Chapter Summaries

After restoring Qin Dashan’s cultivation, Qin Yao helped him decide to conceal his renewed strength amid the turmoil following the Yu Family massacre. Qin Yao then disguised himself as Yu Danhe and quietly left home at night.

• Qin Dashan confirmed that his dantian no longer leaked inner strength and that he had regained the peak of the Body Tempering Realm.
• Qin Dashan told Qin Yao he would continue pretending to be a frail old man to avoid suspicion and protect the secret of the pills.
• Qin Yao wrote a sheet of tiny characters, then used disguise supplies and his skills to transform his face into Yu Danhe’s.
• Qin Yao dressed in Yu Danhe’s clothes and accessories, covered himself with a black cloak, and slipped out while Qin Dashan reminded him to be careful.

Qin Yao infiltrated Nine Suns Commandery disguised as Yu Danhe and met Yu Xiaoqian at Liu's Teahouse. After revealing his identity and showing her his plan to seize the Yu Family's wealth, he ordered her to lead him to the Yu Residence.

• Qin Yao used Stealth and Dust Skimming Over Grass to slip past the patrols and cross the wall into the residential district.
• Qin Yao arrived at Liu's Teahouse and startled Yu Xiaoqian by appearing disguised as her grandfather, Yu Danhe.
• Qin Yao revealed that he was the person Yu Xiaoqian had agreed to meet and handed her a written plan for taking the Yu Family's assets.
• Yu Xiaoqian agreed to cooperate after Qin Yao challenged her to reconsider, recognizing she had no safe way to back out.
• Qin Yao told Yu Xiaoqian to lead him to the Yu Residence.

Qin Yao and Yu Xiaoqian searched Yu Danhe’s training chamber and opened a concealed compartment after narrowly avoiding a needle trap. Qin Yao took its money, property deeds, and two martial arts manuals, while letters remained in the box.

• Qin Yao entered the Yu Residence with Yu Xiaoqian and reached Yu Danhe’s secluded courtyard.
• Qin Yao used his Tracking skill to find a hidden compartment beneath a floor tile in the training chamber.
• Qin Yao tried the bronze key he had found on Yu Danhe, triggering steel needles that he barely dodged.
• Qin Yao discovered the compartment’s real keyhole and picked its lock without setting off another trap.
• Qin Yao took one hundred thousand taels, property deeds, and the Hundred-Mile Throw and Giant Peak Three Yang Palm manuals from the box.

Qin Yao read letters revealing the Yu Family’s secret ties to powerful figures and learned the Mountain-Shaking Five Yang Palm was an incomplete Profound Rank technique. Disguised as Yu Danhe, he ordered the family’s stewards to raise five million taels by selling their properties, leaving them excited by his promise of a future in the Imperial Capital.

• Qin Yao read letters about Yu Danhe’s blood oath and the Mountain-Shaking Five Yang Palm, but Yu Xiaoqian said she did not know who had written them.
• Qin Yao threatened Yu Xiaoqian into summoning every Yu Family steward and made her his mouthpiece.
• Qin Yao considered using the System Coupons’ Fill in Gaps function to complete the Giant Peak Three Yang Palm and obtain the Mountain-Shaking Five Yang Palm.
• Yu Xiaoqian brought more than a dozen sleepy Yu Family stewards to meet Qin Yao, who demanded five million taels by midnight the next day.
• Qin Yao announced that the Yu Family would sell its properties and promised that the family could become Imperial Capital nobility within six months, exciting the stewards.

Disguised as Yu Danhe, Qin Yao ordered the Yu Family to liquidate its assets and trade for jade, then slipped back to the Foreign Repelling Camp. After giving his grandfather one hundred thousand taels to safeguard, he prepared to exchange the Golden Frost Barbarians’ wolf-fang pendants for military merit.

• Qin Yao, disguised as Yu Danhe, told the Yu Family elders to sell their assets within a day, prioritize jade, and keep the operation secret.
• Qin Yao privately praised Yu Xiaoqian, then left the Yu residence under Stealth before anyone noticed.
• Qin Yao returned to his courtyard, where Qin Dashan revealed his cultivation had recovered to the ninth layer of the Body Tempering Realm.
• Qin Yao entrusted one hundred thousand taels in banknotes to Qin Dashan and urged him to spend freely on food and cultivation.
• Qin Yao took the wolf-fang pendants he had collected from the Golden Frost Barbarians and headed to the Foreign Repelling Camp to claim military merit.

Qin Yao brought a huge bundle of Golden Frost Barbarian wolf-fang pendants to the Foreign Repelling Camp Quartermaster Office to exchange for military merit. As the clerks began counting them, soldiers crowded outside in awe of his battlefield achievements.

