Chapter Summaries

Sixteen-year-old Zhang Yuan, a newly recruited Great Qin Black Robe Guard, awoke amid the ruins of Fengtian County after dreaming of another life in Huaxia. When Yan soldiers discovered him, he fought back and killed two attackers.

• Zhang Yuan woke in the ruins and recalled his life as a Great Qin guard and his strange dream of Huaxia.
• Zhang Yuan pretended to be dead as three Yan soldiers searched the alley, but one spotted him and attacked with a spear.
• Zhang Yuan used his saber to deflect the spear thrust, then seized the spearman by the throat and wounded him.
• Zhang Yuan struck the wounded spearman with a knee, then cut down the charging Yan soldier with a heavy axe.

Zhang Yuan discovered that Chaos could turn enemies’ vitality and martial memories into strength and skill, helping him defeat Yan soldiers and reach the Early Houtian Realm. After his comrades rescued him, he examined Chaos’s status screen and was asked what he wanted to do if he survived.

• Chaos appeared in Zhang Yuan’s mind and converted a veteran’s vitality and cultivation memories into greater strength and saber skill.
• Zhang Yuan used the Cape Saber Technique to sever an axe-wielding Yan soldier’s arm, while a nearby archer shot another fleeing Yan soldier.
• Zhang Yuan killed the wounded soldier, and his comrades gathered the Yan soldiers’ equipment and escorted him away.
• In a stone house, Zhang Yuan realized that the two kills had raised his strength by one hundred jin, advanced him to the Early Houtian Realm, and brought his Cape Saber Technique and Ironclad Fist to Great Accomplishment.
• Zhang Yuan summoned Chaos and saw his cultivation, techniques, and other status listed on its screen.
• A hoarse voice asked Zhang Yuan what he wanted to do if he could survive.

Zhang Yuan fought to hold Fengtian County City against the Yan army, gaining strength by delivering finishing blows to wounded enemies. He then faced the same duty toward a mortally wounded comrade who asked him to end his suffering.

• Duan Hong ordered Young Master Tao and Zhang Yuan to cover the rear and deliver finishing blows as the Yan army attacked.
• Duan Hong's soldiers joined a Crimson Scale Army unit and formed up to drive Black Armored Soldiers back from a city opening.
• Zhang Yuan killed a wounded Black Armored Soldier, gaining fifty jin of strength and a saber-wielding figure from the Chaos Screen.
• Duan Hong reported that Xu Tuozi was mortally wounded, and Zhang Yuan carried him to a broken wall.
• Young Master Tao recited Xu Huanshan's name, service record, and wishes for his family's support, while Zhang Yuan promised the money would be delivered.
• Xu Huanshan asked Zhang Yuan to give him a quick end.

Zhang Yuan’s squad faced a renewed assault as Fengtian County’s defenders suffered devastating losses, and he gained strength and martial insight from Xu Huanshan’s power. With the army ordered to retreat to South City, Zhang Yuan and Tao Yulin stayed behind to cover their comrades’ escape.

• Zhang Yuan mourned Xu Huanshan’s fallen comrade and joined Duan Hong’s soldiers in holding the alley against the Black Armored Soldiers.
• Xu Huanshan’s blood beads strengthened Zhang Yuan and raised his Cape Saber Technique and Ironclad Fist to Great Perfection.
• Zhang Yuan and the shield-bearers were knocked down by the enemy’s pillar and crossbow assault, while Zhou Quan and Feng Jiliang were reported slain.
• The Qin Army ordered a retreat to South City, and Zhang Yuan broke away from Duan Hong to cover the squad’s rear.
• Tao Yulin revealed his formidable spear skill, killed two Black Armored Soldiers, and held off the attackers while Duan Hong and the others retreated.

Zhang Yuan and Young Master Tao fought through two squads of Black Armored Yan Army soldiers, and Zhang Yuan’s Cape Saber Technique reached Great Perfection. Young Master Tao pulled Zhang Yuan back from the enemy formation, but a piercing arrow from a Xiantian Realm archer threatened them as they retreated.

