Chapter Summaries

After transmigrating into the impoverished Chen Sanshi, Chen Sanshi saw that his household faced crushing taxes and debt, and decided to hunt for a living. He sold his study supplies for arrows, and a skill panel appeared as he tested his bow.

• Chen Sanshi woke in Poyang County after inheriting the original owner's memories, and Gu Xinlan told him their household was nearly out of food.
• Chen Sanshi learned that the tax collector demanded three taels of silver, including taxes for his missing father, while they also owed money for medical treatment.
• Chen Sanshi decided to earn a living by hunting and found his father's old bow.
• Chen Sanshi sold his Four Treasures of the Study and bought five secondhand arrows from Old Xu.
• Chen Sanshi tested the bow and saw a skill panel showing Archery was not initiated, with progress at 20/100.

Chen Sanshi used his System Panel to train his archery, searched Tiger Head Mountain for prey, and bought food for the household. After refusing Qin Xiong’s proposal to buy Gu Xinlan, he reassured her that he would support the family and would not sell her.

• Chen Sanshi tested the System Panel while practicing archery at Tiger Head Mountain, raising his Archery progress to 70/100 and improving his aim.
• Chen Sanshi failed to find prey, gathered wild shepherd’s purse, and spent his remaining Copper Coins on rice, mixed flour, and salted duck eggs.
• Qin Xiong confronted Chen Sanshi about his earlier offer to sell Gu Xinlan, but Chen Sanshi refused and went home with his food.
• Gu Xinlan feared Chen Sanshi had sold her to Qin Xiong, and Chen Sanshi explained that he had sold his books to buy food and bow equipment.
• Chen Sanshi told Gu Xinlan he would hunt to support the family, embraced her, and reassured her that he would not give her away.

Chen Sanshi practiced archery, unlocked novice-level archery and tracking skills, and went hunting on Tiger Head Mountain. He ended the chapter by killing his first wild rabbit with a bow.

• Chen Sanshi practiced archery at dawn and advanced to novice level, gaining the ability to draw a Six-force bow and never miss within forty paces.
• Gu Xinlan prepared a meager breakfast, and Chen Sanshi shared some of his food before heading to Tiger Head Mountain.
• Chen Sanshi searched the mountain for prey and discovered that tracking could be trained as a skill.
• Chen Sanshi reached novice tracking, followed fresh rabbit droppings and footprints, and found a plump wild rabbit.
• Chen Sanshi shot the rabbit through with an arrow, securing his first prey.

Chen Sanshi sold his first day’s hunt, met Zhang Shun, and returned home to share meat with Gu Xinlan while learning that Qin Xiong had been lurking nearby. The next morning, someone pounded on the door and demanded that Chen Sanshi open it.

• Chen Sanshi sold a rabbit and pigeons at Eight Treasures Restaurant for eighty-five Wen Qian, then met Zhang Shun, who told him his family planned to pay for martial arts training.
• Chen Sanshi returned home with money and a pigeon, reassured Gu Xinlan, and shared a meal of pigeon soup with her.
• Gu Xinlan told Chen Sanshi that Qin Xiong had been seen lingering outside their home, and Chen Sanshi resolved to be cautious.
• Chen Sanshi discovered that reading had advanced to Beginner on his System Panel and then went to sleep.
• The next morning, urgent pounding at the door woke Chen Sanshi, who had Gu Xinlan hide in the inner room before answering.

Chen Sanshi faced an accelerated tax deadline and Qin Xiong’s attempt to exploit it, leaving him with seven days to raise three taels of silver. After finding little prey on Tiger Head Mountain, Chen Sanshi decided to prepare to hunt deeper in Second Mountain.

• Tax collectors gave Chen Sanshi and other villagers seven days to pay their taxes or be sent to dig the canal.
• Qin Xiong offered to pay Chen Sanshi’s taxes in exchange for Gu Xinlan, but Chen Sanshi refused, and Qin Xiong planned to let him be taken away instead.
• Chen Sanshi practiced archery on Tiger Head Mountain and saw that his skill was close to advancing to the next stage.
• Chen Sanshi hunted a rabbit and a pheasant but found no large prey on the mountain’s outskirts.
• Chen Sanshi decided to prepare for a trip into Second Mountain, where more dangerous game might help him raise the tax money.

Chen Sanshi refused to rely on Zhang Shun’s family for tax money and prepared to hunt in Second Mountain, buying Wolf-fang arrows and improving his archery through overnight practice. After his archery reached Mastery, he set out with supplies, more confident about catching large prey despite Qin Xiong’s threats.

