Chapter Summaries

Arro considered the earl territory’s grain shipment and its war with the Saint Fernando Empire, then took Bevan to the Dangerous Experiment Protection Room to explain why hazardous creatures gathered around Wizards. The chapter left Bevan learning that many strange creatures were failed experimental subjects that escaped from Wizard laboratories.

• Arro decided the earl territory’s grain purchase was acceptable compensation and recognized that his own territory’s stability depended on the earl territory surviving the empire’s siege.
• Arro chose not to rush to help resolve the war, since the earl territory had acted without consulting him and he lacked a foundation of trust with them.
• Bevan followed Arro to the Dangerous Experiment Protection Room, where Arro inspected the recovering Demonic Sprite Amber inside its sealed magic array.
• Arro asked Bevan why dangerous creatures appeared near Wizards, then explained that many were failed experimental subjects kept in pastures or allowed to escape.
• Bevan realized that strange creatures could have escaped from Wizard laboratories like Arro’s.

Arro dissected a Werewolf corpse to study the area below the navel and discovered how blood vessels connected through the navel to the body’s organs. He concluded that the cavity below the navel could store Life Force and serve as the Lower Dantian.

• Arro told Bevan he planned to examine the Werewolf corpse, and Bevan calmly agreed to assist him.
• Arro and Bevan bowed to the corpse before beginning the dissection.
• Arro cut open the corpse’s lower abdomen and found dense blood vessels near the area below the navel.
• Arro traced the vessels and realized the navel had once served as the center of an infant’s blood supply.
• Arro proposed using the cavity below the navel as a storage point for Life Force and named it the Lower Dantian.

Arro concluded that the lower dantian was safer and more effective than the heart for storing life force, and decided to create a Beginner training method that could nourish the body’s systems. He began adapting Qi Blood Rampage into the Lower Dantian Method, planning to use Skill Points to avoid dangerous experiments.

• Arro reasoned that the lower dantian could safely store life force and nourish the body’s organs more effectively than the heart.
• Arro concluded that the Lower Dantian Method could trigger combat power faster than Qi Blood Rampage and reach bodily systems neglected by Formal Knights.
• Arro decided to build a Beginner method that guided life force into the lower dantian to nourish the body’s systems.
• Arro and Bevan returned to the library after cleaning up the werewolf corpse, and Arro began drafting a new Skill Book.
• Arro used Qi Blood Rampage as a foundation for the new method to reduce its Skill Point cost and avoid dangerous experimentation.

Arro devised three ways for the Lower Dantian Method to trigger an adrenaline surge and confirmed that all three worked in this world. He named the combined technique Ghost Gate Life Seizing and began considering how to use the method to nourish the body's eight systems.

• Arro outlined three methods to stimulate adrenaline, from nourishing the adrenal glands directly to tricking the brain with danger signals and amplifying them.
• Arro learned that the system recognized all three methods as viable secret techniques, prompting him to wonder whether humans in this world were the same as those in his previous life.
• Arro told Bevan not to worry and continued designing the technique, combining the second and third methods while reserving the first for training.
• Arro named the technique Dantian Method: Ghost Gate Life Seizing and assessed how much potential remained in the skill point.
• Arro turned to the next goal of the Lower Dantian Method: nourishing the body's eight systems.

Arro planned to strengthen the digestive system by improving stomach acid while using vitality to protect the organs and sustain digestive enzymes. He defined Beginner, Proficient, and Perfected levels for the technique, which he provisionally named Eight Extremes - Swallow.

• Arro decided the digestive system should be strengthened first and took inspiration from vultures' ability to digest carrion and bones.
• Arro considered cultivating acid-resistant gut bacteria and using vitality to keep digestive enzymes active as stomach acid grew stronger.
• Arro concluded that vitality would need to protect the stomach wall, pylorus, small intestine, and other parts of the digestive process.
• Arro defined Beginner as improving digestion through signals to the brain and Proficient as briefly stimulating digestive organs for high-speed digestion.
• Arro defined Perfected as using vitality to cover every detail of the digestive system and requiring Sky Swallowing Sand as a medicinal catalyst.
• Arro provisionally named the technique Eight Extremes - Swallow.

Arro developed the next stages of the Eight Extremes Technique, integrating Qi Blood Rampage into Eight Extremes · Blood and outlining respiratory training as Eight Extremes · Qi. He left the new techniques unlearned while planning to study vocalization and further refine the method.

