Chapter Summaries

Li Qing forged a Fine Iron Battle Halberd and gained more lifespan, but an attack by bandits on the Wu Li Army made him fear that war could reach the border fortress. He decided he had to leave as soon as possible.

• Li Qing finished quenching a battle halberd for Chen Meng and gained five months of lifespan.
• Chen Meng praised Li Qing's craftsmanship and told him to learn Master Gu's skills.
• Li Qing reflected on his lifespan countdown and the years he had gained by forging weapons.
• Soldiers returned with severe wounds after reporting that bandits had attacked the Wu Li Army.
• Li Qing feared the border fortress would become dangerous if war broke out and resolved to leave.

Li Qing brought food to his ailing master, Master Gu, who urged him to leave the dangerous border fortress and go south. Master Gu gave Li Qing a book containing his life’s knowledge, leaving Li Qing with the task of studying and preserving his craft.

• Li Qing noticed the soldiers’ somber mood and learned that food had been sent to the Wounded Soldiers' Camp.
• Li Qing brought a meal to Master Gu, his blacksmithing teacher, and they recalled Li Qing’s apprenticeship.
• Master Gu advised Li Qing to leave the border fortress and head south when he had the chance.
• Master Gu gave Li Qing a book containing everything he had learned, and Li Qing knelt to thank him before leaving with it.

Li Qing entered the Eternal Night World to study the Ancient Profound Hammer Technique and began practicing its demanding stance training. After Yan San offered him work forging farm tools, Li Qing asked to borrow the Yan family's neglected martial arts manuals instead, then worried that his request had drawn unnecessary attention.

• Li Qing crossed into the Eternal Night World carrying the Ancient Profound Hammer Technique and learned that it combined martial training with blacksmithing methods.
• He memorized the technique's fundamentals and practiced its stance, repeatedly collapsing from exhaustion as he trained beneath the crimson moon.
• After hearing an argument outside, Li Qing opened his gate to Yan San, who offered Black Rye Mushrooms in exchange for forging sickles.
• Li Qing asked Yan San to arrange a loan of the Yan family's unused martial arts manuals instead of accepting the mushrooms.
• Yan San eagerly agreed and left, while Li Qing reflected that his request might make people wonder about his interest in martial arts.

Li Qing practiced Stance Training and obtained the Light Silk Leg manual from the Yan family in exchange for making farm tools. After returning to the Wu Li Army camp, he suspected bandits had attacked the Grain Transport Team, leaving the border fortress on the brink of chaos.

• Li Qing accepted the Yan family's Light Silk Leg stone slab and arranged to deliver their sickles in seven days.
• Yan San mocked Li Qing for choosing martial arts practice over collecting Black Rye Mushrooms, but Li Qing resolved to train patiently and grow stronger.
• Li Qing practiced Stance Training in the Eternal Night World, then returned to camp exhausted and hungry, feeling his stamina and footing had improved.
• Li Qing learned from Wu Chong that the cook sent to check on the Grain Transport Team had not returned, and no one from the Wounded Soldiers' Camp had collected food that morning.
• Li Qing inferred that bandits had likely robbed the Grain Transport Team and considered whether they had colluded with the Liang Kingdom.

Li Qing visited the dying Master Gu, who entrusted him with returning the Ancient Profound Hammer Technique to the Gu family and taught him the basics of stance training. Afterward, Li Qing found that practicing the technique had already improved his strength and hammering.

• Li Qing brought Master Gu a meal and promised to return the Ancient Profound Hammer Technique to the Gu family if he ever left the army.
• Master Gu guided Li Qing through stance training and taught him how to regulate his breathing.
• Master Gu warned Li Qing to be wary of a commander of a thousand surnamed Yuan and never offend a mysterious female commander of a thousand surnamed Qian.
• Li Qing returned to his tent and forged sickles for the Yan family, noticing that his hammer felt more natural and his strength had increased.

Li Qing forged twenty-three Black Iron Sickles, learned that the Wu Li Army was preparing for war, and saw Master Gu receive a visit from Centurion Qian Hong. The chapter ended with Li Qing learning about the martial arts realms while remaining wary of attracting powerful people’s attention.