• Chen Sanshi met Zhang Shun, who offered to lend him three taels of silver, but Chen left after overhearing Zhang Shun’s mother object to the loan.
• Chen Sanshi sold his rabbit at Eight Treasures Tower and bought five Wolf-fang arrows from Old Xu.
• Chen Sanshi ignored Qin Xiong and his ruffians, who chose not to attack him because he carried a Four-force bow.
• Chen Sanshi practiced archery through the night and upgraded Archery to Mastery, gaining greater strength and precision.
• Chen Sanshi packed salted duck eggs and millet before leaving, and he reassured Gu Xinlan that Qin Xiong could not hurt her.

Chen Sanshi went hunting on Second Mountain to earn enough silver to pay his family’s taxes, and his improved tracking led him to a wild boar and its five piglets. He killed the whole family with his arrows, leaving himself with no arrows remaining.

• Zhao Qiao warned Chen Sanshi about the dangers and rules of hunting on Second Mountain, then gave him a signal arrow.
• Chen Sanshi entered the forest and advanced his Tracking skill, sharpening his perception and moving swiftly without making a sound.
• Chen Sanshi followed animal hairs and footprints until he found a sow and five piglets near a bamboo grove.
• Chen Sanshi shot the charging sow three times, killing it with an arrow through the skull.
• Chen Sanshi killed all five piglets with his remaining arrows.

Chen Sanshi sold the wild boars he had hunted, paid his taxes, and reassured Gu Xinlan that he was safe. Qin Xiong came to apologize after learning of Chen Sanshi’s strength, but Chen Sanshi privately resolved not to let him escape the consequences of his past actions.

• A scar-faced hunter named Wu Da tried to exploit Chen Sanshi, but changed his attitude after seeing Chen Sanshi shoot a rabbit from seventy paces and helped carry the boars to Yanbian Village.
• Chen Sanshi sold the boars to Liu Hongda for seven taels of silver, then repaid Zhang Shun and learned that Shunzi was paying Tailei Martial Arts School disciples to help him get admitted late.
• Chen Sanshi paid his three taels of taxes at the yamen and returned home, where Gu Xinlan anxiously checked that he had not been hurt.
• Qin Xiong visited Chen Sanshi with cheap wine and publicly apologized, having decided to avoid antagonizing a hunter who could threaten him.
• Chen Sanshi accepted Qin Xiong’s apology in front of the neighbors but privately looked at his bow and resolved that Qin Xiong would not escape accountability so easily.

Chen Sanshi secretly killed Qin Xiong and hid his body, then learned the county magistrate had been assassinated by a barbarian martial artist. He left to hunt, determined to improve his strength as the county grew more dangerous.

• Chen Sanshi used his bow to kill Qin Xiong outside the city after Qin Xiong planned to take revenge and seize Lan Jie'er.
• Chen Sanshi found only three taels of silver on Qin Xiong, carried his body to Second Mountain, and hid it in a thicket.
• Chen Sanshi reflected that Qin Xiong's younger brother might seek revenge and decided he needed to begin martial arts training.
• County Yamen Patrol House officers announced that a barbarian martial artist had assassinated the Poyang County Magistrate, then searched the village without finding the assassin.
• Chen Sanshi resolved to earn money and grow stronger, then headed up the mountain to hunt.

Chen Sanshi considered whether to join the army to learn martial arts, then returned to the village and learned that tax collectors were taking away Aunt Li’s family because they could not pay their taxes. The chapter left him rushing to see what was happening.

• Chen Sanshi sold his game at Eight Treasures Restaurant and asked Zhang Shun about martial arts schools, learning that their training was costly and slow.
• Chen Sanshi asked Old Xu about joining the army, and Old Xu explained the Garrison System and offered to help him enlist.
• Qin Feng searched the village for his missing elder brother, Qin Xiong, and Chen Sanshi pretended not to know what had happened to him.
• Gu Xinlan arrived home and told Chen Sanshi that tax collectors were about to take Aunt Li’s family away for unpaid taxes.

Chen Sanshi witnessed Zhang Shun’s family being framed and crushed by a tax officer and martial arts disciples, and managed to save Zhang Shun’s father while Zhang Shun was sent to forced labor. Seeing the wider oppression of farmers under the Great Sheng Dynasty’s taxes, Chen Sanshi decided to enlist the next day.

