Chapter Summaries

Xia Nan followed the trail of Barbarian Fugan through the forest and found a Goblin nest whose inhabitants had been killed by a Winter Wolf. After discovering a hidden passage and emerging into a valley, he encountered the wolf and saw Fugan approaching behind it.

• Xia Nan changed course to search for Fugan, but after two days he found no trace of him.
• Xia Nan rolled the [Destiny Glimmer] die, got twenty, and followed an enticing scent to a nearby Goblin nest.
• Xia Nan found the Goblins, including their Bear Goblin leader, dead from powerful bites and claw wounds.
• Xia Nan recognized a strand of white fur as belonging to a Winter Wolf and found a concealed passage in the nest.
• Xia Nan followed the passage to a forest valley, where a Winter Wolf emerged from the bushes and reacted to him with recognition.
• A burly figure approached behind the Winter Wolf as Xia Nan faced it.

Xia Nan reunited with Fugan and his winter wolf Fanny after more than a year apart, then explained his rapid growth and how he had formed the [Hunting Arc] battle momentum. Fugan believed him and stood to arrange a practical test against suitable opponents.

• Fanny recognized Xia Nan and eagerly rubbed against him and invited him to play.
• Xia Nan and Fugan discussed Fanny's name, which could mean either 'Frost Memory' or 'uncooled grudge.'
• Fugan noticed Xia Nan's growth, equipment, and mastery of [Tooth Hunt], and reminded him that his promised favor remained available.
• Xia Nan explained that he needed another combat skill to advance and described forming the [Hunting Arc] battle momentum by combining [Whirlwind Slash] and [Tooth Hunt].
• Fugan accepted Xia Nan's account and stood up to find suitable opponents for a real combat session.

Xia Nan reached a strangely disciplined Goblin settlement with Fugan and was sent to test his strength against its forces alone. As his first battle cry sounded, a pitch-black wolf shadow began forming around him, surprising Fugan.

• Xia Nan followed Fugan and Fanny into a valley and discovered a clean, organized Goblin camp with sentries and Goblins drilling.
• Fugan explained that he had investigated the likely borderland Goblins and wanted Xia Nan to fight them so he could assess his growth and Battle Momentum.
• Xia Nan drew [Emberfall] and descended toward the camp while Fugan and the anxious Fanny watched from the hillside.
• Fugan identified the settlement's forces as 123 ordinary Goblins, two Bear Goblins, and a Lieutenant Hobgoblin, and prepared to intervene if Xia Nan was overwhelmed.
• A deep, prolonged Wolf Howl erupted from below, and Fugan saw a tangible, pitch-black wolf shadow gathering around Xia Nan.

Xia Nan attacked Gaka Bloodspear’s Goblin camp while Fugan watched, using the battle to demonstrate his abilities. He killed the camp’s Bear Goblin and decapitated Gaka Bloodspear, leaving the Goblin force leaderless.

• Xia Nan assessed the Goblins and their three elite fighters before openly approaching the camp with his Straight Sword.
• Gaka Bloodspear considered raiding a nearby human village as his Bear Goblin subordinate urged him to attack.
• Xia Nan unleashed a black Gale assault that tore through the Goblins and killed the Bear Goblin.
• Gaka Bloodspear emerged from his tent and fought Xia Nan, but the wolf-like pressure left him unable to mount an effective counterattack.
• Xia Nan knocked aside Gaka Bloodspear’s spear and cut off his head with a force-enhanced sword strike.

Xia Nan annihilated the goblin camp and defeated its elite hobgoblin, then explained to Fugan how his combat skills and [Night Mother's Gaze] had developed. After assessing Xia Nan’s abilities, Fugan questioned how someone so capable could believe he had reached a bottleneck.

• Xia Nan’s black wolf shadow tore through the goblin camp, killing or severely injuring its goblins and defeating the bear goblins and Gaka Bloodspear.
• Fugan asked Xia Nan whether his transformed [Tooth Hunt] came from the skill he had taught him.
• Xia Nan explained that [Tooth Hunt] had evolved through combat skill proficiency gained in dreams, and told Fugan about Kalosh and the dream behind [Night Mother's Gaze].
• Fugan said the feat also reflected Xia Nan’s combat style and character, rather than coming from the dream alone.
• Fugan considered Xia Nan’s physical strength, combat skills, equipment, and developed fighting style, then asked how Xia Nan could have reached a bottleneck.

Xia Nan struggled to find a combat skill suited to his class and fighting style, so Fugan encouraged him to create one himself and offered to mentor him on the way to Blood-Cast Fortress. During the journey, Xia Nan trained with gravity manipulation and continued experimenting with his own combat skill.

