Chapter Summaries

Shilke woke after being rescued from the blizzard and asked Ye Jinghong to search for Grassland Elves who might have survived the Lizardmen’s invasion. Ye Jinghong promised to help after the blizzard passed, and Shilke learned that Lord Qian Sui had rescued him.

• Shilke woke in the medical department and learned that the leader was not in the village.
• Shilke asked the Head of Medical Department to meet whoever was in charge, and Ye Jinghong came to see him.
• Shilke told Ye Jinghong that other Grassland Elves might have survived the Lizardmen’s invasion.
• Ye Jinghong refused to send searchers into the dangerous blizzard but promised to help after it passed.
• Shilke learned that Zhou Xu was in another village and that Lord Qian Sui had rescued him.

As a blizzard battered Grassland Village, Shilke stayed awake fearing the building would collapse, then learned it had been reinforced with mortise-and-tenon joints throughout. After experiencing its sturdy construction and excellent food, he wondered whether Zhou Xu’s Great Zhou had two villages.

• A medical worker told Shilke during the blizzard that his building would not collapse and urged him to rest.
• Shilke stayed awake all night worrying, then asked a medical worker why the building was so sturdy.
• The chapter explained that Grassland Village’s important buildings had been reinforced with mortise-and-tenon joints throughout after an earlier roof collapse.
• Shilke ate Grassland Village’s varied food, received treatment, and slept through the day.
• After hearing the storm continue to buffet the swaying building, Shilke wondered whether Great Zhou had two villages.

During a blizzard, Zhou Xu kept his people busy with reading lessons and trained his True Words power while twenty recruits traveled toward Iron Mountain Village. Led by Hong Shi, the recruits crossed Barren Mountain and were astonished by the transformed valley and the newly built Barren Mountain Village.

• Zhou Xu arranged Wang Dong's remedial reading classes for those who needed to learn, then continued intensive True Words training at home.
• Hong Shi led twenty recruits from the Gobi to the relay station at Barren Mountain, where a guide escorted them up to the guard post.
• The recruits spent the night at the former Barren Mountain Village, now a large guard post, and Hong Shi wondered about its village-like appearance without asking.
• The next morning, Hong Shi's group descended the mountain and found that the valley had been cleared and opened up, with farmland and irrigation channels.
• Hong Shi and the recruits reached the new Barren Mountain Village and saw that it was more than twice the size of the old settlement.

Hong Shi arrived at Iron Mountain Village with the New Recruit Squadron and learned that he would lead the recruits on a recruitment operation. Shi Lei organized the force and launched the mission at dawn, where the opposing tribe spotted them and the battle began.

• Hong Shi reported to Shi Lei with all twenty recruits and led them to their quarters.
• Shi Lei began the search operation early, using scouts' reports and the fresh snow to locate nearby tribes.
• Shi Lei assigned twenty regular soldiers to defend Iron Mountain Village and prepared the Vine Armor Soldiers, recruits, and militiamen for the mission.
• At dawn, the force advanced toward the opposing tribe's camp, but the tribe spotted them before they could approach.
• Hong Shi ordered the recruits to form the counterattack formation while Shi Lei and the Vine Armor Soldiers held back to let them train.

Hong Shi led the New Recruit Squadron to defeat and capture several tribes, securing a camp for Great Zhou’s recruitment and assimilation efforts. After another easy victory, he became determined to challenge Zhou Chongshan to a rematch.

• Hong Shi charged the attacking tribal warriors, while Shi Lei called for them to surrender; the frightened warriors dropped their weapons and were captured.
• Hong Shi led the New Recruit Squadron to seize the opposing tribe’s camp, which became their forward base.
• After scouts and prisoners revealed that three tribes of nearly a hundred people each shared the region, Shi Lei judged them weaker than the Savage Stone Tribe.
• Hong Shi’s squad defeated more tribal warriors, whose numbers and weapons could not overcome the bronze battle sabers.
• Hong Shi recalled losing a duel to Zhou Chongshan and decided to find a chance to fight him again.

After the blizzard passed, Grassland Village began clearing snow and repairing damaged houses, while Shilke recovered and saw how efficiently the villagers worked. After breakfast, Li Ce and Zhou Chongshan prepared to ride out with a ten-man cavalry squad, and Shilke asked to go with them.

