Recaps

Qin Feng tried to persuade Wang Zhi to help him target Chen Sanshi, but Wang protected Chen and Liang Zhan ordered Qin Feng to drop the matter. After discovering his Longevity Lock was missing, Qin Feng set out to kill Chen himself, only to hear a mysterious voice say his brother had sent it to take him to see him.

• Qin Feng told Wang Zhi he suspected Chen Sanshi had made his elder brother Qin Xiong disappear, but Wang demanded evidence and dismissed the accusation.
• Liang Zhan backed Wang and warned Qin Feng to end the matter, while Wang promised to question the barbarians about Qin Xiong.
• Qin Feng left the banquet and discovered that his Longevity Lock was missing, then realized Wang might have taken it when he patted his shoulder.
• Qin Feng decided to kill Chen Sanshi himself, returned to his empty home in Yanbian Village, and prepared in disguise to attack at night.
• At midnight, a ghostly voice called Qin Feng and said his brother had sent it to take him to see him.

Chen Sanshi killed Qin Feng after luring him to his brother Qin Xiong’s remains, then discovered a wounded barbarian had hidden a box. He learned the Zhao Clan Martial Arts School and Lord Thousand Households Xiang Tingchun were secretly searching for an immortal treasure, and decided to keep the box for himself.

• Chen Sanshi led Qin Feng to Qin Xiong’s remains and killed him with his Plum Blossom Spear.
• Chen Sanshi took silver from Qin Feng, concealed the evidence of his weapons, and gained new Tracking abilities.
• Near Sujia Village, Chen Sanshi watched a fatally wounded barbarian bury a box and retrieved it after the man died.
• Zhao Ben and two disciples searched the area for the missing object and revealed that they were seeking an immortal treasure with Lord Thousand Households Xiang Tingchun.
• Chen Sanshi hid the box and decided to keep it rather than reveal that he had found it.

Chen Sanshi examined the mysterious sandalwood box and learned that the masked killers had rescued the barbarian assassin before he died. At the Military Camp, he refused Luo Dongquan’s offer to delay his Elite Selection, then learned why the timing mattered as his batch gathered for an official inspection.

• Chen Sanshi returned home before dawn, failed to open the immortal-treasure box, and wondered whether another group held its key.
• At the Military Colony, Chen Sanshi heard that masked killers had rescued the barbarian assassin from Xiang Tingchun and other martial arts masters.
• Luo Dongquan offered Chen Sanshi one hundred taels to give Song Yan the first-half Elite Selection opportunity, but Chen Sanshi refused.
• Wang Zhi took Luo Dongquan’s silver note and explained that Governor Sun would stop taking personal disciples after the first-half selection.
• Wang Zhi told Chen Sanshi that Xiang Tingchun and Assistant Magistrate Zhang would inspect the recruits, and the assembly horn sounded.

Chen Sanshi demonstrated his spear skills in an assessment spar against Xu Bin, overwhelming the more experienced soldier despite using the same level of blood qi. The match ended with Chen Sanshi disarming Xu Bin and holding his spear at Xu Bin’s throat, while Xiang Tingchun watched.

• Xiang Tingchun ordered Chen Sanshi to spar with Xu Bin using only Blood Refinement Initiation-level blood qi.
• Xu Bin attacked with his saber, but Chen Sanshi used his Plum Blossom Spear to keep him at a distance and withstand his strikes.
• Xu Bin tried to exhaust Chen Sanshi through repeated attacks, but Chen Sanshi’s blood qi and endurance outlasted his own.
• As Xu Bin’s blood qi dwindled, Chen Sanshi turned from defense to a fierce spear assault.
• Chen Sanshi knocked Xu Bin’s saber away and stopped his spear tip before Xu Bin’s throat.

Chen Sanshi defeated Xu Bin in the assessment and was promoted to Officer Chen, earning a command and a superior warhorse. As he took charge of his men, he rescued Xu Wencai from being sent away and prepared to try riding his new horse.

