Chapter Summaries

Twelve-year-old Wang Hong struggled to feed himself and his younger brother, Wang Yi, by gathering herbs in Cangyun Mountain. Facing another harsh winter, he ventured deeper into the mountains and found valuable solomon's seal and kudzu root.

• Wang Hong returned to Wang Family Village with a meager haul and shared raspberries and wild vegetable egg-drop porridge with Wang Yi.
• Wang Hong worried that their savings and dried vegetables would not carry the brothers through winter, so he decided to enter the deep mountains.
• Wang Hong set out at dawn with a corn bun and hunting knife and traveled deep into Cangyun Mountain.
• Wang Hong found and carefully harvested thirteen solomon's seal plants, leaving small seedlings behind.
• Wang Hong collected wild walnuts and dug up kudzu root for food and potential sale.

Wang Hong uncovered an enormous Kudzu Root and a mysterious gemstone, then fought off a wolf that nearly killed him. After the gemstone absorbed his blood and flashed with seven-colored light, a surge of heat entered his head and he lost consciousness.

• Wang Hong dug up a huge Kudzu Root and found a polished gemstone with red patterns beside it.
• Wang Hong prepared to keep the gemstone secret and sell it to buy farmland.
• A wounded wolf ambushed Wang Hong, and he fought it with a sharpened stick and knife until he killed it.
• Wang Hong discovered that the gemstone absorbed the blood from his wounds and grew warm and brighter.
• Wang Hong pressed the gemstone against his arm, and it entered his wound in a flash of seven-colored light before a surge of heat rushed into his brain and knocked him unconscious.

After surviving a wolf attack, Wang Hong discovered a mysterious space with fertile land and time that passed much faster than outside. He returned home with the wolf and valuable herbs, then decided to keep the space secret while preparing to obtain seeds.

• Wang Hong explored the empty white space, learned that he could enter and leave it by will, and discovered that he could move objects between it and the outside.
• Wang Hong brought his basket, tools, Kudzu Root, and the wolf into the space, then carried the wolf home despite his injuries.
• Wang Dazhu and the villagers saw Wang Hong return covered in blood with a wolf in his basket, and Wang Dazhu helped him home.
• After two days of recovery, Wang Hong transplanted Solomon's Seal plants into the space and found that its time passed twenty to thirty times faster than outside.
• Wang Hong resolved to buy seeds with the proceeds from selling his harvest and kept the mysterious space secret from his little brother.

Wang Hong learned that Qingyang Academy would hold entrance examinations next spring and resolved to earn enough silver for himself and his little brother to attend. He planted grain and Ginseng in his time-accelerated space, where the seeds had already begun to grow by morning.

• Wang Hong sold furs and medicinal herbs in Cangshan Town, then learned about Qingyang Academy’s expanded enrollment and its ten-tael annual tuition.
• Wang Hong bought Ginseng, wheat, and rice seeds and planned to raise valuable herbs in his accelerated space to pay tuition for himself and Wang Yi.
• Wang Hong returned home with a sugar figurine for Wang Yi and promised that they would soon eat dry rice, chicken, and pork.
• Wang Hong told Wang Yi about the academy, and both brothers looked forward to going and becoming heroes.
• Wang Hong planted wheat, rice, and Ginseng in the space, then found the crops had grown several inches and the Ginseng had sprouted by the next morning.

Wang Hong harvested the rapidly regrowing crops in his space, sold Ginseng for silver, and brought his little brother to Qingyang Academy. The brothers joined the Martial Arts Academy’s entrance line, where Wang Hong received a fifty-jin sandbag and his little brother a thirty-jin one.

• Wang Hong exhausted himself harvesting the wheat and rice in his space, then discovered they regrew from their roots.
• Wang Hong continued harvesting every five days, gathered herbs in the space, and took his little brother to dig wild vegetables.
• Wang Hong sold eight ten-year-old Ginseng roots at medicine shops for thirty-two taels of silver and told his little brother to keep the sale secret.
• Wang Hong and his little brother joined the packed crowd at Qingyang Academy, where a Xiantian Stage instructor’s Lion’s Roar Technique quieted the turmoil.
• Wang Hong followed the crowd to the Martial Arts Academy and received a fifty-jin sandbag, while his little brother received a thirty-jin one.

Wang Hong and his little brother passed the Martial Arts Academy’s sandbag climb by secretly replacing the sand with straw, then officially entered Qingyang Academy. Wang Hong began basic cultivation and battle formation training, while his ambitions and confidence grew.