• Shi Lei sent captured prisoners to Salt Lake Village and Black Moon Village as laborers, and Zhou Xu conscripted fifty more recruits in Black Moon Village.
• After the blizzard ended, Shilke saw Grassland Village's villagers clear snow and ruins with striking efficiency.
• Zhuo Ge guided Shilke through breakfast, where Shilke ate a full cafeteria portion for the first time.
• Li Ce and Zhou Chongshan prepared to leave Grassland Village with a ten-man cavalry squad, and Shilke asked to join them.

Li Ce’s patrol captured fifteen wild horses near Elf Village while Shilke searched the buried ruins for survivors. After five Grassland Elves were discharged from the hospital, Shilke set out with them alongside Li Ce’s cavalry to look for their missing tribesmen.

• Li Ce received Ye Jinghong’s approval to let Shilke and Zhuo Ge join the patrol, and Zhuo Ge brought several tribesmen with him.
• At Elf Village, Shilke searched the ruins while Li Ce led the others to a lake and captured fifteen wild horses.
• Shilke returned to Grassland Village and visited the nine surviving Grassland Elves, learning that five with minor injuries would soon be discharged.
• Two days later, Ye Jinghong lent Shilke five horses, and the five recovered Grassland Elves left with him to search for survivors.
• Li Ce’s cavalry patrolled and captured wild horses as Shilke and his five subordinates traveled with them for safety.

Shilke found a surviving Grassland Elf, who told him that nineteen tribesmen had escaped the Lizardmen attack but were stranded without food. Li Ce decided to retrieve them and travel back to the village through the night.

• Li Ce and his group hunted herbivores near the ruined Elf Village while Shilke searched nearby for survivors.
• A starving Grassland Elf found Shilke and explained that Slaven had died during the evacuation and nineteen tribesmen had taken shelter in the hills.
• Shilke sent a subordinate to inform Li Ce, who came to hear the survivors’ situation.
• Shilke said the survivors were far away and had horses, but they might not endure a long ride.
• Li Ce sent a soldier back to the village with the captured wild horses and ordered the group to collect the survivors and return through the night.

Li Ce brought Shilke and nineteen Grassland Elf survivors back to Grassland Village, where Ye Jinghong arranged care and supplies for them. After the village settled into the aftermath, Zhou Xu arrived and summoned Shilke for a talk, leaving the Grassland Elves’ future in his hands.

• Li Ce freed an oxcart and hurried Shilke and the nineteen Grassland Elves back toward Grassland Village after nightfall.
• Ye Jinghong met Li Ce’s group on the road with two extra oxcarts, then arranged for the villagers to receive them and provide food and medical care.
• The medical department and kitchen worked through the night, and Ye Jinghong promised the medical staff a long holiday and doubled pay to ease their complaints.
• Zhou Xu arrived in Grassland Village with disaster-relief supplies and asked Ye Jinghong to call Shilke to meet him.
• Shilke grew tense on the way to see Zhou Xu, realizing that his people’s survival depended on the man’s decision.

Zhou Xu gave Shilke a choice between leaving Grassland Village with his people or submitting to Great Zhou, citing pressure on the food supply. Shilke chose to submit immediately and pledged himself and his tribesmen to Zhou Xu.

• Zhou Xu asked Shilke what he planned to do with the nineteen newly arrived Grassland Elves and explained that food shortages were increasing the strain on his village.
• Shilke accepted that Zhou Xu had already helped his people as much as he could and prepared to face being sent away.
• Zhou Xu offered Shilke two options: leave with his tribesmen or submit to Great Zhou and become its citizens.
• Shilke chose to submit without waiting until the next day and knelt before Zhou Xu to pledge his allegiance.

After Shilke submitted to Great Zhou, Zhou Xu assessed his abilities, learned about Grassland Elf lifespans and powers, and appointed him to command Grassland Elves entering the military. Shilke accepted the rank of Second Lieutenant but faced the challenge of persuading his surviving clan members to follow him into a disciplined army.