• Xia Nan explained his difficulty finding a high-quality combat skill compatible with [Meteor Blade Hunt] and his [Hunting Arc] Battle Momentum, and Fugan agreed that his existing skills did not suit Xia Nan.
• Fugan suggested that Xia Nan try creating a combat skill himself, offered to help him learn, and mentioned that Blood-Cast Fortress held a large collection of skills.
• Fugan and Xia Nan left the valley, dealt with the Goblins from beyond the kingdom's border, and resumed their journey toward Blood-Cast Fortress.
• Fugan slowed their travels to give Xia Nan time to train and develop combat skills, and Xia Nan used [Gravity Control] to create a weight-training method.
• After training, Xia Nan welcomed Fanny the Winter Wolf and reflected on his recent attempts to create his own combat skill.

Xia Nan eased his training and went hunting with Fanny, hoping to learn from the Winter Wolf’s movements. They discovered a slaughtered adventuring party and a seemingly enraged Layered-Armor Elephant, leaving Xia Nan to face an unexplained threat.

• Fugan advised Xia Nan to slow down his combat-skill training and seek inspiration by relaxing.
• Xia Nan took Fanny into the forest to hunt, and she caught a Wild Rabbit.
• Xia Nan and Fanny followed the sounds of battle and found an adventuring party nearly wiped out.
• Xia Nan identified the attacker as a Level 5 Challenge Rating Layered-Armor Elephant, a normally docile monster.
• The Layered-Armor Elephant, its eyes crimson, let out a piercing cry and interrupted Xia Nan’s thoughts.

Xia Nan and Winter Wolf Fanny fought the wounded Layered-Armor Elephant, giving Xia Nan a chance to test ideas for a self-developed combat skill. He failed to smoothly combine a shield parry with his existing techniques, killed the elephant, and turned toward the surviving bald Ranger.

• The wounded Layered-Armor Elephant charged Xia Nan, who chose to fight it as a test of his combat-skill ideas.
• Fanny attacked the elephant's injured shoulder with Freezing Breath, interrupting its charge and giving Xia Nan an opening to wound it with [Whirlwind Slash] and [Tooth Hunt].
• Fanny froze the elephant's right foreleg again, and Xia Nan tried to combine a shield parry with his other techniques but found the move disrupted his fighting rhythm.
• After the elephant regained some fighting spirit and raised its front legs to strike, Xia Nan evaded, leaped onto its back, and stabbed [Emberfall] into the wound at the back of its neck, killing it.
• Xia Nan confirmed the elephant was dead, reviewed his gains, and looked toward the surviving bald Ranger.

Xia Nan failed to develop a Shield Counter-style skill in battle but decided to keep testing combat ideas through real fights. After saving Ranger Tal from a rampaging Layered-Armor Elephant, he learned that the beast had attacked Tal’s team without provocation and began connecting the incident to Blood-Cast Fortress’s recruitment of adventurers.

• Xia Nan concluded that Shield Counter skills did not suit his current fighting style and resolved to use Perception and real combat to test other ideas.
• Tal drank the remaining Healing Potion from his dead teammate’s pouch, then approached Xia Nan and thanked him for saving his life.
• Tal explained that he and the other adventurers had accepted a job at Blood-Cast Fortress to hunt a Level 3 Manticore, but a normally docile Layered-Armor Elephant had charged their camp and killed most of the team.
• Tal said he had wanted to retreat but stayed after team captain Nat and Hecott urged the others to fight the elephant.
• Xia Nan connected the elephant’s unexpected aggression with Blood-Cast Fortress’s recruitment drive, then asked Tal what he planned to do next.

Xia Nan, Fugan, and the injured Tal continued toward Blood-Cast Fortress while Xia Nan cooked dinner and considered the spoils from the Layered-Armor Elephant battle. Tal estimated they would see the fortress by noon the next day, and Fugan suggested reaching it before dark.

• Tal brought Xia Nan a fawn and continued traveling with Xia Nan and Fugan toward Blood-Cast Fortress as he recovered from his injuries.
• Tal privately assessed Xia Nan and Fugan as far stronger than himself and felt relieved that their journey was nearly over.
• Xia Nan roasted venison with Anvil Honey and shared it with Fanny, while Fugan declined the sweet meat.
• Xia Nan recalled that the Layered-Armor Elephant and the dead adventurers’ equipment had offered little worthwhile loot, and Tal had left the equipment behind rather than risk displeasing him.
• Xia Nan asked how far they were from Blood-Cast Fortress, and Tal estimated they would see it by noon the next day.
• Fugan proposed traveling farther the next day so the party could reach Blood-Cast Fortress before dark.

Xia Nan, Fugan, Tal, and Fanny arrived at Blood-Cast Fortress and traveled through its bustling Outer Camp and lower districts. A patrol stopped them near the Upper City District, but Fugan showed a letter that secured them passage to the Inner Fortress, leaving Xia Nan to explore town with Fanny.