• Arro decided to strengthen the cardiovascular system after the digestive system, linking its role to fuel delivery and reducing the aftereffects of Ghost Gate Life Seizing.
• Arro incorporated Qi Blood Rampage into the Eight Extremes Technique and named the resulting level Eight Extremes · Blood, but refused the system's offer to learn it.
• Arro considered strengthening the respiratory system and concluded that Life Force could improve lung capacity, endurance, and other bodily functions.
• Arro divided respiratory training into vocalization techniques, adding Life Force to produce extraordinary sound, and full Life Force coverage of the respiratory system.
• Arro named the respiratory technique Eight Extremes · Qi and recognized that he still needed to study vocalization and music theory.

Arro considered how to strengthen his body’s recovery and chose the immune system, focusing on the spleen and its connection to the lymphatic network. He devised the Shennong Body burst technique to reduce common toxicities, then named his overall method Eight Extremes.

• Arro weighed strengthening the Endocrine System against the immune system and chose the immune system because it could be developed without completing other bodily systems first.
• Arro theorized that meridians and acupoints were points where blood vessels, nerves, and lymphatic vessels intersected, allowing the body to be adjusted through them.
• Arro identified the spleen as the key organ for strengthening immunity and planned to deliver Life Force to it through the heart.
• Arro considered using poison resistance to target enemies or to study medicines, but rejected poison-based applications as inconvenient and risky.
• Arro named his new burst technique the Shennong Body, described its effect as reducing common toxicities, and named his overall method Eight Extremes.

Arro completed the design of the Eight Extremes Method’s remaining enhancements, covering the urinary, reproductive, endocrine, and nervous systems. He named the final stage God, which would mark the moment the whole body transcended the mundane.

• Arro designed Eight Extremes: Yin to strengthen the urinary system and purify the blood, with healthier skin as a long-term effect.
• He designed Eight Extremes: Yang and the Pure Yang Technique to strengthen the reproductive system and support muscle growth.
• Arro made the liver the core of the Endocrine System’s Connection stage and named its wound-healing burst technique Healing Technique.
• He decided the nervous system, centered on the brain, could only be strengthened gradually by nurturing it with Life Force.
• Arro named the completed final stage Eight Extremes Method: God, the point at which the whole body would transcend the mundane.

Arro studied the Eight Extremes Method and condensed an incomplete version he could learn with his available Skill Point. While organizing its techniques, he realized that Ghost Gate Life Seizing could produce structures resembling meridians and internal energy acupoints, and that other forms of energy might do the same.

• Arro arranged the Eight Extremes Method around its optimal cultivation sequence, adapting it to the fact that he had already mastered Qi Blood Rampage.
• Arro found that learning the full Eight Extremes Method required eight Skill Points, so he condensed an incomplete version containing the Swallow and Blood Character Techniques.
• Arro spent his available Skill Point to learn the incomplete Eight Extremes Method, then began writing out the Swallow Character Technique and Ghost Gate Life Seizing.
• Arro devised a way to nourish the Guanyuan and Mingmen Acupoints with Life Force and control its release through the Shenque Acupoint.
• Arro examined Ghost Gate Life Seizing's two technique sets and realized their use of Life Force resembled meridians and internal energy acupoints.
• Arro wondered whether Magic Power, spiritual power, and other energies could be modified to produce the same effect.

Arro studied the newly combined Eight Extremes Method and considered whether Bevan could use Magic Power in place of Life Force. After Bevan read Arro’s research, Arro left the dangerous choice of trying the method to him.

• Arro compared the Swallow Character Technique and Blood Character Technique, then wrote down the Blood Character Technique’s newly revealed acupoints and methods.
• Arro ate the meal Bard had brought while Bevan began reading his notes, which Arro intended to use to teach him the martial art.
• Arro reasoned that Magic Power might stimulate the Eight Extremes Method like Life Force, though its corrosive effects could cause severe pain and harm.
• Arro decided not to choose for Bevan and asked him what he wanted to do.

Baron Claire argued that the Countess’s allies should trust Wizard Arro, but the masked nobles challenged both his judgment and the credibility of his report about the Saint Fernando Empire’s slowed offensive. The meeting ended with Lucius questioning the chain of hearsay behind news of a massive explosion.