• Qin Yao walked through camp carrying a bundle of wolf-fang pendants, and soldiers guessed it contained more than two thousand trophies from his latest battle.
• Word spread through the camp, drawing a large crowd that followed Qin Yao to the Quartermaster Office.
• Wang Liu Sun welcomed Qin Yao and watched as he poured a mountain of wolf-fang pendants onto the table.
• Wang Liu Sun ordered clerks to count the pendants and sort them into jars while Qin Yao rested.
• Soldiers outside marveled at the pile and discussed Qin Yao's past victories and rumored rise to the late Blood Aperture Realm.

Qin Yao exchanged his wolf-fang pendants for 14,210 battle merit, placing him far ahead of every other martial artist in the Foreign Repelling Camp. General Zhao Lie announced that reaching ten thousand merit first qualified Qin Yao to claim this session’s title of Foreign Repelling Spearhead.

• Qin Yao exchanged all his wolf-fang pendants for battle merit, earning 14,210 points.
• Wang Liu Sun announced Qin Yao’s total, and the soldiers declared him the camp’s undisputed number one.
• The soldiers compared Qin Yao’s achievement with last year’s Foreign Repelling Spearhead and predicted Qin Yao would take the title.
• Zhao Lie congratulated Qin Yao and explained that the first young martial artist to reach ten thousand military merit points became this session’s Foreign Repelling Spearhead.
• Zhao Lie declared Qin Yao the foremost man of the Foreign Repelling War because he had met the merit requirement.

Qin Yao learned that the Foreign Repelling Spearhead was chosen for meeting the Ten Thousand Lines standard, then discovered that the disguised quartermaster’s clerk was Ke Leiyong, the Northern Pacification General and secret examiner. After Ke Leiyong praised him and promised to report his merits, Qin Yao declined Zhao Lie’s invitation to celebrate so he could spend time with his grandfather and little sister.

• Zhao Lie explained that young martial artists rarely risked earning ten thousand military merits on the northern battlefield because they could pursue the Imperial Capital Academy more safely.
• Zhao Lie asked the elderly clerk to report Qin Yao’s military merits, and the clerk revealed himself as Ke Leiyong, the Northern Pacification General.
• Ke Leiyong praised Qin Yao for his battlefield achievements and for honoring the Sharp Blade Squad’s fallen comrades, then looked forward to serving beside him after graduation.
• The camp’s soldiers reacted with shock when they learned that the seemingly inept clerk was a high-ranking general and secret examiner.
• Zhao Lie told Qin Yao that his achievements had made him the undisputed Foreign Repelling Spearhead and earned Ke Leiyong’s favor.
• Qin Yao declined Zhao Lie’s invitation to drink, saying he wanted to return to his grandfather and little sister after witnessing the grief of fallen soldiers’ families.

Qin Yao shared a feast with Qin Dashan and Qin Lan, then received an invitation and lavish gifts from the City Lord’s Mansion in recognition of his military achievements. He accepted the invitation and set off to meet the City Lord.

• Qin Yao feasted with Qin Dashan and Qin Lan, and explained that a technique from his dream let him absorb food unusually well.
• A messenger from the City Lord’s Mansion invited Qin Yao to visit his master.
• Old He delivered Qin Yao boxes of valuables and a Beacon Hoof Steed as gifts for his service to Nine Suns Commandery.
• Qin Yao accepted Old He’s invitation and agreed to visit the City Lord’s Mansion immediately.
• Old He sent a servant ahead to announce Qin Yao’s arrival, then rode with him toward the mansion.

Qin Yao met Sima Zhongshi at the City Lord's Manor, where the city lord praised his battlefield record and confirmed his recommendation for the Imperial Capital Academy Direct Examination. Sima promised an explanation within three days for the Yu Family's ambush, while secretly planning to extort silver from the family.

• Old He escorted Qin Yao to the City Lord's Manor, where he met Sima Zhongshi.
• Sima Zhongshi praised Qin Yao's achievements and said Ke Leiyong had carried his sealed recommendation to the Imperial Capital for the Academy examination.
• Sima told Qin Yao that the investigation into the Yu Family's ambush would conclude within three days and promised to uphold justice for the fallen members of the Sharp Blade Squad.
• Sima privately decided to give the Yu Family two more days to offer substantial silver before he personally confronted them and claimed both political credit and their payment.

Qin Yao pretended that the Burning Blood Secret Art had damaged his meridians so Sima Zhongshi might help him find a way to complete Sinew-Washing and Meridian-Cleansing. Physician Zhang Gujiu examined him and identified his meridians as almost like false meridians, leaving Qin Yao stunned that the physician knew the term.