• Li Qing forged twenty-three Black Iron Sickles in one day and gained twenty-three days of lifespan.
• Li Qing overheard soldiers say that bandits had slaughtered the Grain Transport Team and that the Wu Li Army was preparing to fight.
• Master Gu gave Li Qing his food portion and warned that the Wu Li Army would soon fight the bandits, with Daliang possibly joining the conflict.
• Qian Hong visited Master Gu to ask him to reforge her Green Rainbow Sword, but Master Gu suggested Li Qing, whom Qian Hong judged too frail for the task.
• Master Gu explained that Qian Hong was a Hundred Battles Realm expert and described the three martial arts levels to Li Qing.

Li Qing trained in Obsidian City, set goals to grow stronger, learn about the Eternal Night World, and escape the Border Fortress, then met Old Man An at his gate. The chapter left Li Qing preparing to question Old Man An about the world in exchange for repairing his iron pot.

• Li Qing practiced Stance Training for nearly two hours and found his strength and appetite had increased.
• Li Qing ate a pot of sour, astringent Black Rye Mushrooms and resolved to become an Outer Strength expert, investigate the world, and escape the Border Fortress.
• Old Man An came to Li Qing with a damaged iron pot and offered Black Rye Mushrooms as payment for its repair.
• Li Qing agreed to repair the pot and invited Old Man An inside, asking him to answer questions instead of accepting the mushrooms.

Li Qing questioned Old Man An about the vanished sun, Obsidian City's rulers, and nearby settlements, learning how the Eternal Night World had changed and who held power. After repairing Old Man An's iron pot, Li Qing considered the dangers around the Yan family and dismissed the claim that the gods had taken the sun.

• Li Qing asked Old Man An about the sun, and Old Man An recalled that it had disappeared decades ago, ending warmth and crop growth.
• Old Man An explained that religious sects had risen after the sun vanished, but dwindled as darkness and hunger reduced the population.
• Li Qing asked who restrained the Yan family, and Old Man An said the government offices were gone and the Yan family ruled Obsidian City.
• Li Qing reasoned that the Yan family likely had powerful fighters or backing and decided not to provoke them.
• Old Man An told Li Qing about Giant Rock City to the west and Black Soil City to the south, warning him against traveling alone.
• Li Qing repaired Old Man An's iron pot, sent him home, and returned to his room, doubting that gods had taken the sun.

Li Qing discovered that Master Gu had died and attended his simple funeral, reflecting on his mentor’s care and deciding to stay in the army until he was stronger. At Master Gu’s grave, he met the previously absent Centurion Guo Zhentong, who came to pay his respects.

• Li Qing found Master Gu dead and mourned as news of his death spread through the Border Army.
• Centurions Chen Meng and Qian Hong offered condolences, and Qian Hong asked Li Qing about how much of Master Gu’s craft he had learned.
• Centurion Yuan Xiao offered Li Qing help, but Li Qing distrusted him because of Master Gu’s warning.
• Li Qing accompanied Master Gu’s burial and decided not to flee until he had grown stronger and the army’s situation became more chaotic.
• Li Qing practiced his stance before Master Gu’s grave until Guo Zhentong arrived, poured wine over the grave, and told Li Qing to continue training.

Li Qing anticipated the danger of Yuan Xiao’s expedition and focused on improving his strength, then received two ancient martial arts from Yan San in the Eternal Night World. The Yan family dismissed him as an ignorant layman, unaware of what he recognized in the techniques.

• Yuan Xiao led nearly two thousand soldiers on an expedition north, while Li Qing remained at the fortress and worried that the Liang Kingdom might have colluded with the bandits.
• At the Kitchen Hall, Fatty Wu told Li Qing that the imperial court was sending another Grain Transport Team, and Li Qing reassured him that it would likely have a strong escort.
• Li Qing resumed stance training in the Eternal Night World, where Yan San delivered a Beast Skin Scroll depicting Fierce Tiger Pounces on its prey and a Green Bamboo Slip containing the Turtle Breath Technique.
• After Yan San left with the forged sickles, Li Qing smiled and remarked that the Yan family was being clever for nothing.
• Young Master Yan and a burly middle-aged man concluded that Li Qing could not benefit from the martial arts they had given him.