• Wang Hong took his little brother’s sandbag, secretly replaced the sand in both sacks with straw, and refilled them before reaching the summit.
• Wang Hong and his little brother reached Sunset Peak, where academy instructors checked their sandbags and gave them wooden tokens admitting them to Qingyang Academy.
• Wang Hong celebrated his enrollment in his room and practiced controlling a hunting knife with his spiritual power inside his space.
• Wang Hong began learning the Basic Eight Forms of Cultivation because he was illiterate and could not safely study advanced techniques.
• Wang Hong went to battle formation drills and found his little brother already there, claiming that cultivation had made his arms thicker.

Wang Hong adjusted to academy life, learning military formations, literacy, and medicine while managing his rapidly growing medicinal herbs in his space. After half a year of study, he finally learned enough to begin cultivating internal arts, though his younger brother had kept pace without the advantage of the space.

• Wang Hong formed a five-person squad with Zhang Tiemao, Li Xiaoya, Hua Wenjue, and Lu Jingou, while Jin Dabao was punished with five lashes for arriving late to formation drills.
• Wang Hong invited Zhang Tiemao to eat with him and his younger brother, then the brothers attended literacy and medical classes and learned how food essence contributed to qi and martial cultivation.
• Wang Hong cleared half the medicinal herbs from his space to improve the remaining plants, then used its accelerated time to review what he had learned.
• After half a year, Wang Hong had gained a basic grasp of writing and learned to locate meridians and acupoints, allowing him to begin cultivating internal arts.

Wang Hong chose cultivation manuals and weapons, then sold medicinal herbs in Qingyang City and earned a large sum of silver. After returning to the academy, he borrowed the Muscle-Tendon Cleansing Cultivation Method and cleared most of the plants from his space, where his rice and wheat had grown unusually large.

• Wang Hong compared martial arts books at the Library Pavilion and chose the Muscle-Tendon Cleansing Cultivation Method, Thunderclap Spear, and Basics of Spear Techniques.
• Wang Hong sold a large collection of medicinal herbs at World-Saving Hall for 180 taels of silver and received White Jade Powder as a gift.
• Wang Hong ordered a custom iron spear, bought a hundred-forged steel saber, and paid for a practice spear and its future commission.
• Wang Hong borrowed the Muscle-Tendon Cleansing Cultivation Method and pulled up most of the plants growing in his space, keeping several useful herbs and a raspberry plant.
• Wang Hong examined the enormous rice and wheat grains growing in his space, tasted a raw rice grain, and wanted to cook some.

Wang Hong and his little brother began intensive martial training, but an immortal from the Tai Hao Sword Sect arrived at Qingyang Academy to search for gifted cultivators. The Spirit Sensing Disc revealed that Wang Hong’s little brother possessed an extraordinary spiritual root, and the elder reacted with excitement.

• Wang Hong bought his little brother a sword, and the brothers began practicing martial arts day and night.
• A Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Tai Hao Sword Sect detected an exceptional spiritual root near Qingyang Academy and summoned the students to the training ground.
• The elder used the Spirit Sensing Disc to select over a hundred students, including Wang Hong and his little brother, for testing.
• The disc showed four colors for Wang Hong, then emitted a long, pure white light when his little brother touched it.
• The elder became visibly excited at Wang Hong’s little brother’s result.

Wang Yi accepted the old Daoist’s invitation to join the Tai Hao Sword Sect, while Wang Hong remained behind because his spiritual roots were too poor for admission. After the old Daoist departed, Wang Hong refined a gifted pill and reached the Houtian Realm, then received a summons from the headmaster.

• The old Daoist demonstrated his flying sword and invited Wang Yi to cultivate with him in the Tai Hao Sword Sect.
• Wang Yi asked the old Daoist to take Wang Hong too, but learned that Wang Hong’s four-element spiritual root barred him from joining without a Golden Core elder’s permission.
• Wang Yi promised to return for Wang Hong after succeeding in cultivation, and the old Daoist left with Wang Yi after giving pills to Wang Hong and the headmaster.
• Rumors about the immortal’s visit spread, and the county magistrate gave Wang Hong fifty taels of silver before Wang Hong swallowed his pill and refined it.
• Wang Hong completed a Lesser Celestial Circuit, became a Houtian Stage martial artist, and was summoned to see the headmaster.

Wang Hong moved into a courtyard at the academy and resolved to improve himself rather than rely on his status as an immortal's elder brother. He discovered that food grown in his space accelerated his cultivation, giving him a way to prepare for his planned journey into Qingxu Mountain.

