Chapter Summaries

Song Changming reached the 36,000-day lifespan needed to resurrect once, giving him confidence to change his cautious way of life. After he and Li Fu'an reported a Qinghe Gang fight and were dismissed, Song returned to his family home in poor Baiyi Street and began considering his future.

• Song Changming saw that his lifespan had reached 36,002 days, enough to spend 36,000 days and resurrect after death.
• Song Changming grabbed Li Fu'an when they encountered a violent fight involving the Qinghe Gang, then decided they should report it rather than intervene.
• Song Changming and Li Fu'an reported the fight to Patrol Guard Headquarters, where a Patrol Captain dismissed the Night Watchmen and sent them home.
• Li Fu'an went home for hot wine while Song Changming walked to his family's house in Baiyi Street, avoiding the gang fight.
• Song Changming checked that his parents were asleep, placed his Side Saber beside his bed, and considered making plans once he saved more money.

Song Changming found martial arts parchments and a talking ring while searching corpses, but rejected the Old Man in the Ring’s offer because he trusted his own long Lifespan more than an unknown power. He threw the ring into the Luolong River, where a fish swallowed it.

• Song Changming and Li Fu'an searched gang corpses and hauled them to the Luolong River for disposal.
• Song Changming discovered two parchment sheets and a black ring hidden in a corpse’s trouser leg.
• The ring spoke to Song Changming, offered wealth, martial arts, and immortality, and asked him to bind himself to it with blood.
• Song Changming learned the parchments contained the Soul Severing Saber and the Great Strength Bull Demon Art, but refused the ring’s offer.
• Song Changming tossed the ring into the river, where a fish swallowed it.

Song Changming studied the martial arts parchment he had acquired and practiced the Soul Severing Saber after his panel granted him the positive status Focused and Dedicated. By the end of the night, his panel had recorded the saber art as not initiated, with progress at 0/100.

• Song Changming decided the Soul Severing Saber and Great Strength Bull Demon Art were worth studying, though the latter required costly food and medicine.
• Song Changming read the manuals and chose to try practicing the Soul Severing Saber with his Official Saber.
• Song Changming received the limited-time status Focused and Dedicated from his daily evaluation.
• Song Changming practiced with renewed concentration and began to understand the saber techniques.
• Song Changming's panel added Soul Severing Saber: Not Initiated (0/100) to his martial arts.

Song Changming diligently practiced the Soul Severing Saber and, with the help of his Heaven Rewards Diligence status, completed its initiation in roughly six days. He examined his attributes and concluded that his Root and Spirit had aided his progress, while his Hydrophobia remained a weakness he hoped to eliminate.

• Song Changming confirmed that his blade practice increased his Soul Severing Saber progress and continued training while working his night patrols.
• Over five days, Song Changming repeatedly earned the Heaven Rewards Diligence status, raising his saber progress to ninety-five points.
• Song Changming reflected on how his daily evaluations traded lifespan gains for diligence, and he managed his training without sacrificing sleep.
• After his patrol shift, Song Changming practiced for a little over an hour, filled the final five progress points, and initiated the Soul Severing Saber.
• Song Changming inspected his panel and considered how his Spirit, Root, and Hydrophobia attributes affected his abilities.

Song Changming continued focusing on the Soul Severing Saber while setting aside the Great Strength Bull Demon Art because he lacked the resources to train safely. As year's end approached, Father Song took him to the Zhao Family to offer gifts and strengthen their connection, but the family refused to receive them, and they returned home without seeing Song Yu.

• Song Changming abandoned his attempt to practice the Great Strength Bull Demon Art and continued training with the Soul Severing Saber.
• Father Song told Song Changming that they would visit Song Yu and thank Zhao Huaiming, hoping the Zhao Family might help Song Changming become a patrol guard.
• Song Changming questioned the visit, but Father Song insisted that they needed to show the Zhao Family sincerity.
• Father Song and Song Changming brought gifts to the Zhao Manor, where a gate servant refused to let them meet anyone and offered only to pass the gifts along.
• Father Song gave up on seeing Song Yu, and he and Song Changming returned home, where Father Song suggested they share the remaining wine.

