Chapter Summaries

Qin Yao killed Yu Yanghai and spared Yu Xiaoqian after she swore to help him access the Yu Family's wealth. Yu Xiaoqian revealed that a Scent-Seeking Pigeon had tracked them, and Qin Yao set off with her to find it.

• Qin Yao pulled his spear from Yu Yanghai, killing him, then searched his body and found only a few thousand taels in silver notes.
• Qin Yao threatened Yu Xiaoqian, who begged for her life and promised to cooperate.
• Qin Yao and Yu Xiaoqian made blood oaths, with Yu Xiaoqian agreeing to take him back to the Yu Family residence and help him.
• Yu Xiaoqian explained that her father had used a planted Sharp Blade Squad member's scented sachet to let a Scent-Seeking Pigeon track the group within Nine Suns Commandery.
• Qin Yao told Yu Xiaoqian to lead him to the pigeon near the horse convoy.

Qin Yao was ambushed by Yu Danhe, who struck him with a throwing spear and believed he had killed him. Yu Danhe dismissed Yu Xiaoqian’s grief over her father’s death and ordered her to find Qin Yao and strip him of his belongings before leaving to pursue other sounds.

• Qin Yao questioned Yu Xiaoqian about the Scent-Seeking Pigeons and learned that her father had kept his bird-training methods secret.
• A throwing spear struck Qin Yao in the abdomen, sending him crashing through several trees and burying him in a snowdrift.
• Yu Danhe emerged from the forest, and Yu Xiaoqian recognized him as her grandfather and told him that Qin Yao had killed her father and relatives.
• Yu Danhe called Yu Xiaoqian and her family useless, then ordered her to find Qin Yao and take his belongings.
• Yu Danhe unsealed Yu Xiaoqian’s martial acupoints and left, confident that his spear had killed Qin Yao.

After Qin Yao defeated the Yu Family’s forces, Yu Danhe arrived and threatened the survivors gathered with Mao Yuchong. The chapter ended with Yu Danhe killing Yu Zhulin, the Yu Family spy who had infiltrated the Sharp Blade Squad.

• Mao Yuchong and the survivors praised Qin Yao’s victory and began cleaning the battlefield while he pursued Yu Yanghai.
• Yu Danhe emerged from the woods, examined the corpses, and realized Qin Yao had destroyed the Yu Family’s elite fighters.
• Yu Danhe threatened Mao Yuchong and the others, vowing to avenge his son by killing those under Qin Yao’s protection.
• Yu Zhulin revealed that he had infiltrated the Sharp Blade Squad as a Yu Family agent to help the family locate them.
• Yu Danhe blamed Yu Zhulin for his son’s death and the Yu Family’s losses, then killed him with a shard of ice.

Yu Danhe slaughtered the Sharp Blade Squad and the women and children hiding with them, while Yu Xiaoqian found Qin Yao buried in a snowbank and believed he was dead. After kicking him in revenge, she heard him cough beside her feet.

• Mao Yuchong and the Sharp Blade Squad demanded to know what had happened to Qin Yao, and Yu Danhe said the youth was dead.
• Some squad members charged Yu Danhe while others fled or begged, but he killed them all with branches and stones.
• Yu Danhe killed Mao Yuchong, Niu Qingren, and the other fighters, then hunted down the women and children in the woods.
• Yu Xiaoqian found Qin Yao motionless in a snow pit and pulled his body from the snow.
• Yu Xiaoqian kicked Qin Yao while celebrating her revenge, then froze when he coughed beside her feet.

Qin Yao survived Yu Danhe’s spear thanks to his Pale Silver soft armor, subdued Yu Xiaoqian, and learned the attacker was her grandfather. Hearing a distant scream, he used System Coupons to advance Thunder Dragon Halberd to Mastery and began breaking through cultivation gates.

• Qin Yao woke as Yu Xiaoqian tried to stab his throat, seized the spear, sealed her acupoints, and knocked her down.
• Qin Yao discovered his five-hundred-refined Pale Silver soft armor had stopped Yu Danhe’s spear from piercing him, though its impact injured his organs.
• Qin Yao unsealed Yu Xiaoqian’s mute acupoint and threatened her until she identified Yu Danhe as the attacker and urged Qin Yao to seek reconciliation.
• Qin Yao resealed Yu Xiaoqian’s mute acupoint, heard a faint scream nearby, and used 13 System Coupons to raise Thunder Dragon Halberd to Mastery.
• Qin Yao absorbed the technique’s insights as a warm current surged through his meridians and began breaking open cultivation gates.