• The headmaster warned Wang Hong to stay inside the academy because people might target him for the Immortal Elixir, then gave him a key to an empty courtyard and a jin of tea leaves.
• Wang Hong moved into the courtyard, worried about his little brother, and practiced the Thunderclap Spear late into the night before returning to cultivation.
• Wang Hong reviewed the difficulty of advancing through the Houtian Stage and decided to reach at least the Xiantian Stage before searching Qingxu Mountain for Qingxu Immortal City.
• After morning drills, Wang Hong borrowed medical books from the library and cooked rice grown in his space.
• Wang Hong found that cultivating after eating the rice stabilized his Ren and Du Meridians far faster than ordinary practice, and he confirmed that space-grown wheat had a similar effect.

Wang Hong prepared medicinal cuisine when a masked Houtian Realm intruder came asking about the immortal’s visit and possible treasures. Wang Hong tricked and fought him, killing him with a spear but suffering a chest wound.

• Wang Hong stewed Solomon's Seal with pork ribs and ate while several outsiders were caught by the academy patrols.
• The masked man entered Wang Hong's home and questioned him about the immortal and the Immortal Elixirs.
• Wang Hong distracted the masked man with a story, threw soup in his face, and thrust a spear into his chest.
• Wang Hong pressed the attack as the wounded masked man weakened and struggled to breathe.
• The masked man stabbed himself on Wang Hong's spear and slashed Wang Hong's chest, but Wang Hong produced another spear and pierced his heart.

After recovering from his fight with a masked intruder, Wang Hong entertained his friends and decided to put his abundant space-grown raspberries to use. He bought wine and Brewing Yeast, prepared medicinal wine with Ginseng and Purple Ganoderma, and started fermenting raspberry wine.

• Wang Hong treated his chest wound, searched the masked man, and reported the corpse to the patrol before resting.
• Wang Hong asked Old Demon Feng for leave, and Zhang Tiemao, Li Xiaoya, Hua Wenjue, and Lu Jingou visited him with warnings about intruders at Qingyang Academy.
• Lu Jingou’s suggestion that raspberries could make good wine inspired Wang Hong to use the fruit he had stored in his space.
• Wang Hong visited the Wan Family Wine Shop and bought one hundred jin of Shao Daozi and Brewing Yeast.
• Wang Hong sealed jars of wine with forty-year-old Ginseng and Purple Ganoderma, then crushed raspberries with Brewing Yeast to begin fermenting berry wine.

Wang Hong and his companions battled a giant python guarding White Jade Ganoderma and returned to the academy with valuable spoils. After tending to his herbs and sampling his wines, Wang Hong decided to cultivate an External Martial Arts technique to strengthen his defenses.

• Wang Hong and his companions continued into the forest, where Li Xiaoya spotted White Jade Ganoderma growing on a cliff guarded by a giant python.
• Wang Hong’s group lured the python into the open and fought it while Lu Jingou climbed the cliff to gather the herbs.
• Lu Jingou returned in time to save Li Xiaoya and Zhang Tiemao from the python’s tail, and all five coordinated their attacks to defeat it.
• Hua Wenjue bought the White Jade Ganoderma stalk that was more than ten years old for fifty taels, and the group divided their spoils before returning to the academy.
• Wang Hong planted the herbs, filtered his raspberry wine, and found that his medicinal wines helped restore stamina and Internal Energy.
• After his Spear Techniques improved through battle, Wang Hong decided to cultivate an External Martial Arts technique.

Wang Hong advanced his martial arts through years of cultivation and used Dragon Tiger Elixirs to push through the Xiantian Realm. After gaining new abilities through his Lung Meridian, he decided to keep his unprecedented achievement secret.

• Wang Hong cultivated the Henglian Liuhe Gong, gathered rare herbs, and reached the sixth level while opening all Eight Extraordinary Meridians.
• Wang Hong made Dragon Tiger Elixirs from hundred-year-old Ginseng and Purple Ganoderma, but two pills left his meridians painfully swollen without triggering a breakthrough.
• Wang Hong beat his body with an iron rod and soaked in medicinal water, reaching the seventh level of the Henglian Liuhe Gong on the seventh day.
• Wang Hong used more Dragon Tiger Elixirs to nourish his lungs until Internal Energy entered the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian and opened the Zhongfu acupoint.
• Wang Hong became a Xiantian Realm martial artist, gained heightened smell and control of his pores, and resolved to conceal his achievement.

Wang Hong and the Qingyang Academy students were conscripted to fight Qin after Great Chu’s defenses fell. After preparing medicines and supplies, they reached Jingzhou City and were ordered to reinforce Huju City, where the Qin Army was already attacking heavily.