• Xia Nan reached Blood-Cast Fortress and took in its imposing appearance and layered settlement beneath the fortress.
• Tal explained that the Outer Camp had recently grown to accommodate adventurers hired to fight increasingly aggressive monsters in the surrounding hills.
• Xia Nan, Fugan, Tal, and Fanny crossed the Outer Camp, Lower City District, and Middle City District while residents and adventurers watched them.
• A three-man patrol stopped the group as they approached the Upper City District and asked where they were headed.
• Fugan showed the squad captain a marked letter, then told Xia Nan to explore town with Fanny while he went to meet the commander in the Inner Fortress.

Xia Nan learned that Black Cliff Baron Adonis had vanished, then visited Blood-Cast Fortress’s Merit Exchange Office to learn how adventurers could trade monster proof for military merit. As soldiers brought in exchange goods, Xia Nan sensed a mysterious warm current from his Proof of Unweariedness bracelet and began inspecting the items closely.

• Tal told Xia Nan that no one had seen Black Cliff Baron Adonis for half a month, and rumors about the Baron's condition had unsettled the fortress's soldiers.
• Xia Nan wondered whether Adonis's disappearance was connected to the increased monster attacks, the Goblin army he had destroyed, or the Barbarian Fugan.
• Tal led Xia Nan to the Merit Exchange Office, where adventurers could trade proof of slain border monsters for military merit and exchange it for rewards.
• Xia Nan asked whether his Layered-Armor Elephant kill qualified for merit, and Tal confirmed that its tusk tip could serve as proof.
• Soldiers carried exchange goods through the office, and Xia Nan used his Attribute Panel to inspect their equipment.
• Xia Nan felt a warm current ripple from his Proof of Unweariedness bracelet and focused his Perception on the passing items.

Xia Nan discovered that a scale on the Chain of Conquest of Howl-Bone could greatly accelerate the growth of Extreme Realm Combat Techniques. Believing it might boost his slow-progressing [Ember Echo], he decided to secure the necklace.

• Xia Nan noticed Proof of Unweariedness reacting as a soldier brought the Chain of Conquest of Howl-Bone into the room.
• Xia Nan examined the necklace and found the Terminal Reverse Scale among its many pendants.
• Xia Nan read that the scale increased Extreme Realm Combat Technique Combat Skill Proficiency acquisition speed by 50%.
• Xia Nan considered how the effect could help him advance [Ember Echo] and decided he would buy the necklace even if it cost him over ten thousand gold coins.
• Xia Nan approached the young officer overseeing the soldiers and cargo.

Xia Nan discovered that the Chain of Conquest was available at Blood-Cast Fortress but required the Fortress Guardian Merit Rank, then received 20 military merits for the Layered-Armor Elephant. After being summoned to the Inner Fortress by Captain Swinter and Fugan, he began considering staying to earn the rank, and Fugan asked what he thought of Fanny.

• Xia Nan learned that the Chain of Conquest required Fortress Guardian rank to exchange, despite costing only 15 military merits.
• Tal registered the Layered-Armor Elephant's ivory tusk and gave Xia Nan all 20 military merits from the kill.
• Two soldiers summoned Xia Nan to the Inner Fortress, where he decided to pursue the Chain of Conquest while continuing to develop his combat techniques.
• Captain Swinter introduced himself as the garrison captain and acting commander, and Xia Nan inferred that the fortress commander's absence was behind his appointment.
• Fugan asked Xia Nan what he thought of Fanny, the Winter Wolf.

Xia Nan accepted Fanny as a temporary companion while deciding to earn Military Merit through missions rather than use Fugan and Swinter’s connections to obtain the [Terminal Reverse Scale]. At the Military Merit Office, he chose a B-rank mission to eliminate a Level 4 Banshee, and the receptionist asked whether he was going alone.

• Fugan proposed that Xia Nan take Fanny along and look after her while Fugan pursued the Wasteland Druid Bartholomew, and Xia Nan accepted.
• Xia Nan considered asking Swinter to help him obtain the [Terminal Reverse Scale] early, but an intuition warned him against becoming involved with Swinter or Blood-Cast Fortress, so he held back.
• Xia Nan and Fanny went to the Military Merit Office, where an officer promised to alert him if anyone tried to exchange for the [Chain of Conquest].
• Xia Nan declined the offer to jump the mission queue and waited his turn at the counter.
• After reviewing three missions, Xia Nan selected the B-rank bounty to eliminate a Level 4 Banshee, which could help raise his contribution rank to Border Patrolman.
• The young receptionist looked at Xia Nan and Fanny and asked whether Xia Nan was going alone.