Qin Yao perfected the Thunder Dragon Halberd and broke through to the Ninth Layer of the Blood Aperture Realm. After receiving a time-limited pill from the system, he mounted a Black-Maned Horse and raced toward the clearing where the Yu Family elites were in danger.

• Qin Yao spent 50 System Coupons to perfect the Thunder Dragon Halberd and gained mastery of its techniques.
• The breakthrough in his martial skill pushed Qin Yao’s cultivation to the Ninth Layer of the Blood Aperture Realm.
• Yu Xiaoqian watched Qin Yao’s power increase and feared that he might become a threat even to her grandfather.
• The system rewarded Qin Yao with a Spirit-Gathering Mystic-Entering Pill that would disappear after seven days.
• Qin Yao mounted a Black-Maned Horse and charged toward the clearing, following the fresh scent of blood.

Qin Yao returned to the clearing and found Yu Danhe had slaughtered the Sharp Blade Squad, the caravan survivors, and the rescued women and children. After knocking aside Yu Danhe’s six throwing spears, Qin Yao charged the Yu Family patriarch with a sudden, powerful thrust, leaving Yu Danhe stunned by the danger.

• Qin Yao rode into the clearing and saw Mao Yuchong, Niu Qingren, the Sharp Blade Squad, and the caravan survivors dead.
• Yu Danhe mocked Qin Yao and hurled six shuttle spears at him, but Qin Yao deflected them all with his White Tiger Phoenix Swallow Spear.
• Yu Danhe noticed Qin Yao had reached the ninth level of the Blood Aperture Realm and wondered how he had advanced so quickly.
• Qin Yao restrained his grief and rage, then threatened to slaughter everyone in the Yu residence in revenge.
• Qin Yao charged Yu Danhe with Thunder Dragon Emerges from the Sea, and the explosive thrust made Yu Danhe feel unprecedented pressure.

Qin Yao fought Yu Danhe, whose Mystic Gathering Realm armor and powerful palms failed to overwhelm the young spear wielder. After more than a dozen exchanges, Yu Danhe remained unable to subdue Qin Yao and was increasingly alarmed by his strength.

• Qin Yao pierced Yu Danhe's palms with a spear thrust, forcing Yu Danhe to retreat and put on his six-hundred-refined Ice Silk Gloves.
• Yu Danhe mistook Qin Yao's strength for a temporary burst and charged with his full Mystic Gathering Realm power, surrounding himself with invisible inner-force armor.
• Qin Yao used the Thunder Dragon Halberd technique to counter Yu Danhe's attacks, but Yu Danhe's palm wind struck his old abdominal wound and made him spit blood.
• Qin Yao swept his spear with Thunder Dragon Swings Its Tail, forcing Yu Danhe to withdraw from the attack.
• Qin Yao and Yu Danhe exchanged over a dozen moves, leaving Yu Danhe unable to subdue Qin Yao and increasingly troubled by the strain on his wounded palms.

Qin Yao and Yu Danhe fought a brutal battle, each suffering serious injuries as Yu Danhe used snow and an iron shield to knock Qin Yao from his horse. Qin Yao turned aside Yu Danhe’s next attack and launched a counterstrike, and the two ended the chapter at a distance, still determined to kill each other.

• Qin Yao and Yu Danhe exchanged increasingly fierce spear and palm strikes, worsening their injuries as Yu Danhe realized Qin Yao’s strength was not fading.
• Yu Danhe kicked up snow to blind Qin Yao, then used an iron shield to deflect his spear and strike at him.
• Qin Yao maneuvered his Black-Maned Horse aside, but Yu Danhe struck him and knocked him from the saddle, leaving his chest armor dented and his body badly bruised.
• Yu Danhe charged with a powerful palm, but Qin Yao used Seven Star Steps to evade it and countered with his spear, sending Yu Danhe flying backward.
• Qin Yao returned to the Black-Maned Horse, and the injured fighters faced each other from a distance, more resolved than before to kill their opponent.

Qin Yao lost his spear but kept Yu Danhe at bay with his fist technique, while Yu Danhe prepared a devastating final palm strike. Qin Yao used the Ten Shadow Palm to conceal his move, and Yu Danhe discovered a talisman burning behind the fading palm shadows.

• Qin Yao pierced Yu Danhe through the abdomen with his spear, but Yu Danhe grabbed the shaft and forced Qin Yao to abandon it.
• Yu Danhe attacked Qin Yao barehanded, but Qin Yao used the Vajra Stacked-Breath Fist to survive the clash.
• Yu Danhe decided to unleash the Mountain-Shaking Five Yang Palm’s strongest move despite the damage it would cause his arm.
• Qin Yao countered with the Ten Shadow Palm, filling the air with confusing palm images and waves of snow.
• Yu Danhe broke through the palm shadows and found a talisman burning to ash where Qin Yao should have been.