• Hua Wenjue celebrated reaching the Houtian Stage before Old Demon Feng announced Great Chu’s Conscription Order.
• Wang Hong accepted that he had to join the war and prepared medicinal wine, pills, powder, and dried meat for the campaign.
• Wang Hong’s group reached Jingzhou City after three months on the road, having learned that Qin had captured several border cities.
• Old Demon Feng returned with orders for the group to join four other academies and reinforce Huju City.
• Wang Hong’s force set out for Huju City, a strategic gateway where more than five thousand defenders had already suffered heavy casualties.

Wang Hong and the Qingyang Camp defended Huju City against a Qin assault, then marched out to meet the enemy after the Qin Army countered the defenders’ rolling logs and boulders. Wang Hong cut through the Qin formation and faced a powerful axe-wielding warrior.

• Wang Hong’s Sixth Squad took its turn guarding Huju City’s walls as the Qin Army harassed the defenders and probed their defenses.
• The Qin Army advanced using sturdy wooden barriers to block the defenders’ rolling logs and boulders, prompting the Chu general to order a sortie.
• Wang Hong and the Chu troops formed ranks outside the city, while their archers inflicted heavy casualties on the advancing Qin soldiers.
• The armies clashed, and Wang Hong killed Qin soldiers with his spear before leading his squad in a wedge formation through the enemy ranks.
• A burly Qin warrior wielding a mountain-cleaving battle-axe blocked Wang Hong and struck at him; Wang Hong’s spear stopped the blow, leaving his palms numb.

Wang Hong broke through a Qin formation and regrouped with his men when fresh Qin troops arrived, forcing the exhausted Chu soldiers into another deadly clash. As the battle wore on and casualties mounted, Zhang Tiemao was badly wounded while saving Li Xiaoya.

• Wang Hong killed the Qin centurion blocking his advance, then led his men through the formation and pursued the remaining Qin soldiers.
• Wang Hong spotted fresh Qin troops charging from the rear and reorganized his men into a square formation as the earlier Qin soldiers regrouped.
• The fresh Qin force clashed with the Chu formation, and Wang Hong killed multiple soldiers while struggling to prevent mounting casualties.
• The Qin soldiers surrounded the Chu centurion, who fought free after being stabbed in the abdomen and narrowly avoided a spear thrust to the face.
• Lu Jingou, Li Xiaoya, and Zhang Tiemao fought together while wounded, and Zhang Tiemao took a spear through his leg while saving Li Xiaoya.

After the Qin Army withdrew from Huju City, Wang Hong treated the gravely wounded Zhang Tiemao with his rare medicines and medicinal food. Zhang Tiemao’s bleeding stopped, while Lu Jingou, Hua Wenjue, and Li Xiaoya discovered that the food also aided cultivation.

• Ji Ru ordered the Qin Army to spend two days building siege equipment while waiting for reinforcements, then attack Huju City together.
• Wang Hong returned to the barracks and cultivated after treating his own wounds, troubled by the soldiers who had died.
• Lu Jingou brought Wang Hong to the wounded soldiers’ camp and begged him to save the unconscious Zhang Tiemao.
• Wang Hong treated Zhang Tiemao with White Jade Powder and White Jade Life-Extending Pills, stopping the bleeding from his wounds.
• Wang Hong gave Li Xiaoya medicinal jerky to prepare for Zhang Tiemao and shared more with Lu Jingou, Hua Wenjue, and Li Xiaoya, who began cultivating after eating it.

Wang Hong became centurion of the depleted Sixth Battalion and used his resources to treat the wounded before helping repel the Qin Army’s efforts to fill Huju City’s moat. As the moat neared completion and a full siege loomed, Xiang Cheng ordered Mi Yan to lead five thousand elite soldiers on a dangerous mission to burn the Qin Army’s grain supplies.

• Feng Li appointed Wang Hong centurion of the Sixth Battalion, and Wang Hong used White Jade Ganoderma and medicine to treat its wounded and bring trusted soldiers into his unit.
• The Qin Army sent protected wheelbarrows to fill the moat, and Wang Hong ordered his men to use short spears to kill drivers and halt their advance.
• The Qin Army suppressed the defenders with arrows while its drivers continued filling the moat, leaving the Chu Army expecting a full siege the next day.
• Xiang Cheng planned to destroy the Qin Army’s grain supplies and asked his generals how to infiltrate the enemy’s rear.
• Mi Yan volunteered to lead five thousand elite soldiers over Xiaoping Peak and down Tengshe Cliff, and Xiang Cheng gave him the order.
• Mi Yan’s five thousand soldiers quietly left Huju City at night and disappeared into the mountains.