• Shilke decisively submitted to Great Zhou, and Zhou Xu welcomed him and used Eye of Insight to assess his talents and attributes.
• Shilke told Zhou Xu that Grassland Elves usually lived about sixteen hundred years and awakened their abilities by chanting Ancient Elvish.
• Shilke agreed to remain in the military, and Zhou Xu put him in charge of Grassland Elves who joined, appointing him Second Lieutenant.
• Shilke realized he would need to explain the decision to his clan, whose members were not accustomed to military discipline or training.

Zhou Xu considered what Shilke’s use of Ancient Elvish meant as Shilke persuaded his five trusted subordinates and the remaining Grassland Elves to join Great Zhou. Zhou Xu publicly welcomed them as Great Zhou Citizens, leaving Zhuo Ge stunned by the news.

• Zhou Xu reasoned that Shilke and Zhuo Ge were outsiders from other worlds and wondered whether his system could not identify powers from beyond this world.
• Shilke told his five discharged subordinates that the Grassland Elves would merge with Great Zhou, then explained they had nowhere else to go and had received food, shelter, and medical care.
• Shilke pointed out the comforts and wonders of Grassland Village, and his five subordinates agreed to join Great Zhou.
• Shilke and the five persuaded the remaining Grassland Elves to join, and Zhou Xu publicly recognized them as Great Zhou Citizens.
• Zhuo Ge heard that the Grassland Elves had joined Zhou Xu and was dumbfounded.

Zhuo Ge agreed to bring his centaur tribe under Zhou Xu’s banner after explaining that they needed help finding their missing tribesmen to prevent their people from going extinct. Zhou Xu accepted, promising to help search for them after the Lizardmen were defeated, and Zhuo Ge swore allegiance.

• Zhou Xu explained that the surviving Grassland Elves had joined Great Zhou because they could no longer survive alone.
• Zhuo Ge agreed to join Zhou Xu’s banner, provided the centaurs could continue searching for their tribesmen.
• Zhuo Ge told Zhou Xu that the centaur tribe had no females left and was at risk of extinction, and that centaurs had short lifespans.
• Zhuo Ge promised the centaurs would remain on standby and follow Zhou Xu’s orders until the Lizardmen were defeated.
• Zhou Xu agreed to help the centaurs search for their tribesmen afterward, and Zhuo Ge knelt and greeted him as chieftain.

Shilke and Zhuo Ge brought Grassland Elf and Centaur recruits to their first morning training under Li Ce. The Centaurs handled the run well, while the out-of-practice Elves struggled, and Li Ce announced that the real training was just beginning.

• Shilke and Zhuo Ge led their clansmen to the training camp after the first bronze bell, arriving late to find Li Ce's soldiers already running laps.
• Zhuo Ge and Shilke reported their recruits to Li Ce, who excused their lateness on their first day and ordered them to run with the main group.
• Zhuo Ge's Centaur soldiers ran comfortably, while Shilke and the other Grassland Elves struggled to finish the laps.
• The Elves insisted they were fine after noticing the human soldiers watching them and the Centaurs faring better.
• Li Ce told the recruits that the laps were only a warm-up and began the official morning training.

Li Ce put the newly arrived elven and centaur soldiers through their first morning drills, then led the troops into their new daily routine. After wild herds stopped returning to the area, the schedule shifted toward mounted archery, tactical training, and weapons practice, leaving the Grassland Elves struggling to keep up.

• Li Ce had the veteran human soldiers train independently while he taught the newly arrived elven and centaur soldiers and adjusted exercises for the centaurs.
• The exhausted elven soldiers fell into a loose formation and followed Li Ce to the mess hall, where Zhuo Ge and the others were surprised by the soldiers’ nutritious breakfast.
• Li Ce told the troops to assemble at the village entrance at eight-thirty, and the soldiers mounted up to carry out their mission after he called roll.
• After two days without finding wild horses or sheep, Li Ce shifted the troops’ focus to mounted archery, tactical drills, and weapons training.
• The Grassland Elves struggled with the demanding schedule and realized how much they could accomplish in a day.

The Grassland Elves excelled at rapid archery training, with Shilke hitting ten bull's-eyes in each of his first two rounds. Zhou Chongshan demonstrated the chieftain’s blessing and quelled the rivalry by ordering the humans and elves to run laps, then turned his attention to Zhuo Ge’s centaurs.