Song Changming learned of his family’s painful past and his father’s hopes for his future, then advanced his Soul Severing Saber to the Proficient stage. He went out on patrol during the New Year, where a signal flare suddenly rose from a nearby alley.

• Father Song told Song Changming that Song Family Village had been looted and that his eldest and second sons had died in battle, leaving the family in decline.
• Father Song explained that he wanted Song Changming to become a patrol guard, marry, and continue the family line, and hoped to send him to a martial arts school.
• Song Changming continued training through the New Year celebrations and mastered the basics of Soul Severing Saber, reaching Proficient.
• Song Changming dressed for night patrol and warned his parents to lock the doors and windows amid the increased danger from bandits and displaced outsiders.
• While Song Changming and Li Fu'an were talking on patrol, a signal smoke flare rose from a nearby street alley.

Song Changming avoided a dangerous wanted-criminal hunt and spent more than half a year improving his saber arts until he reached Minor Accomplishment and gained Ghostly Saber Momentum. When Liang Chuanshan pursued Chen Beihu in Houli Street, Sun Wenyen learned the bandit had escaped wounded and set out to claim the arrest.

• Song Changming left with Li Fu'an instead of answering a reinforcement signal, then learned that more than a dozen patrol guards had died before the Director of Houli Street captured the wanted thief.
• Song Changming practiced his saber for more than half a year and advanced the Soul Severing Saber to Minor Accomplishment, gaining a trace of Ghostly Saber Momentum.
• Liang Chuanshan led patrol guards to arrest Chen Beihu at Fugui Restaurant but found the private room empty and pursued him into the street.
• Chen Beihu wounded a patrol guard and escaped, while Liang Chuanshan refused to release Signal Smoke because he wanted the merit for himself.
• Sun Wenyen heard that Chen Beihu had escaped wounded and ordered his patrol guards to go arrest him.

Song Changming ambushed and killed the wounded fugitive Chen Beihu on a busy street, seizing an opportunity to earn merit. After explaining that Chen Beihu was a wanted criminal, Song Changming waited for the Patrol Guard Headquarters to arrive.

• Chen Beihu changed clothes after escaping the Patrol Guard Team and headed toward the city gates through a crowded street.
• Song Changming recognized Chen Beihu, followed him, and attacked him as they passed one another.
• Chen Beihu fought back, but his wounds and Song Changming's Ghostly Saber Momentum left him unable to defend himself effectively.
• Song Changming pierced Chen Beihu's chest with his Soul Severing Saber, killing him.
• Song Changming told the onlookers that Chen Beihu was a wanted criminal, then waited with the corpse for the Patrol Captain.

Song Changming killed the wounded bandit leader Chen Beihu and gained the attention of two rival Patrol Captains. He chose to serve under Liang Chuanshan as an ordinary patrol guard rather than accept Sun Wenyen’s offer to become his deputy.

• Liang Chuanshan arrived and questioned Song Changming, who explained how he had killed Chen Beihu while trying to capture him.
• Liang Chuanshan recognized Song Changming’s martial skill and invited him to become a patrol guard under his command, and Song Changming accepted.
• Sun Wenyen arrived and offered Song Changming the position of deputy, provoking an argument with Liang Chuanshan.
• Song Changming declined Sun Wenyen’s offer, saying he had already given his word to Liang Chuanshan.
• Sun Wenyen left in anger, while Liang Chuanshan publicly promised to protect Song Changming at the Patrol Guard Headquarters.

Song Changming was promoted to patrolman after earning merit, bringing celebration and financial relief to his family. After reviewing his fight with Chen Beihu, he recognized his need for Body Refinement and decided to begin practicing the Great Strength Bull Demon Art despite its costs.

• Liang Chuanshan celebrated Song Changming's promotion and took him to the Patrol Guard Headquarters, where he was registered as a patrolman and issued uniforms, an identity token, and a new Official Saber.
• Song Changming told Father Song and Mother Song about his promotion, and Father Song rejoiced and agreed to stop seeking favor from the Zhao Family.
• Song Changming celebrated with his family, then practiced his saber and reviewed his battle with Chen Beihu, concluding that his physical strength was holding him back.
• Song Changming weighed the costs of Body Refinement and decided to begin practicing the Great Strength Bull Demon Art, while using Bone Tempering Powder less often and forgoing expensive supplements for now.