Qin Yao used a Fire Lion Talisman to kill Yu Danhe after the massacre of his companions and the caravan survivors. He vowed to make the Yu Family pay, then looted Yu Danhe’s body but failed to find the item he sought.

• Qin Yao concealed the Fire Lion Talisman behind his Ten Shadow Palm and unleashed three flaming lions on Yu Danhe.
• Yu Danhe’s attacks failed to stop the lions, and they burned him to death while Qin Yao watched.
• Qin Yao saw the bodies of Mao Yuchong, Niu Qingren, his other comrades, and the caravan survivors, then vowed to punish the Yu Family.
• Qin Yao looted Yu Danhe’s corpse and found silver notes, a jade pendant, a bronze key, and an unfamiliar talisman.
• Qin Yao searched Yu Danhe’s belongings for the item he wanted but could not find it.

Qin Yao returned after killing Yu Danhe and confronted Yu Xiaoqian, then demanded that she help him liquidate the Yu Family’s assets before other forces could seize them. Yu Xiaoqian feared for her life and doubted the family would obey Qin Yao, but he claimed they would listen to him.

• Qin Yao found no cultivation techniques or martial skills on Yu Danhe and kept the bronze key, suspecting it might open a treasure vault in the Yu residence.
• Yu Xiaoqian waited in the snow, convinced Yu Danhe would return, until Qin Yao rode up alive and she realized her grandfather had been defeated.
• Qin Yao unsealed Yu Xiaoqian’s acupoints and explained that the city lord would exploit the Yu Family’s loss of its leaders and fighters.
• Qin Yao offered Yu Xiaoqian five percent of the proceeds if she helped sell the family assets for silver notes and escape before other forces acted.
• Yu Xiaoqian objected that she lacked authority to make such decisions, but Qin Yao said the Yu Family would listen to him.

Qin Yao and Yu Xiaoqian returned to the battlefield, where he ordered her to bury the Yu Family dead while he gathered his fallen comrades. After identifying the traitor Yu Zhulin, Qin Yao discarded his body and prepared the horses to carry his brothers-in-arms home.

• Yu Xiaoqian agreed to obey Qin Yao and dug a pit to bury the Yu Family members.
• Qin Yao carried Mao Yuchong, Niu Qingren, and the other fallen comrades onto horses.
• Qin Yao asked Yu Xiaoqian to identify the mole, and she pointed out Yu Zhulin.
• Qin Yao found a medicinal sachet on Yu Zhulin, then threw his corpse into the forest for the beasts.
• Qin Yao searched the Yu Family corpses for valuables and saved room on the horses for his comrades' bodies.

Qin Yao forced Yu Xiaoqian to prove her supposed remorse by making her burn the Yu Family members who had attacked his companions. After the fire died, he led the group and their covered dead back toward Nine Suns, with Yu Xiaoqian bringing up the rear.

• Qin Yao watched Yu Xiaoqian pretend to regret helping the Yu Family attack the Sharp Blade Squad, then challenged her to demonstrate her repentance.
• Qin Yao ordered Yu Xiaoqian to carry the Yu Family corpses into a pit and curse them as she worked.
• Qin Yao handed Yu Xiaoqian a tinderbox and threatened to kill her unless she set fire to the bodies.
• Yu Xiaoqian lit the oil-soaked pit and endured the flames, while Qin Yao made her suppress her revulsion until the corpses were reduced to bones.
• Qin Yao had Yu Xiaoqian put out the fire with snow, then led the horses and covered corpses toward Nine Suns with her at the rear.

Qin Yao rested with the surviving travelers as he examined two pills granted by the system. He realized one might heal his grandfather, while the other could help his younger sister begin cultivating, but it would disappear in seven days.

• Qin Yao stopped the procession at a sheltered slope as heavy snow made travel dangerous.
• Yu Xiaoqian resolved to cooperate with Qin Yao until they reached Nine Suns City and she could claim her share of the Yu Family's assets.
• Qin Yao discovered that the Body-Warming Martial-Nourishing Pill could repair damaged meridians and dantians, and hoped it could heal Qin Dashan.
• Qin Yao learned that the Spirit-Gathering Mystic-Entering Pill could help a non-martial artist open the Mystic Gate, but was deadly to someone whose Martial Vein had manifested.
• Qin Yao decided the Spirit-Gathering Mystic-Entering Pill might suit Qin Lan, then noticed it would disappear in seven days and felt a surge of urgency.