• Li Ce began timed archery training, and Shilke hit all ten bull's-eyes in his round.
• The Grassland Elves outperformed the human soldiers and centaurs, prompting Li Ce to complain to Zhou Chongshan about their talent.
• Shilke again hit ten bull's-eyes and wondered why his eyesight had improved, so Zhou Chongshan explained the chieftain's blessing.
• Zhou Chongshan fired ten bull's-eyes in a row, and humans and Grassland Elves argued over who was the better archer.
• Zhou Chongshan ordered the humans and Shilke's Grassland Elves to run five laps before resuming practice.
• Zhuo Ge watched the others run until Zhou Chongshan looked at him, leaving him wondering whether the centaurs had to run too.

After Shilke lost an archery contest to Zhou Chongshan, the Grassland Elves trained more seriously and joined Zhou Xu’s army. Zhou Xu discovered that every Grassland Elf had three-star Spirit potential, leaving him to reflect on how innate advantages could go unused.

• Li Ce explained the army’s rules to the Grassland Elves and centaurs after they completed five punishment laps, then training resumed.
• Zhou Chongshan and Shilke competed in archery, and Zhou Chongshan hit ten bull’s-eyes faster while Shilke hit eight bull’s-eyes and two inner rings.
• Zhou Chongshan’s demonstration spurred Shilke and the other Grassland Elves to take training more seriously as they sought to close the gap in physical ability.
• The Grassland Elves discharged from the hospital joined the army, and Zhou Xu met them to assess their skills and inspect their status panels.
• Zhou Xu discovered that every Grassland Elf had three-star potential in Spirit, and he considered how potential alone did not guarantee achievement.

Zhou Xu considered assigning the Grassland Elves to raise silkworms and make silk, which could become a luxury good for his people. After resting his sore eyes from repeatedly using the Eye of Insight, he learned that all the wounded soldiers had recovered fully, leaving him to wonder whether his talents or the Skeleton True Word had caused it.

• Zhou Xu concluded that the Grassland Elves' skill at raising silkworms and weaving silk could support luxury production and give people a place to spend their money.
• After using the Eye of Insight repeatedly, Zhou Xu rested his sore eyes and considered delaying his plans to leave the village.
• Ye Jinghong reported that all the soldiers previously hospitalized had been discharged.
• Zhou Xu asked whether any wounded soldiers needed to retire, and Ye Jinghong said they had all recovered completely.
• Zhou Xu wondered whether his Evolutionary Leader talent or the Skeleton True Word had helped the soldiers heal.

Zhou Xu explained the improved healing of broken bones as the effect of a blessing, earning more prestige among the people of Grassland Village. He discussed relocating Shilke’s clansmen and learned that Shilke’s Silver Steel Sword came from the Old Civilization.

• Zhou Xu told Ye Jinghong that a blessing he had been researching was strengthening his subjects’ bones and recovery, and the news spread through Grassland Village.
• Zhou Xu rested his eyes while handling work, then postponed his original plans until the next day.
• Zhou Xu summoned Shilke and explained that Shilke’s civilian clansmen would be moved from Grassland Village to another village in the rear.
• Zhou Xu asked about Shilke’s metal sword, and Shilke explained that the tribe’s swords had been passed down from their ancestors.
• Shilke identified the sword as a Silver Steel Sword made from Mithril Steel, a material used by Elf knights during the Old Civilization Era.

Zhou Xu examined Shilke's Silver Steel Sword and learned how Elf Knights used it to enhance their combat techniques. He studied its ancient elven script with the Eye of Insight and discovered it contained an endowed Elf True Word sample, prompting the system to offer extraction.

• Zhou Xu inspected the Silver Steel Sword and learned from Shilke that its ancient elven script had been engraved by an Elf Artisan of the Old Civilization Era.
• Shilke explained that Elf Knights used Gale Slash with the sword to unleash wind-element power more efficiently than with ordinary weapons.
• Zhou Xu asked to borrow the sword for two days so he could study its script, and Shilke agreed to support his research.
• After Shilke left, Zhou Xu activated the Eye of Insight and saw power flowing through the ancient elven characters, which sustained the sword.
• Zhou Xu realized the script carried an endowed Elf True Word with limited usage permissions, and the system offered to extract an Elf True Word sample.