• Chen Sanshi defeated Xu Bin, and Xiang Tingchun praised his potential while Assistant Magistrate Zhang agreed to report his qualifications for elite selection.
• Xiang Tingchun assessed the other recruits, then promoted Chen Sanshi to Officer Chen and assigned him to Wang Zhi’s command.
• The commanders distributed the recruits, and Chen Sanshi took Xu Wencai into his unit despite Zhu Tong’s objections.
• Chen Sanshi received vouchers for supplies and a superior White Crane horse, then mounted it to test his horsemanship.

Chen Sanshi struggled to tame the wild White Swan Horse as Xiang Tingchun and Luo Dongquan discussed using the search for an immortal treasure to gather resources for a military campaign. At Tianyuan Martial Arts Academy, Liang Zhan concluded that Chen Sanshi had probably killed the missing Qin Feng.

• Chen Sanshi rode the White Swan Horse through a half-hour struggle, gaining progress in Horse Riding before the exhausted horse and rider called a truce.
• Xiang Tingchun rode out with Luo Dongquan and explained that the immortal treasure search would help them pressure the martial arts academies and gentry for resources for a planned strike against the Yuwen Tribe.
• Xiang Tingchun told Luo Dongquan he trusted him and promised to support his advancement if their plans succeeded.
• At Tianyuan Martial Arts Academy, Liang Zhan learned that Qin Feng had disappeared and suspected Chen Sanshi had killed him, but refused to risk revenge without evidence.
• Liang Zhan reflected that Qin Feng had overheard a secret conversation and had been accepted as his personal disciple, then wondered about Chen Sanshi's connection to the barbarians' escape.

Chen Sanshi settled into an officer’s residence, discovered that the box he possessed was the lost Exquisite Jade Box, and went looking for Xu Bin after learning Wang Zhi had punished him. The chapter ended as Chen Sanshi arrived at Xu Bin’s home and called to him.

• Commander Liu explained Chen Sanshi’s duties and arranged a vacant military officer’s residence for him.
• Chen Sanshi moved his belongings from Yanbian Village into the new home, where Gu Xinlan began settling in.
• Chen Sanshi read that the Exquisite Jade Box could only be opened with its Jade Key and realized the box in his possession was the lost invention.
• Chen Sanshi learned that Wang Zhi had beaten Xu Bin and that Xu Bin had been ordered to pay twenty taels of silver.
• Old Xu urged Xu Bin to seek Chen Sanshi’s help, but Xu Bin felt ashamed of having fought him so fiercely.
• Chen Sanshi knocked on Xu Bin’s door and called out to him.

Chen Sanshi reconciled with Xu Bin and asked him to spar, then joined a military search for Witch God Cult followers in Poyang City. The search began targeting minor martial arts academies, while Chen Sanshi suspected Xiang Tingchun was using the cult investigation to pressure powerful interests.

• Chen Sanshi visited Xu Bin, returned the armory slip, and assured him he held no grudge, earning Xu Bin's gratitude and agreement to spar with him.
• Chen Sanshi, Gu Xinlan, and Lan Jie'er shared a meal with Xu Bin's family before the assembly horn summoned the soldiers.
• Xiang Tingchun ordered half the Thousand Household Office's men to search Poyang City for Witch God Cult followers and treat any suspects as traitors.
• Xu Wencai explained that the Witch God Cult had helped the Yuwen Tribe rise to power and lead recent barbarian attacks on Great Sheng.
• Chen Sanshi joined the citywide searches, which focused on minor and unranked academies, then returned to the armory to redeem his weapon slip and seek Blood Replenishing Soup.

Chen Sanshi replaced his ordinary spear, learned about the scarcity and cost of cultivation medicine, and trained with the Reed Leaf Spear while considering why Tianyuan Martial Arts Academy had sought him out. After six days of intense practice, he advanced to Blood Training Mastery and brought his Basic Soldier Spear Technique to Mastery.