• Zhang Yuan killed two wounded Black Armored Soldiers and stored the resulting Vitality Beads and insight in his Chaos Space.
• Tao Yulin told Zhang Yuan about his family’s downfall as they fought the Black Armored Soldiers together.
• Zhang Yuan broke into the Mid Houtian Realm, while his Chaos Screen showed four Insight Beads and the Cape Saber Technique at Great Perfection Level.
• Zhang Yuan and Young Master Tao shattered the Azure Wolf Formation of two squads and killed the remaining wounded soldiers.
• Young Master Tao stopped Zhang Yuan from charging into the enemy formation and led him in retreat.
• A shrill arrow fired from two hundred paces away signaled the approach of a Xiantian Realm archer.

Zhang Yuan fought through Yan soldiers and evaded a Xiantian Realm archer while carrying the gravely wounded Young Master Tao back to the Qin Army. The chapter ended with Young Master Tao asking Zhang Yuan to put him out of his misery.

• Young Master Tao took an arrow through the chest while helping Zhang Yuan escape with the brothers' military merit, then urged him to go.
• Zhang Yuan turned back and used Chaos, Battle Assist to fight through the Yan soldiers surrounding Young Master Tao.
• Zhang Yuan killed several Yan soldiers, but the Xiantian Realm archer pursued him with arrows as he carried Young Master Tao through the ruins.
• Zhang Yuan collapsed near the Qin Army, where soldiers judged Young Master Tao unlikely to survive his chest wound.
• Young Master Tao opened his eyes and asked Zhang Yuan to give him a quick end.

Zhang Yuan and Young Master Tao recovered in a wounded soldiers’ camp after escaping the Yan Army, but South City remained besieged and short of food. After realizing the soldiers had nearly exhausted their provisions, Zhang Yuan asked Physician Hu about unused medicinal herbs.

• Zhang Yuan and Young Master Tao were saved after Deputy Commander Zhao Changming protected Tao Yulin’s heart meridian, though Tao’s martial cultivation was ruined.
• While recovering, Zhang Yuan reviewed the Chaos Screen and found his strength had grown close to a thousand jin as his wounds healed.
• Chen Wuxiong brought Zhang Yuan and Young Master Tao meat soup made from Commander Yu Lin’s slaughtered warhorse.
• Zhang Yuan learned the battalion and besieged city had run out of grain and asked Physician Hu about medicinal herbs that could not be used.

Zhang Yuan helped the wounded soldiers stave off hunger by suggesting medicinal herbs be boiled with meat soup, earning the Crimson Scale Army a few days of rations. He asked for a cultivation method as his reward, and Commander Yu Lin summoned him to hear how he had come up with the idea.

• Zhang Yuan suggested that Hu Chunniu boil edible medicinal herbs with meat soup so the wounded soldiers could eat.
• Hu Chunniu's medicinal soup recipe led the army to gather about a thousand jin of herbs, providing the soldiers with several days of rations.
• At Young Master Tao's suggestion, Zhang Yuan asked for a martial arts cultivation method as his reward.
• Commander Yu Lin summoned Zhang Yuan, asked about his idea, and praised his loyalty to his comrades.
• Zhang Yuan began to mention that Yu Lin had slaughtered his beloved warhorse, then stopped before finishing.

Zhang Yuan urged Yu Lin to defend Fengtian County and demonstrated his perfected Cape Saber Technique, prompting Yu Lin to offer to teach him the Mountain Yue Saber Technique. When Zhang Yuan sensed the technique’s mountain-like force, he activated Chaos’s Battle Assist as Yu Lin began demonstrating it again.

• Zhang Yuan suggested draining a courtyard pond for food, then declared that Great Qin must hold its territory even if the defenders could not prevail.
• Yu Lin asked Zhang Yuan to demonstrate his cultivation, and Zhang Yuan performed the Cape Saber Technique at Great Perfection.
• Yu Lin praised Zhang Yuan’s talent and offered to teach him the Mountain Yue Saber Technique.
• Zhang Yuan admitted he remembered none of the moves but described the technique’s weight and mountain-like force, impressing Yu Lin.
• Yu Lin began demonstrating the technique again, and Zhang Yuan activated Chaos’s Battle Assist as an Insight Bead shattered into light and shadow.