Li Qing crossed the threshold of the Ancient Profound Hammer Technique and began studying Fierce Tiger Pounces to prepare for the coming chaos at the Border Fortress. After hours of practice in the Eternal Night World, he was exhausted but exhilarated by how well the fierce martial art suited him.

• Li Qing's body was tempered by training between the scorching Feng Kingdom and the frigid Eternal Night World, and he advanced the Ancient Profound Hammer Technique beyond its threshold.
• Li Qing learned that General Lu Guanghong's full Wu Li Army would soon reach the Border Fortress and suspected the court expected war.
• Li Qing chose to study the Yan family's Beast Skin Scroll of Fierce Tiger Pounces to quickly improve his combat power.
• Li Qing grasped the art's three levels—Tiger Form, Tiger Intent, and Tiger Spirit—and used his knowledge of real tigers to understand its fierce movements.
• Li Qing practiced Fierce Tiger Pounces for three or four hours in the courtyard, then stopped exhausted and hungry, convinced the martial art suited him.

Li Qing accepted Officer Li Gui’s bribe and agreed to forge him a heavy Mountain-Splitting Axe using misappropriated iron ingots. As war approached, Li Qing planned to leave the Border Army and decided he should forge a weapon for himself.

• Li Qing practiced the True Intent of the Fierce Tiger, reached the threshold of the Tiger Form, and grew stronger and hungrier.
• Li Gui asked Li Qing to forge a Mountain-Splitting Axe weighing over two hundred jin, using iron ingots he had obtained and asking Li Qing to cover the shortfall.
• Li Qing accepted Li Gui’s silver bribe and agreed to the plan despite recognizing the crime’s severity.
• After Li Gui left, Li Qing reasoned that he could conceal any iron shortage and planned to use the coming war as a chance to leave the Border Army.
• Li Qing decided to forge a weapon for himself and recognized that Li Gui was preparing for the approaching war.

Officer Li gave Li Qing Ink Gold to forge into the Mountain-Splitting Axe, and Li Qing considered its potential before studying the Turtle Breath Technique in the Eternal Night World. He memorized the internal martial art, but an uproar outside interrupted him as Old Man An confronted Yan San over his granddaughter.

• Officer Li secretly delivered iron ingots and a piece of Ink Gold to Li Qing, asking him to forge the metal into the Mountain-Splitting Axe.
• Li Qing agreed to try forging with the Ink Gold and wondered whether it could produce a weapon beyond Mortal-grade.
• Li Qing returned to the Eternal Night World and began studying the Yan family's Turtle Breath Technique.
• Li Qing learned that the technique developed Internal Energy slowly and memorized it after more than four hours of study.
• Old Man An shouted at Yan San for pursuing his granddaughter, while Li Qing chose not to intervene.

Li Qing worked through the day forging a massive Mountain-Splitting Axe, struggling to smelt its piece of Ink Gold before stopping to eat. Meanwhile, Tuwahaer learned that Wangyuan City Fortress had been weakened and led five thousand cavalry toward a raid for supplies and Ink Gold.

• Li Qing spent the day forging the axe, shaping its grip and beginning work on its broad head while trying to smelt the stubborn Ink Gold.
• Li Qing realized he had missed all his meals, then found Wu Chong in the Kitchen Hall and asked when the other Wu Li Army camps would arrive.
• A golden eagle delivered news to Tuwahaer that Wangyuan City Fortress had lost nearly half its defenders and reinforcements had not arrived.
• Tuwahaer rejected the idea of taking Wangyuan City and agreed with his adviser to raid for grain, cloth, iron, and Ink Gold.
• Tuwahaer and his five thousand cavalrymen accelerated across the Gobi Desert toward their target.

Grassland bandits launched a surprise attack on the Border Army camp, and Li Qing suspected that a traitor had exposed the army’s sentries and supplies. He sent Wu Chong to hide among the graves while he transported food to the Eternal Night World, leaving his next move uncertain.