Xia Nan and Ranger Tal joined the three remaining members of Sulfur Dragon Breath to meet the four-person requirement for a Banshee-hunting quest. After fighting Goblins and reaching camp, the uneasy parties agreed to leave earlier the next morning and continue toward the monster’s location.

• Xia Nan killed a Goblin and reunited with Tal and Winter Wolf Fanny after suppressing his urge to prolong the creature’s suffering.
• Xia Nan and Tal traveled with Uriah, Shuxi, and Ganke of Sulfur Dragon Breath because neither group alone met the quest’s party-size requirement.
• The two groups fought off Goblins at their camp, while Ganke worried about their missing captain, Gretchen.
• Xia Nan cleaned blood from Fanny’s fur as Tal estimated they would reach the destination by noon the next day.
• Uriah suggested an earlier departure, and Xia Nan agreed, easing the tension between the two groups.

Xia Nan and the Sulfur Dragon Breath party arrived at Ice Tree Village to investigate a Banshee that had attacked adventurers near the settlement. The village chief revealed that a local Hunter had guided the earlier party, but the Hunter was away until the following day, forcing the adventurers to stay overnight.

• Xia Nan and the others reached Ice Tree Village, where the village chief and residents greeted them anxiously.
• Ganke demanded to know whether other adventurers had passed through, but the chief invited the party inside without answering directly.
• Uriah told the chief that the party had come from Blood-Cast Fortress to deal with the Banshee that attacked an adventuring party nearby.
• The chief said the earlier adventurers had hired a local Hunter as their guide, and Xia Nan noticed the chief's expression change when he asked about their requests.
• The chief explained that the Hunter had left to hunt two days earlier and would likely return by sunset the next day, so Uriah agreed to keep the party in the village overnight.

At Ice Tree Village’s banquet, Xia Nan refused a village girl’s request to approach Fanny, then stopped Ganke from threatening her with a silent show of pressure. Xia Nan left the crowded house with the shaken girl, asking her to lead the way.

• The villagers hosted the adventurers, and Ganke complained about the weak wine while promising to deal with the banshee for more food.
• A village girl brought wheat cakes to Xia Nan and asked to look at Fanny, but Fanny signaled that she did not want the girl near her.
• Xia Nan declined the girl’s request, and she began clearing his table despite her disappointment.
• Ganke eyed the girl with malice and tried to rise, but Xia Nan’s gaze forced him back into his chair.
• Uriah scolded Ganke in Captain Gretchen’s name, and the village chief silently thanked Xia Nan for intervening.
• Xia Nan stood, said the house was stuffy, and asked the trembling girl to lead him outside.

After helping Sarah leave the adventurers’ cabin, Xia Nan questioned her about the Banshee and learned that her hunter father had been injured during the encounter. Sarah gave Xia Nan an Ice Crystal Flower bracelet, whose cryptic inscription offered a possible clue to the villagers’ secrecy and his investigation.

• Xia Nan escorted Sarah out of the cabin and privately judged her reckless for entering a room full of adventurers.
• Sarah told Xia Nan that her father was a hunter and confirmed he had guided the adventurers attacked by the Banshee.
• Sarah hesitated when Xia Nan asked what she knew about the Banshee, saying only that her father had returned injured and had not fully recovered.
• Xia Nan let Sarah go, planning to question her father when he returned to the village the next day.
• Sarah hurried back to give Xia Nan a handmade bracelet called [Spring Never Arrived], with seven Ice Crystal Flowers woven into it.
• Xia Nan read the bracelet’s inscription about winter and spring, then put it on as he considered its possible connection to the Banshee and the villagers’ secrecy.

Xia Nan investigated the mystery surrounding the adventurer squad that vanished in the Rime Forest and learned from hunter Old Sang how the attack unfolded. Old Sang’s strange scar and finely made clothes, along with Sarah’s concealed ears, left Xia Nan suspecting the village was hiding more than it admitted.

• Xia Nan tried to question a farmwoman about the adventurer squad that had visited Ice Tree Village, but she grew nervous and refused to answer.
• Uriah led Xia Nan and the Sulfur Dragon Breath squad to Old Sang’s home to ask about the missing adventurers.
• Xia Nan noticed Green Pine warm when he saw Old Sang’s gray-white scar, which seemed to have been caused by an undead creature.
• Old Sang said six adventurers hired him as a guide, entered thick fog in the Rime Forest, and were attacked after one of them insisted they press on.
• Old Sang described fleeing the clearing with a freezing wound, while Xia Nan noticed Sarah kept her ears covered and spotted precise stitching on Old Sang’s clothes.
• Xia Nan asked Old Sang who had woven his clothes, and Old Sang’s expression suddenly paused.