack.
• Thousands of bandits charged from the forest, and the escort's martial artists became entangled in a chaotic battle.
• Zhou Shan killed two bandits with his bare hands, donned iron gauntlets, and slew more than twenty others.
• The Great Chieftain of Savage Bull Village charged Zhou Shan with twin axes, but Zhou Shan dodged the attack with ease.

Zhou Shan killed the Great Chieftain of Savage Bull Village and then intervened to help the injured Wang Ping, defeating the Great Chieftain of Golden Saber Stronghold. As Zhou Shan turned to face another attacker, the battle remained unresolved.

• Zhou Shan killed the Great Chieftain of Savage Bull Village with a strike to the throat, frightening the nearby bandits.
• Zhou Shan saw Li Wentao holding off four First-class Martial Artists and chose to help Wang Ping, who was being attacked by two second-class martial artists.
• Wang Ping warned Zhou Shan that one attacker was a Blood Fiend Sect disciple skilled in the Heart Shattering Palm, then retreated after being struck.
• The Great Chieftain of Golden Saber Stronghold charged Zhou Shan, but Zhou Shan caught and snapped his saber before killing him with a broken blade.
• Zhou Shan sensed a fierce attack from behind and turned to counter it with a palm strike.

Zhou Shan killed a Blood Fiend Sect disciple as Black Armored Army reinforcements revealed they had lured the bandits into a trap and defeated them. The convoy continued toward Qingyang Commandery, with more than a thousand li still to travel after Hengshan County.

• Zhou Shan defeated and killed the Blood Fiend Sect disciple with a palm strike and a stomp.
• Several hundred Black Armored Army soldiers joined the battle, and Captain Li Wentao revealed that the army had lured the bandits down from their strongholds.
• Yang Yuntian ordered the bandits to split up and flee, but Li Wentao and three captains pursued and killed him and the three First-class Martial Artists.
• Zhou Shan checked on the wounded Wang Ping, then helped clear the battlefield while the soldiers buried the dead.
• Li Wentao ordered the convoy onward, and it reached Hengshan County before continuing its journey toward Qingyang Commandery the next day.

After reaching Qingyang City, Zhou Shan delivered Commandant Chen Tianhu’s letter to Fang Yuan, the Black Armored Army’s Commander. Fang Yuan offered Zhou Shan an advanced cultivation technique in exchange for handling a matter, leaving Zhou Shan to decide whether he could earn it.

• Zhou Shan and the Black Armored Guards arrived in Qingyang City and entered without inspection after showing their military identities.
• Captain Li Wentao dismissed the soldiers after they stored the escorted supplies and took Zhou Shan to the Commander's residence.
• Zhou Shan waited until Fang Yuan was free, then met the Commander in his study.
• Fang Yuan read Chen Tianhu’s letter and offered Zhou Shan a top-tier cultivation technique if he handled a matter successfully.

Fang Yuan sent Zhou Shan to challenge Yi Shaofeng, the young manor lord of Heavenly Sword Manor, who had been using an arena to pressure the Black Armored Army. Zhou Shan reached the arena as Yi Shaofeng defeated Song Qingfeng, leaving the challenge unresolved.

• Fang Yuan ordered Zhou Shan to defeat the arena master without revealing his identity.
• Zhou Shan learned that Yi Shaofeng had challenged young martial artists to raise Heavenly Sword Manor's prestige after negotiations over military equipment failed.
• Zhou Shan arrived at the eastern district arena and heard spectators discuss Yi Shaofeng's talent and undefeated record.
• Song Qingfeng challenged Yi Shaofeng and attacked with the Shadowless Saber Technique.
• Yi Shaofeng read Song Qingfeng's repeated moves, shattered his saber with Turbulent Waves, and held his sword to Song Qingfeng's throat.
• Song Qingfeng admitted defeat and left the arena.

Zhou Shan challenged Yi Shaofeng and defeated him by withstanding his sword attacks, shattering his blade, and holding an eagle claw to his throat. After Yi Shaofeng admitted defeat and agreed to take down the arena, Zhou Shan left before the watching martial artists could approach him.

• Zhou Shan stepped into the arena and told Yi Shaofeng to attack first, explaining that he came from a county beneath Qingyang Commandery.
• Yi Shaofeng attacked with the Thirteen Life-Taking Swords, but Zhou Shan's Bronze Skin Iron Bones prevented the strikes from injuring him.
• Zhou Shan seized Yi Shaofeng's sword with his eagle claw and shattered it with his inner power.
• Zhou Shan placed his eagle claw against Yi Shaofeng's throat, and Yi Shaofeng admitted defeat after the elder confirmed Zhou Shan was under sixteen.
• Zhou Shan told Yi Shaofeng to take down the arena, then slipped away through the crowd as martial artists praised him and sought to approach him.

After defeating Yi Shaofeng, Zhou Shan received the Golden Bell Shield manual from Fang Yuan and began cultivating it in the commandery city's military camp. He converted his stored Internal Force into the new technique and continued training with his Nine Breaths Assimilation talent.

