Chapter Summaries

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.

Chen Sanshi sold most of the anomalous White Deer, arranged for Niu Gai to make him a powerful bow, and learned that an early-arriving Elite Selection Officer might become involved in the political struggle over the Eight Great Camps. After eating the deer heart, he practiced through the night as it restored his body, while Lan Jie'er waited for the usual ordeal that never came.

• Chen Sanshi kept some of the White Deer’s valuable parts, sold the rest for two hundred and eighty taels, and brought its sinews to Niu Gai to commission a bow.
• Wang Zhi told Chen Sanshi that Commander Xiang had ordered an investigation into the Witch God Cult and that the Elite Selection Officer would arrive before winter to inspect the troops.
• Wang Zhi explained that Xiang Tingchun was using the spring campaign to court the Crown Prince’s Faction and urged Chen Sanshi not to abandon his plan to join the Eight Great Camps and learn spear technique from Governor Sun.
• Chen Sanshi reminded Wang Zhi to watch for missing living people, then returned home and ate the White Deer heart.
• The deer heart’s coolness repaired Chen Sanshi’s body and let him practice spear technique through the night, while Lan Jie'er waited beside the bed and eventually fell asleep.

Chen Sanshi discovered signs that Liang Zhan, Song Lao Wu, and Pan Quan were connected to the disappearances, but he withdrew rather than confront the three Bone Refining martial artists. He warned Zhao Qiao and the other hunters to stay off the mountain, then returned to camp planning to break through to major accomplishment in Blood Refining.

• Chen Sanshi sparred with General Flag Fang and proved stronger, while saying he expected to reach major accomplishment in Blood Refining within days.
• Chen Sanshi learned that recent disappearances had shifted from the county town to poor people in the countryside.
• Chen Sanshi found Liang Zhan, Song Lao Wu, and Pan Quan guarding the route to the medicinal valley and suspected they were behind the killings.
• Liang Zhan urged the others to stop killing people, while Song Lao Wu and Pan Quan discussed the missing immortal treasure and their dealings with Xiang Tingchun.
• Chen Sanshi hunted a Black Bear, warned Zhao Qiao and the others to avoid the mountain, and lent them grain.
• Chen Sanshi returned to the military camp, intending to break through to major accomplishment in Blood Refining.

Chen Sanshi reached great accomplishment in Blood Training and gained Dragon Elephant Blood, earning a promotion and rewards from Xiang Tingchun. Xiang Tingchun, unable to find the Witch God Cult followers or secure the immortal treasure, ordered Luo Dongquan to frame the martial academies.

• Chen Sanshi learned the dispensary had run out of medicinal materials, drank Blood Replenishing Soup, and resumed his breakthrough training.
• Wang Zhi persuaded Xiang Tingchun to promise Chen Sanshi a three-hundred-year-old Blood Ginseng if he reached great accomplishment in Blood Training.
• Chen Sanshi pushed his body to its limit, unified his four streams of blood and qi throughout his body, and gained the Dragon Elephant Blood effect.
• Xiang Tingchun promoted Chen Sanshi to Chief Banner, promised him the Blood Ginseng, and announced rewards for the soldiers.
• Luo Dongquan reported that the martial academies doubted Xiang Tingchun's sincerity and that his men had failed to find the Witch God Cult followers.
• Xiang Tingchun ordered Luo Dongquan to pin a crime on the martial academies.

After confirming Chen Sanshi had Supreme Grade qi and blood, Wang Zhi offered him a choice of bone-refining spear techniques, and Chen chose the endurance-focused Indestructible Golden Snake Spear. On the way to lend grain to Zhao Qiao, Chen learned that Tailei Martial Arts School disciples had surrounded Zhao Qiao’s home and rode into the village while Xu Wencai ran for the Thousand Household Office.

• Wang Zhi judged Chen Sanshi’s qi and blood to be Supreme Grade and explained that Innate Martial Physiques were rarer still.
• Wang Zhi offered Chen three bone-refining spear techniques, and Chen chose the Indestructible Golden Snake Spear for its endurance.
• Chen left camp with Xu Wencai, carrying rice to lend to Zhao Qiao, and agreed that Xu could write an announcement to recruit men.
• Scabby Head told Chen that more than thirty Tailei Martial Arts School disciples had surrounded Zhao Qiao’s home.
• Chen rode into Yanbian Village, while Xu Wencai turned back toward the Thousand Household Office for help.

Chen Sanshi returned to find Huang Tao and his men beating Zhao Qiao, Wu Da, and Zhuang Yi to lure him into a trap. He killed Zhang Chao and Li Hao with arrows, then gave the others ten counts to leave.

• Huang Tao had Zhang Chao and Li Hao frame Zhao Qiao, Wu Da, and Zhuang Yi for theft and beat them to force Chen Sanshi to come.
• Zhao Qiao realized the men were targeting Chen Sanshi and refused to call him, despite the beating.
• Huang Tao ordered Wei Xu to fetch Chen Sanshi, but Wei Xu and the others balked.
• Chen Sanshi rode in on a white steed as Huang Tao threatened the hunters and demanded an apology.
• Chen Sanshi shot Li Hao through the heart and killed Zhang Chao with a second arrow.
• Chen Sanshi spared everyone except Huang Tao and Wei Xu for the moment and counted down from ten for the others to leave.