• Teacher Wilfrick and Lucius accused Baron Claire of jeopardizing their secret grain support by involving Wizard Arro.
• Baron Claire suggested honestly asking Arro to help transport the grain, but Lucius warned that Arro might refuse and condemned Claire’s return to the territory.
• Countess Ilinda stopped Lucius from slandering Claire and asked why he believed Wizard Arro could be trusted.
• Baron Claire said Arro’s strength made him worthy of trust and presented a letter reporting that the Saint Fernando Empire’s offensive had slowed.
• Lucius dismissed the report of an explosion affecting five kilometers and challenged the reliability of its secondhand sources.

Baron Claire defended his decision to heed reports of Wizard Arro’s strength, while Lucius challenged his military judgment and dismissed Arro as little more than a Formal Knight. Lucius’s account persuaded several nobles that Arro’s position could be seized, leaving them considering whether to kill him and claim the Lix Viscount Territory.

• Lucius questioned Baron Claire’s command ability and accused him of trusting information from demon hunters who had defected to Wizard Arro.
• Claire reminded Lucius that Arro was a recognized viscount and argued that his past destruction of Viscount Corey’s Manor made the reported threat credible.
• Claire asked whether the earldom could risk provoking Arro, but Lucius countered with a version of the manor attack based on testimony from fleeing Personal Guards.
• Lucius argued that Arro had won the Lix Viscount Territory through luck and political circumstances, rather than exceptional strength.
• Several masked nobles began considering killing Arro and taking his viscountcy for themselves.

Baron Claire reconciled with Knight Wilfric and explained why he had come to defend Peran Territory, then argued that Viscount Arrow was powerful enough to attack Viscount Corey’s Manor. The two worried that the nobles doubted Arrow’s strength, but Wilfric said he had sealed the city to stop them from seeking Arrow out.

• Knight Wilfric apologized to Claire for questioning his loyalty, and Claire said he had never blamed Wilfric for the disaster that destroyed his family.
• Claire explained that Bevan’s inheritance rights could make him a target if the Saint Fernando Empire took the count territory, so defending it was the practical choice.
• Claire and Wilfric considered whether Lucius was a spy, a royal peace faction member, or someone trying to eliminate rivals.
• Wilfric asked whether Wizard Arrow was truly so strong, and Claire described Arrow’s agility and destructive wizardry as proof he could defeat Viscount Corey’s forces.
• Claire feared the other nobles might have gone to find Viscount Arrow, but Wilfric said he had sealed the city under the pretext of war.

Bevan asked Arro whether he could use magic power instead of life force to train the Eight Extremes Method, despite the risk of harming his body. Arro recommended making the method his main focus while learning wizard knowledge selectively, leaving Bevan to weigh the dangers and his future fighting style.

• Arro explained that magic power could damage and corrode Bevan’s cells, and that repeated use of the Eight Extremes Method with magic power could cause lasting illness.
• Bevan argued that he needed a way to survive threats after Arro left, and said he could test the method cautiously despite its risks.
• Arro advised Bevan to avoid Poison Salt and focus on controlling his Shadow Element magic power, which had run wild after the substance stimulated his mind.
• Bevan worried that mastering the Eight Extremes Method would consume the time he needed to learn wizard knowledge and asked whether he should study the whole method or only its techniques.
• Arro recommended making the Eight Extremes Method Bevan’s primary fighting method while learning tricks that improved Mental Strength and advancement, rather than offensive Shadow Element tricks.
• Bevan questioned whether this approach would leave him at a disadvantage against other Wizard Apprentices, and Arro replied that the outcome depended on the opponent and that Bevan still had Shadow Element magic power.

Arro taught Bevan that battle depended on protecting oneself and striking the enemy, not simply on magic power, then challenged him to think through how to allocate power between attack, defense, and movement. The chapter left Bevan considering how movement and defensive magic could let a fighter evade or deflect attacks.

• Arro demonstrated Ghost Gate Life Seizing by striking a fireball-wielding copy of himself with an explosive burst of Molten Slurry, then told Bevan that people, not magic power, were the core of combat.
• Arro explained that fighters had to avoid lethal attacks and target their opponents' vital points, then posed a simulated battle in which both sides had ten parts of magic power to allocate.
• Bevan put all ten parts into attack, while Arro secretly chose ten parts of movement, producing a draw in the simplified game.
• Arro explained that in a real battle movement could evade an attack and allow a counterstrike, then described how Defense Arrow used layers of Deflection Magic Layer to deflect incoming arrows.