• The tax officer accused Zhang Shun’s family of unpaid taxes, and the family discovered their thirteen taels of silver had been stolen.
• Zhang Shun recognized two martial arts school disciples as the thieves, but the tax officer beat him and ordered him and his father sent to forced labor.
• Chen Sanshi paid the tax officer two taels of silver to spare Zhang’s father, while Zhang Shun was exiled to Hezhou.
• Chen Sanshi watched officials seize farmers, including elderly men, under the dynasty’s crushing taxes and Spirit Grain levy.
• Chen Sanshi concluded that peaceful survival was impossible for ordinary people and resolved to enlist the next day.

After deciding that military service was his best path to strength and security, Chen Sanshi enlisted as a border soldier. He received his equipment and was told to report the next day, where his performance would shape his prospects in the army.

• Chen Sanshi explained to Gu Xinlan that he planned to enlist for martial training and status, then improved his Reading skill through study.
• Chen Sanshi learned that the county town was under lockdown after a barbarian martial artist returned and killed the master of Yunhe Martial Arts School.
• Old Xu took Chen Sanshi to the military camp and described the struggling military household system and the elite Eight Great Zhenbei Camps.
• Xu Bin registered Chen Sanshi and said that, if he could not become a Warrior Recruit, his hunting skill might qualify him to serve as an archer.
• Chen Sanshi officially joined the Poyang Left Army Thousand Household Office of the Anding Prefecture Frontier Defense Vanguard and received old armor, a red conical hat, and the Basic Soldier Spear Technique manual.

Chen Sanshi learned that military recruits were divided into warrior recruits and formation recruits, then studied the Basic Spear Technique for Soldiers and practiced until exhaustion. Meanwhile, Qin Feng searched for his missing brother and began suspecting Chen Sanshi.

• Old Man Xu explained the martial cultivation realms and the difference between warrior recruits and formation recruits as he and Chen Sanshi traveled back to Poyang County.
• Gu Xinlan told Chen Sanshi that Qin Xiong had gone missing and that Zhao San had been attacked, prompting Chen Sanshi to resolve to strengthen himself.
• Chen Sanshi memorized the thirty-six stances in the Basic Spear Technique for Soldiers and practiced ten before collapsing from exhaustion.
• Gu Xinlan prepared Chen Sanshi a late-night meal, and Lan Jie'er massaged him as he fell asleep.
• Qin Feng questioned his brother's former thugs about Qin Xiong's disappearance, then heard one accuse the Chen family hunter of having a past grudge against him.

Chen Sanshi began military training, learned the standards for becoming a Warrior Recruit or Banner Officer, and used his Eidetic Memory to practice the stance and spear techniques. He suspected the instructors were withholding a breathing method for money, while Thousand Households Xiang Tingchun reprimanded officers for neglecting their duties before they resumed drinking.

• Commander Wang demonstrated the basic stance work and spear technique, then explained that recruits who mastered both within ten days could become Warrior Recruits and that the first to cultivate qi and blood would be promoted to Banner Officer and qualify for the vanguard selection.
• The recruits learned that passing the vanguard selection meant joining the Heavenly Strategy Camp as Governor Sun's personal disciples, and some dismissed the danger while others defended the opportunity.
• The Banner Officers charged recruits for demonstrations and hands-on lessons, while Chen Sanshi used his Eidetic Memory to practice the movements without paying for instruction.
• Chen Sanshi noticed a younger recruit using a breathing rhythm similar to Commander Wang's and suspected that the proper cultivation method was being withheld for a fee.
• Thousand Households Xiang Tingchun scolded officers for drinking instead of training soldiers, told them to teach recruits properly, and announced that Commander Luo's promotion had been submitted.
• After Xiang Tingchun left, the officers resumed drinking and congratulated Commander Luo, while Wang Zhi secretly spat on the ground.

Chen Sanshi trained alongside Zhu Tong and Song Yan, then met the book-loving Xu Wencai and borrowed a book by calling him Xu Wolong. Before leaving the garrison, he asked Xu Bin for a heavy bow so he could continue improving his arrowsmanship.

• Chen Sanshi reached the twenty-sixth stance before stopping, while Song Yan and Zhu Tong collapsed after him.
• Zhu Tong introduced himself and praised Chen Sanshi based on rumors about his supposed loyalty and righteousness; Song Yan explained that Chen Sanshi's cultivation technique was incomplete.
• Chen Sanshi learned that Zhu Tong had been sent to enlist after beating a local gentryman who bullied a widow.
• Zhu Tong shared a flatbread with Xu Wencai, a self-proclaimed scholar who had been conscripted for failing to pay taxes.
• Chen Sanshi called Xu Wencai Xu Wolong, persuaded him to lend a book, and learned that Xu had once owned a roomful of books.
• Before leaving the garrison, Chen Sanshi asked Xu Bin whether he could obtain a heavy bow.