• Chen Sanshi took the Reed Leaf Spear from the armory and found that it made his spear practice feel more natural.
• Chen Sanshi collected Blood Replenishing Soup, and Officer Jiang explained its risks, expense, and the martial arts academies’ control over medicinal gardens.
• Chen Sanshi trained with the Reed Leaf Spear and used the soup’s medicinal potency to accelerate his cultivation.
• Gu Xinlan told Chen Sanshi that Tianyuan Martial Arts Academy had invited him as a guest, and he suspected the invitation might concern the immortal treasure.
• Chen Sanshi devoted himself to training over the following days and, six days later, broke through to Blood Training Mastery and mastered the Basic Soldier Spear Technique.

Chen Sanshi reached mastery in qi and blood, bought medicine for his cultivation, and prepared to hunt for money. On his way home, Liang Zhan confronted him and tried to force him to dinner, leaving Chen Sanshi facing the academy heir’s old servant.

• Chen Sanshi reached mastery in qi and blood, and Xu Bin was astonished by how quickly he had improved.
• Chen Sanshi patrolled the city with his men, found no trace of the Witch God Cult, and bought two batches of medicine at Yunhe Pharmacy.
• Wang Zhi praised Chen Sanshi’s breakthrough, offered him a Longevity Lock, and learned that he planned to go into the mountains.
• Liang Zhan stopped Chen Sanshi on the road, hinted that Tianyuan Martial Arts Academy would overlook the Qin brothers’ deaths, and invited him to dinner.
• Chen Sanshi refused, and Liang Zhan’s old servant reached to grab him as Chen Sanshi tightened his grip on his spear.

Liang Zhan searched for Qin Feng’s Longevity Locket and concluded that the Witch God Cult had taken the immortal treasure, while Wang Zhi promised to protect Chen Sanshi and asked him to deliver a message to Governor Sun. Chen Sanshi sought a tiger’s whereabouts, learned of a possible den, and crossed into the forest alone to hunt.

• Liang Zhan spotted Qin Feng’s Longevity Locket on Wang Zhi, then left and told Uncle Wu to search for the immortal treasure before Xiang Tingchun.
• Wang Zhi gave Chen Sanshi two taels, offered to protect him, and asked him to tell Governor Sun that he wanted to redeem his merits while bearing guilt if Chen entered the Eight Great Camps.
• Chen Sanshi decided to hunt a tiger to improve his strength and planned to ask Uncle Zhao where one could be found.
• Chen Sanshi tried and failed to tame his horse, then went to Yanbian Village and asked Zhao Qiao, Wu Da, and Zhuang Yi for help locating a tiger.
• Zhao Qiao pointed out a cave where a Great Worm had been seen five years earlier and warned the group about the danger of crossing into the forest to hunt.
• Chen Sanshi crossed the stream alone, carrying his bow, arrows, and spear, and entered the dense forest.

Chen Sanshi tracked a tiger called the Great Worm to its cave and lured it out with a wounded roe deer. His Wolf-fang arrow pierced the tiger’s skull but failed to kill it, and the enraged beast charged at him.

• Chen Sanshi learned that Tailei Martial Arts School disciples were searching for a White Deer to heal their injured school master.
• Wei Xu offered to team up with Chen Sanshi to hunt a tiger, but Chen ignored him and continued alone.
• Chen Sanshi tracked the Great Worm to a hidden cave and used arrows to drive a wounded roe deer toward it.
• The Great Worm emerged, killed the roe deer, and began dragging it back to its cave.
• Chen Sanshi shot the tiger in the skull, but it survived and charged toward him.

Chen Sanshi killed the Great Worm and drove off two martial arts school disciples who tried to claim a share. He returned to County Town with Zhao Qiao, Wu Da, and Zhuang Yi, sold most of the tiger, and found he had nearly enough resources for Minor Accomplishment in Blood Refining.