• Sima Zhongshi congratulated Qin Yao on his expected admission to Imperial Capital Academy and offered to help with a difficulty.
• Qin Yao claimed the Burning Blood Secret Art had badly harmed his meridians, concealing that he needed to transform his false meridians within the year.
• Sima Zhongshi summoned Physician Zhang Gujiu to examine Qin Yao’s meridians.
• Zhang Gujiu diagnosed Qin Yao’s meridians as profoundly damaged and almost no different from false meridians.
• Qin Yao was shocked that Zhang Gujiu recognized the term false meridians.

Qin Yao pretended to be devastated after Zhang Gujiu diagnosed him with false meridians and warned that they would ruin his cultivation within a year. Sima Zhongshi urged him to hide the condition so he could still enroll at Imperial Capital Academy, and Qin Yao left claiming he wanted to spend time with his family while secretly planning to draw the city lord into his game.

• Qin Yao acted shocked when Zhang Gujiu explained that his apparently normal meridians were hollowed out and would fail within a year.
• Zhang Gujiu said he knew no cure, and Qin Yao performed despair as his Acting proficiency increased.
• Sima Zhongshi ordered Zhang Gujiu to keep the diagnosis secret and warned Qin Yao that Imperial Capital Academy might revoke his admission if it learned the truth.
• Sima Zhongshi persuaded Qin Yao to conceal his condition until he reached the Imperial Capital, while privately worrying about his own achievements if Qin Yao's admission fell through.
• Qin Yao declined Sima Zhongshi's meal and banquet, saying he wanted to return to his family and cultivate before his time ran out.
• Qin Yao left with a fleeting chill in his eyes, intending to draw Sima Zhongshi into his chess game.

Qin Yao returned to camp on a Beacon Hoof Steed and told his family that his meridians were injured, though he privately revealed the claim was a cover. He planned to visit the Yu Residence that night, leaving Qin Lan with instructions to say he was in seclusion.

• Qin Yao rode into the Foreign Repelling Camp, where soldiers praised his military achievements and the Beacon Hoof Steed the City Lord had given him.
• Qin Yao reunited with Qin Lan and Qin Dashan in the family courtyard and said the City Lord had celebrated his military merits and title.
• Qin Yao told Qin Dashan that he had pretended to suffer meridian damage so people outside would believe he was recovering in seclusion.
• Qin Yao revealed that his meridians were unharmed and that he planned to visit the Yu Residence that night as part of a trap he had already set.
• Qin Yao told Qin Lan to claim he was in seclusion if anyone came looking for him, and to say he had gone elsewhere if anyone forced their way in.

Qin Yao disguised himself as the deceased Yu Danhe and infiltrated the Yu Residence, where he gathered the family’s wealth and prepared to announce a move to the Imperial Capital. As the clan members went to summon everyone, Yu Xiaoqian feared Qin Yao intended to kill them all.

• Qin Yao used his Disguise skill to make himself look and sound like Yu Danhe, then secretly traveled to the Yu Residence.
• Qin Yao inspected four chests of jade and banknotes totaling two million one hundred and sixty thousand taels, intending to use the jade to complete a low-grade spirit artifact.
• Yu Fulai presented the family’s sales ledger, and Qin Yao praised the clan members for selling the family assets.
• Qin Yao instructed Yu Xiaoqian to record each group’s contributions and promised rewards after they reached the Imperial Capital.
• Qin Yao ordered the clan members to gather everyone at the training grounds so he could announce their relocation.
• After the others left, Yu Xiaoqian questioned Qin Yao’s intentions and feared he planned to slaughter the Yu clan.

Qin Yao killed Yu Xiaoqian after revealing he knew she had voided their blood oath, then absorbed the Yu Family's jade into a system artifact to raise its exchange value to 101/1000. Yu Fulai arrived to say the clansmen had gathered at the arena, where Qin Yao prepared to face them.

• Yu Xiaoqian asked Qin Yao for the promised reward and believed he had not noticed she had voided their blood oath.
• Qin Yao revealed he knew what Yu Xiaoqian had done in the Snow Forest and killed her for betraying him and contributing to the Sharp Blade Squad's deaths.
• Qin Yao absorbed the jade from four chests into his system, raising the low-grade Spirit Artifact's exchange value to 101/1000.
• Qin Yao hid Yu Xiaoqian's body in a chest as Yu Fulai announced that the Yu Family clansmen were waiting at the arena.