After learning the Mountain Yue Saber Technique from Yu Lin, Zhang Yuan woke to find the Crimson Scale Army preparing to evacuate the wounded and civilians while the remaining soldiers defended Fengtian County. He accepted Young Master Tao’s record of the battalion’s merits and wishes, then practiced his new saber technique as he resolved to live.

• Zhang Yuan remembered the Mountain Yue Saber Technique by placing himself in the opponent’s position, and Yu Lin recognized his extraordinary talent and considered Zhao Changming’s proposal.
• Zhang Yuan used three Insight Beads to learn the technique, then learned from Chen Wuxiong that their battalion would escort wounded soldiers and civilians out of the city.
• Young Master Tao gave Zhang Yuan the bloodstained record of the battalion’s military merits and wishes, believing Zhang Yuan had a better chance of carrying it out.
• Zhang Yuan practiced the Mountain Yue Saber Technique beside the broken wall while recovering, and Hu Chunniu joined him to talk about the old Qin people’s resolve to live with dignity.

Zhang Yuan prepared to leave South City with the wounded and townspeople as the Yan Army attacked, while Commander Yu Lin fought to cover their escape. The chapter left Zhang Yuan descending from the wall with Chen Wuxiong to begin the dangerous breakout.

• Hu Chunniu gave Zhang Yuan copies of his medical prescriptions, which Zhang memorized and hid.
• Yu Lin taught Zhang Yuan the Mountain Yue Fist Technique and urged him to survive before rushing to defend the city wall.
• Duan Hong organized the wounded and townspeople for an escape, and Chen Wuxiong gave Zhang armor and told him to follow his lead.
• Yu Lin fought Yan Army expert Chen Jitang while Duan Hong led the group out of the courtyard after a red flag signaled the retreat.
• Chen Wuxiong descended from the wall by rope, and Zhang Yuan followed him down to the ground.

Zhang Yuan turned back to shield the fleeing civilians and wounded from the Yan cavalry, killing mounted soldiers and advancing his strength and Mountain Yue Saber Technique. As the survivors retreated into the low woods, he spotted Yan soldiers waiting in ambush by the rocky cliff.

• Duan Hong led the breakout from the city while Zhang Yuan and the others ran toward the low woods under fire from the Yan Army.
• Zhang Yuan turned back to face the cavalry, but Chen Youde and Chen Wuxiong each stayed behind to protect the fleeing civilians and wounded, and both were killed.
• Zhang Yuan used his saber to kill two Yan riders and cripple their horses, holding off the remaining cavalry while the survivors reached the woods.
• Zhang Yuan broke through the Thousand Jin Strength threshold and reached Minor Mastery in Mountain Yue Saber Technique as Duan Hong led the retreat into the woods.
• Zhang Yuan spotted Yan soldiers concealed by the rocky cliff and shouted that they were walking into an ambush.

Zhang Yuan fought through a Yan Army ambush and led the civilians and wounded toward Chen Family Village, while Duan Hong stayed behind to hold off the enemy. After handing Young Master Tao the cloth roll, Zhang Yuan turned back to cover the retreat and embraced his duty as a Great Qin Martial Guard.

• The Yan Army ambushed Duan Hong's company and slaughtered soldiers and civilians as they fled through the forest.
• Zhang Yuan fought through several Yan soldiers, then withdrew with Duan Hong and realized the enemy was driving the group toward a dead end.
• Duan Hong charged the pursuing Yan soldiers so Zhang Yuan could lead the civilians and wounded along the left-hand path.
• Zhang Yuan broke through the Yan Army blocking the route, allowing the fleeing group to head toward Chen Family Village.
• Zhang Yuan gave the rough cloth roll to Young Master Tao, turned back to cover the retreat, and declared himself ready to face the Yan Army.