• Chen Sanshi blinded the charging Great Worm, wounded it with arrows from tree to tree, then killed it with his Reed Leaf Spear.
• Wei Xu and another martial arts school disciple approached to claim part of the kill, but Chen Sanshi nearly shot Wei Xu in the neck and forced them to back away.
• Chen Sanshi carried the tiger and roe deer past the intimidated disciples and saw that his Tracking and Archery skills had gained proficiency.
• Chen Sanshi met Zhao Qiao, Wu Da, and Zhuang Yi across the stream and asked them to help carry his prey to County Town, offering to follow their usual arrangement.
• The group sold the Great Worm and roe deer; Chen Sanshi kept several tiger parts and meat, earned sixty-eight taels of silver, and concluded he had nearly enough resources for Minor Accomplishment in Blood Refining.

Chen Sanshi hunted a Great Worm, used its meat to fuel intense spear practice, and asked a military craftsman to make him a powerful bow. After learning that the Witch God Cult had not been fully captured, he kept hoping to find the key to the immortal treasure.

• Chen Sanshi returned home with a blood-soaked Tiger Skin, startled Gu Xinlan and Tong Shi, and had Gu Xinlan prepare the Tiger Heart and Tiger Meat.
• After eating Tiger Heart and Blood Replenishing Soup, Chen Sanshi practiced the Basic Soldier Spear Technique until its progress reached 120/1000, then carried Gu Xinlan to the bedroom.
• The next day, Chen Sanshi saw Luo Dongquan bring a Witch God Cult member to the Military Camp and learned that the rest of the cult had not yet been captured.
• Chen Sanshi asked Niu Gai at the craftsmen's forge about making a ten-stone bow, and Niu Gai said exotic White Deer sinew could make one exceeding ten stone.

Chen Sanshi trained toward Minor Accomplishment in Blood Refining while investigating the White Deer he hoped to hunt for his bow materials. When Witch God Cult traces were found in Poyang County, the garrison assembled to encircle and exterminate them.

• Chen Sanshi learned that the Young Master of the Yunhe Martial Arts School had broken through to Bone Tempering, killed his uncle, and reclaimed the family business.
• Chen Sanshi bought Nine Revolutions Vitality Soup and borrowed a book about rare treasures and exotic beasts from Xu Wencai.
• Chen Sanshi read that White Deer lived on Tiger Mountain and decided to seek one after improving his cultivation.
• Chen Sanshi sparred with Xu Bin and overwhelmed him, nearing Minor Accomplishment in Blood Refining.
• A messenger announced Witch God Cult traces in Poyang County and ordered all three hundred garrison troops to assemble.

Chen Sanshi and the garrison troops surrounded Golden Bell Temple to capture the Witch God Cult, while Xiang Tingchun refused to evacuate the civilians. Chen's squad waited on a mountain path to intercept anyone escaping, and the battle began with a signal cry.

• Chen Sanshi learned that Xiang Tingchun had kept the martial academies' leaders and Commander Wang away from the operation by holding them at a banquet.
• Xiang Tingchun ordered the garrison to surround Golden Bell Temple and rejected Commander Feng's plea to evacuate the civilians.
• Chen Sanshi, Zhu Tong, Xu Wencai, and their squad hid beside a mountain path and prepared to stop anyone fleeing the temple.
• A sharp cry broke the silence, signaling that the fighting had begun.

At Golden Bell Temple, Xiang Tingchun attacked the Helm Master while Chen Sanshi’s soldiers fought Witch God Cult followers fleeing down the mountain. Chen Sanshi pursued the sharp-mouthed monk carrying the Jade Key, but masked swordsmen intercepted him before he could shoot.

• The Helm Master gave the Jade Key to the sharp-mouthed monk and stayed behind to face Xiang Tingchun, who demanded the treasure.
• General Flag Fang stopped the fleeing crowd, but Witch God Cult followers revealed themselves and attacked, triggering a battle with the soldiers.
• Chen Sanshi and his troops killed several cultists, and Chen shot one attacker with his bow before pursuing the escaping sharp-mouthed monk.
• Chen Sanshi tracked the monk into open ground, where four masked men blocked his escape, and he hid to watch them.