Chen Sanshi secured a heavy bow by drawing a two-stone Kaiyuan Bow and hitting a target at seventy paces. After returning to Yanbian Village as a military household, he learned Qin Feng wanted him dead, while Qin Feng resolved to stop him from practicing martial arts.

• Xu Bin took Chen Sanshi to the garrison armory and let him choose a bow, though he told him not to seek further help.
• Chen Sanshi chose a two-stone Kaiyuan Bow, drew it, and pierced the target at seventy paces with a bullseye.
• The clerk issued Chen Sanshi twenty heavy arrows, and his Archery proficiency increased.
• Villagers noticed Chen Sanshi's military uniform, and Uncle Scabby warned him that Qin Feng planned to kill him.
• Qin Feng learned Chen Sanshi had enlisted and decided to prevent him from practicing martial arts and growing stronger.

Chen Sanshi completed the stance exercises and paid eight taels of silver to learn the breathing technique, while preparing for a dangerous bear hunt. The chapter ended with Commander Wang taking his money but postponing the lesson for several days.

• Chen Sanshi read about Great Sheng's history, ate dinner, and practiced all thirty-six stance exercises before Gu Xinlan stopped him from practicing archery at night.
• Chen Sanshi improved his archery, spent eight taels of silver on the breathing technique, and agreed to join Zhao Qiao and Wu Da in hunting the Black Bear on Tiger Head Mountain after a short delay.
• At the Military Camp, Zhu Tong offered to teach Chen Sanshi the breathing technique privately, but Xu Wencai warned him against it.
• Chen Sanshi asked several Hundred Household Commanders to teach him, but they refused until he reached Commander Wang.
• Commander Wang accepted Chen Sanshi's eight taels of silver, then said he was tired and would teach him in a couple of days.

Chen Sanshi was blocked from learning a breathing technique and discovered that people in the Military Camp were deliberately hindering him, but he continued practicing spear technique without it. The chapter left him enduring the strain and determined to keep training.

• Chen Sanshi learned that the instructors had taken his silver but refused to teach him, and Zhu Tong and Xu Wencai suspected someone was targeting him.
• Chen Sanshi began practicing spear technique on the Training Ground, while Xu Bin chose not to intervene.
• Song Yan confronted Commander Luo, who explained that Tianyuan Martial Arts Academy had asked them to show Chen Sanshi no favor after he offended someone there.
• Wang Zhi and the other Hundred Household Commanders discussed Chen Sanshi's prospects and Wang Zhi's plan to favor a potential genius.
• Chen Sanshi practiced spear technique until his strength was nearly exhausted and resolved to continue despite lacking a breathing technique.

Chen Sanshi trained relentlessly and advanced his archery to Minor Mastery, while Xu Wencai predicted that the Great Sheng Dynasty would collapse amid future rebellions. As military commanders marched toward Poyang County, Commander Liu considered helping Chen with his conflict at Tianyuan Martial Arts Academy.

• Chen Sanshi finished practicing three spear forms, then decided to focus on archery while Song Yan caught up in spearplay.
• At the eatery, Xu Wencai joined Chen Sanshi and Zhu Tong for a meal and predicted that internal rebellions would eventually destroy the Great Sheng Dynasty.
• Chen Sanshi went to the target range and practiced archery through the day, while several Hundred Household Commanders mobilized soldiers toward Poyang County.
• Commander Liu praised Chen Sanshi’s skill with a Two-stone bow and said he would ask the Young Master of Tianyuan Martial Arts Academy about Chen’s offense.
• Chen Sanshi continued shooting until nightfall and reached Minor Mastery in Archery.

Chen Sanshi’s archery and physique improved dramatically, and he mastered the complete Basic Soldier Spear Technique after training through the night. His sudden talent stunned the commanders, who fought over keeping him, while Xu Wencai reminded him of a promise to teach him.

• Chen Sanshi’s archery advanced until he could hit a willow leaf from a hundred paces and fire three shots in an instant, while his body reshaped into an archer’s build.
• Chen Sanshi practiced the Thirty-Six Forms of Spearplay through the night, enduring severe pain without a breathing method.
• Xu Wencai found Chen Sanshi still training at dawn and rushed to fetch Zhu Tong, who recognized that Chen Sanshi was nearing mastery.
• Chen Sanshi completed the Basic Soldier Spear Technique and pierced a dummy, securing his place as a Warrior Recruit.
• Commander Liu and Commander Xiong marveled at Chen Sanshi’s overnight progress and argued over who would keep him.
• A crafty voice reminded Chen Sanshi that they had agreed he would receive instruction on the second day.