Zhang Yuan broke through to Houtian Late-stage while fighting the Yan soldiers, then found the wounded Duan Hong as he tried to draw the pursuers away from the escaping civilians and wounded. Yu Lin was surrounded by two Yan Xiantian experts and Ouyang Ming, and as he faced them alone, he began demonstrating the Mountain Yue Saber Technique for Zhang Yuan.

• Zhang Yuan shattered his accumulated Vitality Beads and Insight Beads, mastered Mountain Yue Saber Technique to Great Accomplishment, and charged into the Yan formation.
• Zhang Yuan killed several Yan soldiers, broke through to Houtian Late-stage, and fled through the forest while dodging arrows and leading the pursuers away from the evacuees.
• Zhang Yuan found the wounded Duan Hong and saw two Yan Xiantian experts lure Yu Lin toward a hidden Half-step Xiantian expert, Ouyang Ming.
• The Yan experts and Ouyang Ming surrounded Yu Lin, while Yu Lin ordered Zhao Changming to keep Fengtian County City defended and not send troops to rescue him.
• Yu Lin told Zhang Yuan to watch as he demonstrated Mountain Yue Saber Technique, then unleashed Cloud Concealing Mountain Mist.

Zhang Yuan refused to abandon Duan Hong and charged a wounded Yan Army Xiantian expert, wounding him with his Mountain Yue Saber Technique and shifting the battle’s momentum. The remaining Yan expert underwent Demon Transformation and drove Yu Lin back, but Yu Lin revealed that he had reached the mid-stage Xiantian Realm.

• Yu Lin used the Mountain Yue Saber Technique to injure one Yan Army Xiantian expert and hold off the others, creating a chance for Zhang Yuan and Duan Hong to escape.
• Duan Hong urged Zhang Yuan to go first, but Zhang Yuan charged the wounded Xiantian expert instead of leaving him behind.
• Zhang Yuan drew his saber and wounded the Xiantian expert with Cliff-Cleaving Cloud and Turning Peaks and Roads, then cut him several more times with Jade Clouds Around Peaks.
• Young Master Ouyang moved to attack Zhang Yuan, but Yu Lin blocked him and the other Xiantian expert while Zhang Yuan continued fighting.
• The Yan Xiantian expert underwent Demon Transformation, struck Yu Lin hard enough to reopen his wounds, and attacked him with a black-scaled arm.
• Yu Lin raised his head and revealed the aura of a mid-stage Xiantian Realm expert.

Zhang Yuan and Yu Lin defeated the Yan Army Xiantian experts, but Yu Lin revealed that he was dying after using a secret art and asked Zhang Yuan to tell Zhao Changming to leave Fengtian County City. Zhang Yuan promised to help defend the city, then returned wearing Yu Lin’s armor, leaving Zhao Changming stunned when he removed his helmet.

• Yu Lin severed the demon-transformed Xiantian expert’s arm and knocked Young Master Ouyang unconscious, while Zhang Yuan killed another Xiantian expert.
• Zhang Yuan pursued and killed the wounded demon-transformed Xiantian expert after Yu Lin called him to finish the fight.
• Yu Lin confessed that he had defied orders and held Fengtian County City for three months, causing many deaths, and urged Zhang Yuan to tell Zhao Changming to leave.
• Zhang Yuan promised to help Yu Lin defend Fengtian County City as Yu Lin’s life faded.
• Zhang Yuan returned to the city wearing Yu Lin’s crimson armor, rallied the defenders, and climbed the wall as the Yan Army retreated.
• Zhao Changming followed the apparent Yu Lin into the military camp, where the figure removed his helmet and revealed himself as Zhang Yuan.

Zhang Yuan returned to Fengtian County City disguised as Yu Lin and told Zhao Changming that the commander had fallen, but Zhao kept the truth from the garrison to preserve morale. When the Yan Army launched a night raid, Zhang Yuan took up the commander’s guise and drove off two Xiantian Realm generals, leaving the Yan Army threatening revenge for Ouyang Ming.