Chen Sanshi watched Liang Zhan and another Bone Tempering fighter kill a fake monk, then discovered the Witch God Cultist’s hidden Jade Key inside a venomous snake. The garrison finished suppressing the cultists, and Xiang Tingchun emerged from Golden Bell Temple victorious but wounded.

• Chen Sanshi watched Liang Zhan, an old servant, and their allies overwhelm and kill the fake monk, whom they identified as a Witch God Cultist.
• Chen Sanshi suspected the fake monk had hidden the Jade Key, found a venomous snake in a pine-tree hollow, and recovered the jade from its body.
• Chen Sanshi returned to the mountain’s foot as the garrison pursued the remaining Witch God Cultists, who used civilians as shields to escape.
• The garrison killed seven Witch God Cultists and captured one, while Chen Sanshi calculated that his kills could earn him several bowls of Blood Replenishing Soup.
• Xiang Tingchun emerged from Golden Bell Temple bloodied, carrying a severed head and his broken Seedling Saber.

After the crackdown on Golden Bell Temple, Xiang Tingchun failed to find the immortal treasure and planned to use its supposed possession to extort the martial arts schools. Chen Sanshi opened the jade box and discovered a pale-yellow substance that seemed to be lamp oil.

• Liu Jinkui reported that the operation killed twenty-eight Witch God Cult followers, while Xiang Tingchun ordered Golden Bell Temple cleared and its captives and corpses counted.
• Xu Wencai and Zhu Tong criticized Xiang Tingchun for allowing so many commoners to die, while Chen Sanshi privately resolved to inspect the jade box and key he had obtained.
• Xiang Tingchun searched the Witch God Cult corpses and temple for the missing immortal treasure, then ordered Luo Dongquan to demand medicinal materials, money, grain, and recruits from the four great martial arts schools in exchange for it.
• Xiang Tingchun told Luo Dongquan to prepare for the arrival of a new county magistrate and an Elite Selection Officer, while privately resolving to escape Poyang County by winning military merit.
• Chen Sanshi dug up the Exquisite Jade Box, opened it with the Jade Key, and found a soft, warm, pale-yellow substance that he wondered was lamp oil.

Chen Sanshi used the mysterious lamp oil and broke through to Minor Accomplishment in Blood Refining, learning that strong qi and blood would form the foundation for Bone Refining. As the garrison received supplies for its campaign against the barbarians, Lord Thousand Households summoned everyone to the Training Ground to make an announcement.

• Chen Sanshi tested the lamp oil and found that a tiny amount produced flames powerful enough to burn a thick chopping stump to ash, but he could not determine its true purpose.
• After drinking Nine Revolutions Vitality Soup, Chen Sanshi practiced the Basic Soldier Spear Technique and reached Minor Accomplishment, gaining the Blood Manifests Anomaly effect.
• Chen Sanshi asked Wang Zhi about cultivation, and Wang Zhi explained that Major Accomplishment in Blood Refining allowed a martial artist to begin Bone Refining.
• Wang Zhi said the martial halls had agreed to support the garrison’s campaign against the barbarians, bringing the promise of medicinal materials and other supplies.
• Disciples from the martial halls delivered grain and medicinal materials to the Military Camp, and Lord Thousand Households summoned everyone to the Training Ground.

Xiang Tingchun raised the soldiers’ pay and supplies before announcing a spring expedition against the Xihe Tribe. Chen Sanshi learned the campaign would pit the Thousand Household Office against a stronger force with little support, leaving him determined to reach Bone Tempering before the battle.

• Xiang Tingchun announced increased pay, grain, Blood Replenishing Soup, and discounted medicinal materials for the soldiers.
• Xiang Tingchun revealed that he would lead an expedition against the barbarians around Xihe next spring.
• Xu Wencai told Chen Sanshi that the Xihe Tribe had roughly two thousand trained soldiers, including an Organ Tempering martial artist, and superior horses and archers.
• Xu Wencai warned that the Thousand Household Office would be effectively isolated and predicted a costly victory; Chen Sanshi recognized the expedition as a performance for Xiang Tingchun’s superiors.
• Xu Wencai proposed a strategy to reduce losses by twenty percent, but Xiang Tingchun dismissed him, and Chen Sanshi decided he needed to reach Bone Tempering before spring.