Chen Sanshi killed Huang Tao and the Tailei Martial Arts School disciples who confronted him in Yanbian Village. Song Lao Wu arrived to find the bodies and angrily challenged Chen Sanshi, leaving their confrontation about to begin.

• Chen Sanshi counted down as Huang Tao and more than thirty Tailei Martial Arts School disciples blocked his horse, but most fled before he finished.
• Chen Sanshi shot the disciples who remained, including Wei Xu, then charged Huang Tao on horseback and killed him with his spear.
• Zhao Qiao, Wu Da, and Zhuang Yi worried about the consequences, but Chen Sanshi said nothing would happen and told them to hide as more people approached.
• Song Lao Wu hurried to Yanbian Village after learning Huang Tao had taken men to confront Chen Sanshi, and he found the disciples dead.
• Song Lao Wu saw Chen Sanshi on his horse and angrily accused him of insolence.

Chen Sanshi fought Song Lao Wu after Song accused him of killing the martial hall disciples, while soldiers from the Poyang Thousand Households Command tried to contain the confrontation. Chen Sanshi held his own against the Bone Tempering martial artist, and Xu Bin and Zhu Tong surrounded the disciples as they waited for reinforcements.

• Song Lao Wu ordered his disciples to seize Chen Sanshi, but Xu Wencai returned with General Flag Fang and soldiers from the Poyang Thousand Households Command.
• General Flag Fang tried to defuse the dispute, but Song Lao Wu rejected his offer and charged Chen Sanshi himself.
• Chen Sanshi met Song Lao Wu's Thunderclap Swordplay with his Reed Leaf Spear, and their first exchange left neither with a clear advantage.
• Fang Ping rushed to find Commander Wang and urged the soldiers to keep the situation from worsening.
• Xu Bin and Zhu Tong led thirty soldiers in surrounding the martial hall disciples, while Chen Sanshi and Song Lao Wu continued fighting.

Chen Sanshi defeated and killed Song Lao Wu in Yanbian Village, then claimed responsibility to protect his companions. At Eight Treasures Restaurant, Xiang Tingchun used reports of the Tailei Martial Arts School’s attack on Great Sheng soldiers to kill Song Nanshan and order the school’s destruction, while threatening the other masters into replenishing the Military Camp’s grand storehouse.

• Chen Sanshi outlasted Song Lao Wu in battle, wounded him with his spear, and shot him with an arrow when he tried to flee.
• Chen Sanshi caught up with Song Lao Wu on the White Swan Horse and killed him, then told the villagers he would report the matter to Lord Thousand Households himself.
• Xiang Tingchun demanded the four martial arts school masters cooperate and promised to hand over the goods after spring, while threatening to search their residences for weapons and armor.
• Fang Ping sent word that disciples of the Tailei Martial Arts School had surrounded and attacked Great Sheng soldiers in broad daylight.
• Xiang Tingchun killed Song Nanshan, declared the Tailei Martial Arts School guilty of treason, and ordered troops to exterminate it.
• Xiang Tingchun threatened the remaining three masters, demanding they refill the Military Camp’s grand storehouse before dusk the next day.

After Chen Sanshi killed Song Lao Wu, Wang Zhi arrived and ordered Tailei Martial Arts School wiped out, ending the Song family’s power in Poyang County. Chen Sanshi then trained to advance his cultivation and collected a powerful fifteen-stone bow, leaving him better equipped for the dangers ahead.

• Wang Zhi arrived in Yanbian Village, confirmed that Chen Sanshi had killed Song Lao Wu, and ordered his soldiers to exterminate Tailei Martial Arts School for treason.
• The soldiers and villagers killed the martial arts school disciples, and the Song family’s household was executed while its wealth and property were confiscated.
• Martial arts schools began donating military supplies, while Chen Sanshi decided to investigate the medicine valley himself and entered closed-door cultivation to reach Bone Tempering.
• Chen Sanshi trained with the Indestructible Golden Snake Spear and used Xiang Tingchun’s Blood Ginseng to support his cultivation.
• Chen Sanshi collected a fifteen-stone bow and several types of arrows from Niu Gai, then tested a Triangular Armor-piercing Arrow by shattering a large stone from a hundred paces.

Chen Sanshi bought expensive Bone Nurturing Soup and looked for ways to earn money and improve before the Elite Selection Officer arrived. When more than a hundred people from Poyang came to enlist under him, Xiang Tingchun placed them all under Chen Sanshi’s command, and Chen Sanshi gained the Troop Command skill.

• Chen Sanshi bought two batches of Bone Nurturing Soup and considered hunting exotic beasts to earn money and find better Cultivation Resources.
• Wang Li told Chen Sanshi that more than a hundred people from Poyang had gathered outside the Military Camp to enlist under him.
• Chen Sanshi warned the villagers that war could cost them their lives, but they insisted on joining him.
• Luo Dongquan drew his blade when the villagers demanded to follow Chen Sanshi, prompting many to prepare to leave.
• Xiang Tingchun promised the villagers reliable rations and pay and assigned them all to Chen Sanshi despite Luo Dongquan’s objections.
• Chen Sanshi registered the recruits, arranged them in ranks, and saw a System Panel for Troop Command appear.