Qin Yao hurried back toward Nine Suns Commandery with Yu Xiaoqian as his guide, hoping to return before the Spirit-Gathering Mystic-Entering Pill lost its effects. After reaching the city in time, he sent Yu Xiaoqian to wait at Liu's Teahouse and continued alone toward the Foreign Repelling Camp.

• Qin Yao pushed the caravan through the snow toward Ji Lake Village, where he and Yu Xiaoqian sheltered overnight.
• Over the next four days, Qin Yao wiped out Golden Frost Barbarian groups while Yu Xiaoqian guided him toward Nine Suns Commandery.
• Qin Yao ordered Yu Xiaoqian to eat quickly and resume traveling during the night, determined to make the seven-day deadline.
• Qin Yao traveled without sleep as thoughts of the Yu Family and his slain companions intensified his desire for revenge.
• On the morning of the sixth day, Qin Yao reached Nine Suns Commandery and sent Yu Xiaoqian to wait at Liu's Teahouse.
• After Yu Xiaoqian rode into the city, Qin Yao led the convoy toward the Foreign Repelling Camp.

Qin Yao returned to Foreign Repelling Camp with the bodies of his slain Sharp Blade Squad and accused Yu Danhe and Yu Yanghai of ambushing them. General Zhao dismissed his claim as unproven and sent him to rest, while Qin Yao kept his true strength and plans concealed as he drew others into a game against the Yu Family.

• Qin Yao entered camp leading more than twenty horses carrying the corpses of the Sharp Blade Squad, shocking the soldiers who recognized the dead.
• Qin Yao told the gathered soldiers that Yu Danhe and Yu Yanghai had led the attack and called for General Zhao to seek justice.
• Qin Yao claimed that the Yu Family ambushed his squad with more than fifty elites and presented a throwing knife as evidence.
• General Zhao said the knife and Qin Yao's account were insufficient proof, then told him to rest while the matter was reported to the City Lord.
• Qin Yao withheld evidence that could reveal his ability to kill Mystic Gathering Realm martial artists, intending to personally destroy the Yu Family and keep the spoils for himself.

Qin Yao arranged compensation for the fallen members of the Sharp Blade Squad, earning the admiration of the Foreign Repelling Camp soldiers and angering Zhao Lie. After distributing the money and ensuring the families were warned to stay safe, he returned to Family Camp, where soldiers guarding his family recognized him and noticed his injury.

• Qin Yao persuaded Zhao Lie to notify the fallen soldiers' families and sell the horses and spoils to fund compensation.
• Qin Yao pledged extra money for the families, winning the soldiers' admiration while Zhao Lie silently resented him.
• Qin Yao and the soldiers prepared the bodies, then Qin Yao distributed compensation according to each man's merits and urged the families to settle in Nine Suns City for safety.
• Qin Yao treated the soldiers who had helped him to a meal and hurried back to Family Camp.
• Soldiers keeping watch near Qin Yao's courtyard recognized him when he returned and asked about his injury.

Qin Yao returned home after surviving the Yu Family’s ambush and reunited with Qin Lan and Old Master Qin. He gave Qin Lan a pill to improve her chances of becoming a cultivator, then offered Old Master Qin a pill that could repair his damaged dantian.

• Qin Yao paid the men who escorted him home and slipped into the courtyard without disturbing the household.
• Qin Lan and Old Master Qin welcomed Qin Yao, noticed his wound, and listened as he recounted the Sharp Blade Squad’s losses and the Yu Family’s ambush.
• Qin Yao vowed inwardly to make the Yu Family, Zhao Lie, and the lord of Nine Suns Commandery pay for their actions.
• Qin Yao gave Qin Lan a Spirit-Gathering Mystic-Entering Pill, and Old Master Qin made sure she swallowed it despite her complaints about its taste.
• Qin Yao gave Old Master Qin a Body-Warming Martial-Nourishing Pill and said it could repair his damaged dantian.

Qin Yao gave Qin Dashan a pill that repaired his ruined dantian and restored his inner strength, leaving him close to his former peak and visibly younger. Qin Dashan and Qin Lan agreed to keep the pill’s effects secret while Qin Yao prepared to handle the Yu Family.

• Qin Yao explained that the Body-Warming Martial-Nourishing Pill could repair Qin Dashan's dantian, and Qin Dashan swallowed it.
• Qin Dashan endured intense pain as the pill reopened and repaired his meridians and dantian.
• Qin Dashan regained inner strength at the peak of the Body Tempering Realm and saw that his appearance had grown more youthful.
• Qin Yao said he had found the pill on Yu Danhe's body and told Qin Dashan not to worry about the Yu Family yet.
• Qin Yao warned Qin Dashan and Qin Lan to keep their pills and restored strength secret, and they agreed.