Chen Sanshi went hunting for a White Deer after learning that hunters had been disappearing in the mountains, and he brought Zhao Qiao and two other villagers along for safety. Deep in the range, he encountered martial arts school disciples barring access to a valley.

• Chen Sanshi asked Officer Jiang about spirit mushrooms and learned that a hundred-year-old mushroom cost fifty taels, then left camp to search for a White Deer.
• Zhao Qiao told Chen Sanshi that hunters and other villagers had been disappearing without leaving bodies, and asked to follow him into the mountains.
• Chen Sanshi agreed to protect Zhao Qiao, Wu Da, and Zhuang Yi as they entered the mountains, then separated from them to track the White Deer.
• After finding no sign of the White Deer across two peaks, Chen Sanshi approached a deep valley and was stopped by several disciples in long robes.

Chen Sanshi entered Medicine Valley, encountered Liang Zhan, and searched the mountains for the White Deer. After hunting five cheetahs, he learned that people were disappearing from both the countryside and County Town, leaving him suspicious that the disappearances were connected to the immortal treasure or the scarlet-flame lamp oil.

• Chen Sanshi discovered that Medicine Valley belonged to Tianyuan Martial Arts Academy, and Liang Zhan apologized for their past conflict and ordered his disciples to send Chen a century-old precious ganoderma.
• Liang Zhan worried about Chen Sanshi’s growing strength and decided not to antagonize him for now.
• Chen Sanshi found no White Deer and hunted five cheetahs, killing them with his bow and Reed Leaf Spear to earn money for precious ganoderma.
• Chen Sanshi asked Zhao Qiao and the others about dangers in the mountains, and Wu Da told him that people had also vanished from County Town.
• Chen Sanshi suspected the disappearances might be linked to the immortal treasure that appeared in Poyang or the lamp oil that produced scarlet flames.

Chen Sanshi tamed the White Swan Horse and brought it home, then accepted a precious lingzhi offered by Liang Zhan as an apology. He left for Tiger Head Mountain determined to hunt the White Deer and improve his cultivation.

• Chen Sanshi sold the cheetah’s remaining parts, then tamed the White Swan Horse and brought it home.
• Gu Xinlan admired Chen Sanshi on horseback, and he practiced his spear before joking with her about wearing the tiger skin.
• Chen Sanshi reported possible Witch God Cult activity in Poyang to Wang Zhi and requested leave to hunt the White Deer.
• A Tianyuan Martial Arts Academy disciple delivered a century-old lingzhi from Liang Zhan as an apology, and Chen Sanshi accepted it.
• Wang Zhi warned Chen Sanshi to work harder for the vanguard selection, and Chen Sanshi rode toward Tiger Head Mountain.

Chen Sanshi tracked down and killed the White Deer on Maple Mountain, then refused to sell it to Tailei Martial Arts School despite their attempts to pressure him. He left with the deer determined to strengthen himself so he would no longer have to rely on others fearing his patrons.

• Chen Sanshi searched Maple Mountain after learning that Tailei Martial Arts School had nearly caught the White Deer there.
• He followed strands of white fur over a cliff and lured the White Deer with a precious lingzhi before killing it with a Wolf-fang arrow.
• More than twenty Tailei Martial Arts School disciples followed Chen Sanshi down the mountain, and Huang Tao tried to force him to sell the deer.
• Chen Sanshi cut off Huang Tao's ear when he blocked his way, then refused Fifth Master Song's offer to buy the deer's heart.
• Fifth Master Song stopped Huang Tao from attacking and admitted that Chen Sanshi was too dangerous to fight.
• Chen Sanshi carried the White Deer away, frustrated that the martial arts school feared his connections more than they feared him, and resolved to cultivate in seclusion.