Arro explained why ranged weapons and all-out attacks were unreliable, then taught Bevan his combat plan: concentrate magic power on movement so he could adapt, attack, or retreat. He demonstrated the approach with two Light Spheres, showing how speed could evade an incoming attack and strike the opponent.

• Arro explained to Bevan how arrows lose accuracy after piercing eggs and how the Defense Arrow method could counter attacks from bows, crossbows, and small objects.
• Arro told Bevan that no single combat method was best for everyone and that he should not expend all his magic power on an opening attack.
• Arro taught Bevan to concentrate magic power on movement, allowing him to close in, retreat, or strengthen an attack as the situation demanded.
• Arro summoned two Light Spheres and demonstrated how one could use magic-powered movement to evade an incoming attack and strike the opponent.

Arro explained to Bevan how the Eight Extremes Method used magic power to establish the dantian, meridians, and acupoints, while considering how to teach the method to the public. Bevan decided to activate his dantian, but after Arro warned him about the dangers of misplaced energy, he asked whether acupoints could be used to attack enemies, prompting Arro to think of acupoint striking.

• Bevan asked Arro how magic power could open the dantian, meridians, and acupoints, and Arro explained their purpose and how to construct them.
• Arro realized that teaching the Eight Extremes Method through books would be difficult because people needed to understand its specialized terms and follow its steps precisely.
• Bevan announced that he wanted to activate his dantian immediately, citing his fresh understanding of the method and the weak level of his magic power.
• Arro warned Bevan that misplaced magic power could damage nerves and cause paralysis or death, so Bevan agreed to study acupoints carefully.
• Bevan asked whether acupoints could be used to attack enemies, and Arro thought of acupoint striking from martial hero novels.

Arrow learned that a Formal Knight had left the Earl's territory to attack him and went to Viscount Lix's Manor to meet the intruders. Baron Claire arrived with several Formal Knights, and Arrow asked where the attackers were.

• Arrow considered the limits of his acupoint-striking knowledge and decided to save his ideas about acupoint tapping for later.
• Bard delivered Baron Claire's letter warning that a Formal Knight had left Scarlow Fortress to attack Arrow.
• Arrow told Bevan that he would wait for the attackers at Viscount Lix's Manor, and Bevan insisted on accompanying him.
• Arrow arrived at the manor and learned that Baron Claire and several Formal Knights were waiting in the reception room.
• Baron Claire saluted Arrow while Bevan tried to explain his father's presence, and Arrow asked where the attackers were.

Arro learned that Baron Claire had captured two deserter Formal Knights and realized others had used the affair to force Claire into a political bargain. Claire explained how a small earldom’s fortress could resist an empire’s siege, leaving Arro to consider the tactics behind the war.

• Baron Claire explained that he had captured two deserter Formal Knights and that the letter had helped draw Arro into a plan aimed at Claire.
• Arro reassured Bevan that the matter was resolved, then asked Claire what price he had paid; Claire said the captured lords would nominally become his subordinates.
• Claire admitted the Countess did not yet know he had divided her authority, and Arro warned that explaining his decision might be difficult.
• Arro asked how the earldom had resisted an empire, and Claire described how fortress walls and successive waves of serfs, regular soldiers, squires, and Formal Knights shaped a siege.
• Claire explained that attackers used Sinew Nets to restrain defending Formal Knights and that the ongoing siege was an exchange of pieces that could eventually overwhelm the defenders.

Arro learned how the Saint Fernando Empire’s factions were using the war at Scarlow Fortress to pursue their own rewards, while the Fernando Wizard Family’s larger purpose remained hidden. He considered how to disrupt the conflict and protect Baron Claire, but realized that the war was sustained by incentives reaching all the way down to the serfs.

• Arro listened as Claire described how the Fernando Wizard Family might have engineered the war and prepared the Undead Scourge to target the empire’s army.
• Arro concluded that the conflict might be waiting for him to leave and that exposing the family’s intentions would not sway those in power.
• Claire explained how the southern nobles, Imperial Guards, and northern nobles participated in the siege of Scarlow Fortress.
• Arro divided the imperial army into four social ranks and three political factions, then asked whether their differences could be used to provoke internal conflict.
• Claire explained that serfs were promised freedom, an ox, a woman, and farmland, while soldiers could win wealth, land, breathing techniques, and noble titles.
• Arro and Claire acknowledged that the war’s rewards made it a celebration and a path upward for the empire’s lower classes.