• Zhang Yuan told Zhao Changming that Yu Lin had died fighting three enemies and that Fengtian County City no longer needed to be defended.
• Zhao Changming planned to lead the remaining garrison troops in a breakout and ordered Zhang Yuan to keep his identity secret, while Zhang Yuan reviewed his abilities and resources.
• The Yan Army launched a night raid, interrupting Zhao Changming’s plan to withdraw under cover of darkness.
• Zhang Yuan emerged in Yu Lin’s armor and charged onto the city wall to help Zhao Changming fight two Xiantian Realm Yan generals.
• Zhang Yuan struck one general from the wall and gravely wounded him, prompting the other to retreat and threaten revenge over Ouyang Ming’s death.

Zhang Yuan helped defend Fengtian County City after the Yan Army withdrew, then revealed to Zhao Changming that his Xiantian True Essence and Mountain Yue Saber Technique came from Commander Yu Lin. When the Yan Army broke through at Bluestone Bridge, Zhang Yuan charged toward their shield formation.

• The Yan Army withdrew after Zhao Changming and Zhang Yuan confronted its Xiantian experts, and Zhao Changming learned that Zhang Yuan carried Yu Lin’s sealed Xiantian True Essence and had inherited his Mountain Yue Saber Technique.
• Zhang Yuan told Zhao Changming that Ouyang Ming had been badly wounded and sent away with Duan Hong, and Zhao Changming recognized the possible importance of Ouyang Ming’s survival.
• After resting through the night, Zhang Yuan awoke to the Yan Army’s renewed assault and went to the city wall, where Zhao Changming sent him to check the street defenses.
• Zhang Yuan found Yan soldiers forcing their way across Bluestone Bridge behind heavy shields and crossbow fire, and he charged toward their formation as Qin soldiers called to help him break it.

Zhang Yuan led soldiers in the Azure Wolf Battle Formation to break the Yan Army’s defenses at Flatstone Bridge, then spent three days fighting to defend Fengtian County City alongside Zhao Changming. With the city nearly lost and nine Xiantian Realm warriors approaching, Zhao Changming urged Zhang Yuan to escape if he could.

• Zhang Yuan and several soldiers formed the Azure Wolf Battle Formation, broke through the Yan Army’s shield wall, and drove its troops from Flatstone Bridge.
• Zhang Yuan waited for a Vitality Bead and Insight Bead to form, then honored the fallen soldiers before leaving the bridge.
• Over the next three days, Zhang Yuan fought multiple assaults, killed two Yan Army captains, wounded a Xiantian Realm warrior, and helped repel the attackers; Zhao Changming was badly wounded.
• Zhao Changming taught Zhang Yuan battlefield tactics and spoke of Great Qin’s refusal to worship outsiders as ancestors, while the remaining defenders faced overwhelming odds.
• Nine Xiantian Realm warriors gathered outside Fengtian County City, and Zhao Changming told Zhang Yuan to flee if an opportunity arose as the Yan Army’s Azure Eagle Black Banner advanced.

Zhang Yuan traded his life for the safe passage of Zhao Changming and the remaining Crimson Scale Army soldiers, then stood alone to defend Fengtian County City against Ouyang Xu’s forces. After leaping from the wall, he used his battle support and saber techniques to kill or overturn several charging cavalrymen.

• Ouyang Xu demanded that Yu Lin surrender and offered to spare the Crimson Scale Army soldiers if one man accepted responsibility.
• Zhang Yuan ordered Zhao Changming to lead the remaining soldiers out of the city, and Ouyang Xu let them pass through his formation.
• Zhang Yuan revealed his identity, jumped from the city wall, and declared that the Western Suppression Army would have to kill him to take Fengtian County City.
• Ouyang Xu sent eight Black Armored Cavalry riders to attack Zhang Yuan, who killed or overturned several of them with his saber techniques.
• Zhang Yuan shouted a challenge to the remaining cavalry as they turned to face him.