Qin Yao disguised himself as Sima Zhongshi and used Yu Fulai’s identity token to infiltrate a gathering of the Yu Family. He lured the clan members close, then began killing them with steel needles.

• Qin Yao killed Yu Fulai, hid his body in a box, and found Yu Xiaoqian in another box.
• Qin Yao used disguise and acting skills to impersonate Sima Zhongshi, then wore the Yu Family ancestor’s jade pendant and cloak.
• Qin Yao entered the Yu Family training ground, where hundreds of clan members gathered expecting news about moving to the imperial capital.
• Qin Yao told the Yu Family members to come closer, then revealed steel needles and attacked them with the Bee-Sting Scorpion-Tail Hand.
• Qin Yao’s needles pierced the foreheads of the people at the front of the crowd, killing them.

Qin Yao revealed himself as Sima Zhongshi and slaughtered the Yu Family members gathered at the training ground to avenge his fallen comrades. After killing hundreds, he asked his brothers whether they were satisfied and left the Yu Residence.

• Qin Yao let a shuttle dart tear open his hood, revealing his face and the ancestor’s jade pendant.
• The Yu Family members recognized him as Nine Suns City's lord, Sima Zhongshi, and feared that their ancestor was dead.
• Qin Yao used flying steel needles to kill the Yu Family members who charged him and those who tried to flee or surrender.
• After his pouch of needles ran empty, Qin Yao surveyed the hundreds of bodies and said he had repaid his brothers’ blood debt.
• Qin Yao took the evening wind as his brothers’ answer and walked out through the gate.

Qin Yao disguised himself as City Lord Sima Zhongshi while slaughtering the Yu Family, then escaped after the city patrol mistook him for the real City Lord. He also wrecked Zhao Residence, drawing General Zhao Lie and more soldiers into the incident as Qin Yao’s plan unfolded.

• Qin Yao drove the Yu Residence servants outside while sparing them, then waited for the city patrol to arrive and witness the supposed City Lord’s attack.
• The patrol captain ordered his soldiers to fire crossbow bolts, but Qin Yao deflected them with his robe before an arrow tore away his hood and revealed Sima Zhongshi’s face.
• Qin Yao escaped over a wall, and the captain sent cavalry to report the slaughter of the Yu Family and the damage to Zhao Residence to General Zhao Lie.
• Qin Yao accidentally caused a disturbance at Zhao Residence, then ransacked it in anger and drew more soldiers into the pursuit.
• The captain hoped the real Sima Zhongshi would avoid silencing him and deliberately gathered more supposed victims to protect himself.
• Qin Yao’s actions were part of a long-planned scheme to make Sima Zhongshi and Zhao Lie pay for their past treatment of him.

After Qin Yao massacred the Yu Family while disguised as Sima Zhongshi, city officers spread rumors that the city lord was responsible and kept the news from him. Sima Zhongshi learned of the massacre and, unable to find Yu Danhe’s body or clear his name, erupted in fury.

• News of the Yu Family’s massacre spread through Nine Suns City, where residents argued over whether Sima Zhongshi had committed it.
• Sima Zhongshi learned that 487 Yu Family members had been killed by someone impersonating him and realized his subordinates had delayed reporting the news.
• The city officers had banded together to conceal the incident from Sima Zhongshi while spreading the claim that he had massacred the family.
• Sima Zhongshi learned that witnesses described the killer as a Third Layer of the Mystic Gathering Realm martial artist, narrowing suspicion to himself and Lü Mianqin.
• Sima Zhongshi ordered a visit to the Yu Residence to inspect Yu Danhe’s corpse, but learned that no body had been found.
• Sima Zhongshi denounced the claim about the killer’s cultivation as baseless and roared in rage, frightening everyone in the City Lord’s Mansion.

Sima Zhongshi struggled to uncover who had impersonated him and slaughtered the Yu Family, while Qin Yao took his family to Nine Suns Commandery City. The chapter ended with Qin Yao recognizing the city patrol’s hurried riders as a sign that Sima Zhongshi was growing desperate.

• Sima Zhongshi questioned Zhao Lie about the impersonator, the theft at Zhao Lie’s home, and the missing bodies of Yu Danhe and Yu Yanghai.
• Sima Zhongshi ordered Zhao Lie to monitor Qin Yao in secret and ensure nothing happened to him before he was sent to Imperial Capital Academy.
• Qin Yao prepared a carriage and took Qin Lan and Old Master Qin toward the county town, with Old Zhang driving.
• Qin Yao and his family reached Nine Suns Commandery City and joined the queue at its gate.
• Several city patrol cavalrymen rushed through the gate, and Qin Yao concluded that Sima Zhongshi was getting desperate.