Song Changming began work as a patrol guard after Liang Chuanshan promoted him for killing Chen Beihu and demonstrating Minor Accomplishment saber mastery. Zhao Dezhi learned the reasons for the promotion and reconsidered Song Changming, whom he had previously dismissed.

• Song Changming reviewed his saber progress and planned a routine balancing focused practice with days of rest.
• Song Changming wore his patrol guard uniform and new saber to begin his first day on duty, while neighbors spread news of his promotion.
• Song Changming met Zhao Huaiming at the Patrol Guard Headquarters and asked him to tell Song Yu about the good news.
• Zhao Dezhi questioned Liang Chuanshan about promoting Song Changming because of the Zhao Family connection.
• Liang Chuanshan explained that Song Changming had killed Chen Beihu and reached Minor Accomplishment in saber mastery, leaving Zhao Dezhi surprised and reconsidering him.

Song Changming joined Lu Gang on a daytime patrol and learned how Patrol Guards handled routine duties and gang disputes. The chapter ended with Lu Gang explaining the Patrol Guard Headquarters’ compromises with the Qinghe Gang and the Nine Bends Society.

• Lu Gang took Song Changming on patrol and explained that ordinary days brought few chances to earn merit.
• At a restaurant, Lu Gang warned Song Changming not to provoke dangerous martial artists just because he wore an official uniform.
• A confrontation broke out between the Qinghe Gang and the Nine Bends Society, and Lu Gang intervened before Song Changming drew his saber.
• Bao Tou and Hu Xiao'er withdrew their groups after Lu Gang cautioned them about the consequences of fighting.
• Lu Gang told Song Changming that the gangs had bribed the Patrol Guard Headquarters, so officers generally avoided interfering in their disputes.

Song Changming began practicing the Great Strength Bull Demon Art and received the full reward for capturing Chen Beihu. Over the next ten days, he continued patrol work and cultivation, but the art remained uninitiated.

• Song Changming bought beef and began body tempering with the Great Strength Bull Demon Art, but exhaustion and hunger forced him to stop after three stances.
• Song Changming received a temporary Single-Minded Focus state after a somewhat meaningful day.
• Liang Chuanshan gave Song Changming the entire one-hundred-silver-coin reward for capturing Chen Beihu and said he would compensate the other patrol guards himself.
• Song Changming continued patrolling with Lu Gang and practiced saber techniques and body tempering at night for about ten days.
• Song Changming's Great Strength Bull Demon Art remained uninitiated at 0/100.

Song Changming received his annual evaluation and chose martial art experience as his reward, spending five hundred days of lifespan to advance the Great Strength Bull Demon Art. The sudden transformation left him exhausted on the floor, wondering at its intensity.

• Song Changming completed all thirteen stances of the Great Strength Bull Demon Art and saw it appear on his attribute panel.
• On the eve of turning nineteen, Song Changming received an annual evaluation praising his martial progress and promotion to patrol guard.
• Song Changming chose to spend five hundred days of lifespan for one hundred martial art experience instead of gaining lifespan or an Attribute Point.
• Song Changming invested all one hundred experience in the Great Strength Bull Demon Art, triggering a painful transformation that refined his body.
• Song Changming collapsed on the floor after the transformation and gasped, “So intense?”

Song Changming entered the Great Strength Bull Demon Art’s first stage and tested the strength it gave him, while weighing how to offset its effect on his agility. Later, at Changping Restaurant, a fight broke out over an old man, and someone intervened to stop a rough patron from kicking the shopkeeper.

• Song Changming discovered that the Great Strength Bull Demon Art had reached One Ox's Strength, giving him roughly a thousand jin of force.
• Song Changming tested his new power by smashing thick timber and found that his endurance, senses, and reactions had also improved, though his speed and agility had improved little.
• Song Changming considered cultivating another Body Refining Technique to balance his weaknesses, but set the idea aside because he had no other technique or resources.
• At Changping Restaurant, attendants pinned down and kicked an old man, prompting several rough diners to protest.
• A rough man threw an attendant to the ground and tried to kick the shopkeeper, but an unknown person blocked the blow and forced him off balance.