• More than five thousand grassland bandits attacked the Border Army camp with flaming arrows while Yuan Xiao was away, setting tents alight and throwing the soldiers into panic.
• Li Qing realized the bandits had bypassed the army’s sentries and spared the granary, so he suspected a traitor had given them intelligence.
• As soldiers fled toward Wangyuan City, Li Qing decided to take supplies and seek refuge in the Eternal Night World.
• Li Qing found Wu Chong hiding in the granary and told him to hide among the graves, warning him not to crawl into his master’s grave.
• Wu Chong ran for the graves while Li Qing gathered grain, flour, and dried meat to transport to the Eternal Night World.

After the bandits overwhelmed the border camp, Li Qing escaped to the Eternal Night World with a large supply of food and burned the camp’s grain storehouse. He planned to remain in Obsidian City for a year to train and return during winter, when the border would be quieter.

• Tuwahaer’s bandits defeated the camp’s remaining soldiers, while Qian Hong and Guo Zhentong fought their way out after threatening the chief.
• Tuwahaer ordered the captured soldiers killed and his men to loot the camp’s supplies.
• The bandits discovered that the grain storehouse was burning, and Tuwahaer sent more men to hunt down the scattered fugitives.
• Li Qing hid the food he had carried into the Eternal Night World and realized he was temporarily free of the camp.
• Li Qing decided to stay in Obsidian City for a year, explore and practice martial arts before returning in winter.

After two months of training in seclusion, Li Qing went out to explore Obsidian City and trade his saved Black Rye Mushrooms for jade. He left the market with the jade after agreeing to pay three catties, realizing the seller had accepted his offer far too quickly.

• Li Qing practiced four martial arts and judged that he was nearing the threshold of Outer Strength.
• Li Qing decided to leave his courtyard and investigate Obsidian City, carrying more than twenty catties of Black Rye Mushrooms.
• Li Qing walked through the busy market and considered trading for jade he could sell in his original world.
• Li Qing asked an old jade seller for a price, rejected the seller's demand of ten catties, and offered three.
• The old man immediately accepted Li Qing's offer and began packing the jade, leaving Li Qing to regret not bargaining further.

Li Qing traded Black Rye Mushrooms at the Obsidian City market, found a jade slip that might be a Protective Jade Talisman, and bought iron for his plans to forge a battle hammer. He left the market carrying more than three hundred jin of iron ingots.

• Li Qing traded more than three jin of Black Rye Mushrooms to an old man for jade pieces and examined a mysterious jade slip.
• Li Qing decided to buy refined iron for forging a battle hammer, hoping to use the unusually heat-resistant Ink Gold as its head.
• Li Qing visited a blacksmith shop and learned that its apprentice charged one jin of Black Rye Mushrooms for twenty jin of iron ingots.
• Li Qing bought more than three hundred jin of iron ingots for fifteen jin of Black Rye Mushrooms.
• Li Qing hoisted the heavy basket onto his back and left the market, astonishing the blacksmith apprentice with his strength.

Li Qing was ambushed by three starving bandits who targeted him for the Black Rye Mushrooms they had seen in his basket. He defeated them with his martial arts and made them carry his iron ingots.

• Li Qing sensed three men following him and confronted them on a deserted street.
• The bandits demanded food and attacked after spotting the mushrooms he had carried through the market.
• Li Qing dropped his heavy basket and coat, then knocked down their leader with a Fierce Tiger palm strike and punch.
• Li Qing sent the third bandit flying with Light Silk Leg and knocked him unconscious with a tiger fist.
• The remaining bandit surrendered, and Li Qing ordered all three to pick up his iron ingots and carry them.

Li Qing defeated the Qi Family's Three Brothers, learned they belonged to the Righteous Gang, and drove them away after condemning their habit of preying on the weak. He brought home iron ingots and began preparing a heavier hammer, but was left wondering how to smelt Ink Gold into it.

• Li Qing questioned the exhausted Qi Family's Three Brothers and learned their names and that they belonged to the Righteous Gang.
• Li Qing mocked the gang's claim to rob the rich and aid the poor, then ordered the brothers to leave his courtyard.
• People around the marketplace praised the unknown man who had beaten the three brothers, though Li Qing did not hear their reactions.
• Li Qing brought the iron ingots into his courtyard and planned a roughly two-hundred-jin warhammer.
• Li Qing began preparing to forge the hammer but struggled with how to smelt Ink Gold into it.