• Yi Shaofeng recovered from his defeat and resolved to focus on cultivating the Heavenly Heart Sword Canon.
• Zhou Shan returned to the Commander's Residence, where Fang Yuan gave him the Golden Bell Shield manual and ordered him to remain in the commandery city's military camp for two months.
• Fang Yuan explained the Golden Bell Shield's origins and cultivation limits, including the lost Indestructible Vajra Skill.
• Zhou Shan studied the manual, learned its descriptions of martial cultivation realms, and began practicing the Golden Bell Shield.
• Zhou Shan converted his twelve years of Internal Force into Golden Bell Shield cultivation, then continued absorbing primordial energy through Nine Breaths Assimilation.

Zhou Shan reached Superclass Martial Artist strength after two months of cultivation and was summoned by Commander Wu to join a bandit suppression effort. He agreed to compete for a Battalion Commander position, and the selection began on the First Battalion’s training grounds.

• Zhou Shan’s Golden Bell Shield reached seventy-two years of cultivation, granting him Poison Resistance, Rebounding Force, and Internal Force Body Protection.
• Commander Wu told Zhou Shan that General Fang Yuan had selected him to help establish a Bandit Suppression Squad to clear bandits from Qingyang Commandery.
• Commander Wu explained that Zhou Shan needed a Battalion Commander’s authority to lead two hundred soldiers and invited him to compete in the next day’s selection.
• Zhou Shan arrived at the First Battalion training grounds with the other candidates as two thousand Black Armored Guards gathered to watch.
• Commander Wu and the First Battalion’s four Commandants took their places on the viewing platform.

Zhou Shan entered the Black Armored Army captain selection and won his first match with a single move, revealing himself as the youth who had defeated Yi Shaofeng. After advancing to the next round, he faced peak First-class Martial Artist Lin Chong, and Commander Wu predicted Zhou Shan would win.

• Commander Wu explained the selection for five vacant First Battalion captain positions, and Zhou Shan drew number one.
• Zhou Shan seized Liu Chi's cleaver and knocked him off the arena without injuring him, winning their match in one move.
• The participants recognized Zhou Shan as the martial artist who had defeated Yi Shaofeng, and the first round left twenty contestants.
• Zhou Shan drew number five in the next round and entered the arena to face Lin Chong, a peak First-class Martial Artist.
• The commandants debated the likely winner, while Commander Wu backed Zhou Shan because he knew Zhou Shan had also cultivated the Golden Bell Shield.

Zhou Shan defeated Lin Chong and secured a captaincy in the Black Armored Army. After the selection concluded, Commander Wu appointed Zhou Shan and four other winners as captains, while other willing martial artists became centurions.

• Zhou Shan defeated Lin Chong by using the Golden Bell Shield's recoil force to overpower him and force him to concede.
• The martial artists discussed how the realm's troubled times were bringing down established powers such as the Vajra Sect.
• Zhou Shan's third-round opponent conceded without fighting after learning that Lin Chong had lost to him.
• Commander Wu appointed Zhou Shan as a captain under the First Commandant of the First Battalion, commanding two hundred soldiers.
• Commander Wu appointed Luo Mingqing and three other winners as captains, and appointed other willing martial artists as centurions.

Zhou Shan led two hundred Black Armored Army soldiers to Ye County to suppress horse bandits and uncover their collaborators. After eliminating bandit groups along the way, they found the horse bandits attacking the Zhang Family Merchant Team, and Zhou Shan ordered a charge as the bandits tried to flee.

• Commander Wu ordered Zhou Shan to capture the horse bandit leader alive if possible and investigate the force in Ye County colluding with the bandits.
• Zhou Shan assembled two hundred Black Armored Army soldiers and set out for Ye County on his Black Scale Horse.
• On the way, Zhou Shan ordered his soldiers to wipe out more than a dozen bands of bandits.
• After entering Ye County, Zhou Shan found horse bandits besieging the Zhang Family Merchant Team and ordered his troops to charge.
• Young Master Zhang and the horse bandit leader both recognized the arriving Black Armored Army, and the leader ordered a retreat while Zhang Family guards held the bandits in place.

Zhou Shan and the Black Armored Army crushed a band of horse bandits, and Zhou Shan captured their leader after defeating him in the forest. The leader revealed that the Iron Palm Gang of Ye County had poisoned and controlled the bandits to ambush merchant caravans, including those belonging to the county’s three great families.

• Zhou Shan led the Black Armored Army in a charge that killed or wounded half the horse bandits, while their leader fled into the forest.
• Zhou Shan chased the leader into the forest, shattered his saber, blocked his concealed arrows with Golden Bell Shield, and defeated him with a palm strike.
• Zhou Shan captured the wounded leader and questioned him about how the bandits knew the merchant caravans’ routes.
• The leader admitted that the Iron Palm Gang of Ye County supplied the information and had poisoned him into serving them.
• The leader explained that the Iron Palm Gang had disguised themselves as mountain bandits, taken control of his band, and used them to rob merchant caravans throughout Ye County.