Song Changming subdued a violent man in a tavern and returned home with gifts from its proprietor. There, a group in straw rain capes tried to make his parents accept strange incense, and Father Song confronted them as the chapter ended.

• Song Changming drew his saber, disarmed and knocked out the burly Martial Artist, then took him into custody.
• The tavern proprietor explained the dispute, while a young master and two attendants observed Song Changming’s skill.
• Song Changming accepted meat and wine from the proprietor and headed home with the wine for his father.
• An elderly woman and several people in straw rain capes offered Mother Song three red incense sticks, claiming they could cure illness or summon gods.
• Mother Song refused the incense, and Father Song came out with a shoulder pole and warned the group that his son was a patrol guard.

Song Changming drove off members of the Incense Lighting Gang who threatened his parents and grew wary of the gang’s activities. Later, Liang Chuanshan mobilized the Patrol Guards to intervene in a decisive fight between the Qinghe Gang and the Nine Bends Society, leaving Song Changming to join a raid with the prospect of seized assets.

• Song Changming confronted the Incense Lighting Gang members threatening his parents, and Mother Song suspected their leader was Granny Li.
• Granny Li and the gang members learned that Song Changming was a Patrol Guard and decided to target another family instead.
• Song Changming warned his parents to avoid strangers and considered moving the family, but chose to save more money first.
• At midnight, Liang Chuanshan gathered the Patrol Guards and explained that the Qinghe Gang and the Nine Bends Society were about to fight for control.
• Liang Chuanshan led the Patrol Guards out to prevent the gangs from merging, while Lu Gang explained to Song Changming that officials might skim valuables before confiscating them.

Song Changming joined the Patrol Guards as they moved to seize the Qinghe Gang’s headquarters after its defeat by the Nine Bends Society. While collecting valuables from fleeing gang members, he faced a powerful Qinghe Gang fighter who attacked him.

• Song Changming saw Zhao Huaiming warn him to be careful as the Patrol Guards set out to claim spoils from the gangs’ conflict.
• The Patrol Guards learned that the Nine Bends Society had defeated the Qinghe Gang and killed its leader, Du Yuantian.
• Liang Chuanshan led the Patrol Guards to the Qinghe Gang’s headquarters, where they rushed in to capture its members.
• Song Changming intercepted fleeing gang members and gathered bags of money as the Qinghe Gang’s base fell into chaos.
• A burly Qinghe Gang member escaped over a wall and slashed at Song Changming, who stepped forward to meet his attack.

Song Changming killed a Qinghe Gang member who had escaped the patrol guards and found a booklet about raising Azure Water Silkworms. Wang Xianwen tried to claim the dead man’s belongings, but Lu Gang intervened and drove him away.

• Song Changming overpowered the brawny Qinghe Gang member, ignored his plea for mercy, and severed his head.
• Song Changming searched the corpse, found the Azure Water Silkworm Rearing booklet and a money pouch, and recognized the booklet’s potential value.
• Wang Xianwen arrived, accused Song Changming of taking his target, and demanded the man’s belongings.
• Song Changming refused to hand over the money pouch, and Wang Xianwen drew his saber against him.
• Lu Gang stopped Wang Xianwen, confirmed Song Changming’s account, and defended his team.
• Wang Xianwen threatened Lu Gang and left over the courtyard wall.

After the Qinghe Gang was wiped out, Liang Chuanshan's team seized its largest cache while the Nine Bends Society failed to claim the gang's property deeds. Song Changming returned home with a modest haul and began reading the Azure Water Silkworm Rearing Method.

• Lu Gang found the Qinghe Gang's secret room and led the patrol guards in carrying away its valuables.
• The Nine Bends Society confronted the patrol guards over the Qinghe Gang's deeds, but Zhu Changyi withdrew without taking anything.
• Zhu Changyi told the Nine Great Curve Stars that he planned to take revenge secretly.
• Song Changming counted his loot, found more than fifty silver coins in one pouch, and put nearly one hundred and fifty coins away.
• Song Changming opened the Azure Water Silkworm Rearing Method and began reading it.