Chapter Summaries

Qin Yao interrogated Qin Xusheng in the abandoned mine and learned that the Qin Main Clan had sent him to watch Wang Xiangming and kill Qin Yao. The chapter ended with Qin Yao suddenly stabbing Qin Xusheng after pretending to lower his guard.

• Qin Yao brought Old Master Qin and Qin Lan into the mine tunnel and told them to stay quiet while he interrogated Qin Xusheng.
• Qin Yao woke Qin Xusheng and questioned him about kidnapping the Zhao Residence's honored guests.
• Qin Xusheng claimed that Qin Yongnian, head of the Qin Main Clan, had ordered him to recover stolen clan property and lure Qin Yao out.
• Qin Xusheng confessed that he had been sent to watch Wang Xiangming and had not reported the failed assassination attempt because he wanted to kill Qin Yao himself and claim the credit.
• Qin Yao moved his blade away from Qin Xusheng's neck, then stabbed him.

Qin Yao forced Qin Xusheng to confess that Qin Yuwei had stolen his examination results and framed him for cheating, and that Qin Xusheng had planned to kill him. After Qin Xusheng discovered Qin Yao’s identity and Blood Aperture Realm strength, Qin Yao beheaded him.

• Qin Yao threatened Qin Xusheng with a dagger and claimed a Lie-Detecting Pill would reveal any lies.
• Qin Xusheng confessed that Qin Yao had not cheated and described Qin Yuwei’s scheme to take his examination results and frame him.
• Qin Xusheng admitted he had withheld news of Wang Xiangming’s failed assassination attempt because he wanted to kill Qin Yao and uncover how his cultivation had risen.
• Qin Dashan and Qin Lan emerged from the shadows, and Qin Xusheng admitted he had abducted them to lure Qin Yao into a trap and intended to kill him.
• Qin Yao revealed his face, and Qin Xusheng recognized him and realized he had broken through the limits of Body Tempering.
• Qin Yao severed Qin Xusheng’s head.

Qin Yao reunited with Qin Lan and Qin Dashan, recounted the night’s battles and schemes, and gathered his weapons while destroying evidence in the cave. As dawn approached, he left with his family and Hu Xueyou’s stone statue.

• Qin Yao comforted Qin Lan after she saw Qin Xusheng’s severed head, then told her and Qin Dashan about the Black Market Bazaar plot, Hu Xueyou’s Petrifying Eye, and the scheme involving the county magistrate and four great families.
• Qin Yao led Qin Lan and Qin Dashan through the bloodied cave and showed them Hu Xueyou’s stone statue, explaining that she would awaken after a hundred days and be transported elsewhere.
• Qin Yao took the White Tiger Phoenix Swallow Spear, a refined bow, and its arrows, then decided to burn the Military Crossbows and evidence in the cave.
• Qin Yao gathered lamp oil and flammable materials, set the cave ablaze, and carried Hu Xueyou’s stone statue out as the three hurried away before dawn.

Qin Yao left the bloodstained mine with Qin Lan and his grandfather, carrying Hu Xueyou’s stone statue and releasing the horses. As the four great families grew alarmed by County Magistrate Gongsun Zhanghua’s disappearance and the silence from their missing forces, they decided to investigate the abandoned mine themselves.

• Qin Yao realized the medicine’s added strength had faded, placed Hu Xueyou’s stone statue in a carriage, and drove away with Qin Lan and his grandfather.
• Hunters found six of Qin Yao’s released horses, captured them, and led them toward the market.
• The four great families learned that County Magistrate Gongsun Zhanghua had not returned and that no one at his residence knew where he was.
• Zhao Xuande urged the other three families to send people to investigate the abandoned mine, and they agreed.

The Four Great Families’ warriors reached the abandoned mine and confronted hunters who were salvaging the abandoned carts and horses. After demonstrating their superior strength, they surrounded the kneeling locals and massacred them.

• More than thirty warriors from the Four Great Families arrived at the mine and ordered the hunters to surrender the carts, horses, and goods.
• Qian Zhongchuan tried to negotiate, but the warriors demanded that the locals kneel and threatened them.
• A hunter shot an arrow at a masked warrior, who caught it barehanded and snapped it, revealing strength beyond the sixth layer of the Body Tempering Realm.
• Qian Zhongchuan recognized the masked warrior’s cultivation and knelt, prompting the other hunters to submit as well.
• The Four Great Families’ warriors encircled the kneeling hunters and mountain folk, then launched a brutal massacre.

The Four Great Families found their gathering site burned to ashes and learned that their patriarchs and elites had perished. Blaming the vanished Gongsun Zhanghua, they attacked his residence, and Snow Pine County descended into chaos as the families and the magistrate’s household collapsed; Qin Yao had already left the county in peace.

• The Four Great Families searched the charred cave and found evidence of a crossbow attack, while the Tao Family leader identified Tao Lianyong’s jade pendant and realized the patriarch was dead.
• The surviving families learned that Gongsun Zhanghua had vanished with their borrowed money and accused him of helping arrange the disaster.
• The Four Great Families’ forces surrounded the county magistrate’s residence, and a confrontation escalated into a riot that smashed through its gates.
• The crowd looted and burned the residence, leaving Gongsun Zhanghua’s family and servants dead, injured, or fleeing.
• The prefectural governor ordered an investigation and sent troops, but the weakened families and magistrate’s residence continued to crumble under debts and internal conflict.
• Qin Yao peacefully settled in a secluded mountain valley hundreds of miles from Snow Pine County.

In the Qin Main Clan residence, Qin Yuwei and Qin Yongnian worried over the disappearance of Wang Xiangming and Qin Xusheng, both sent to deal with Qin Yao. Qin Yongnian planned another search while Qin Yuwei focused on the palace examination, unaware that Qin Yao had already overturned Snow Pine County.

• Qin Yongnian urged Qin Yuwei to prepare for the literary examination ahead of the palace examination for Imperial Capital Academy.
• Qin Yuwei told Qin Yongnian that Wang Xiangming had not reported back, and Qin Yongnian revealed that Qin Xusheng had also been missing for over two months.
• Qin Yuwei suspected Qin Yao had found an opportunity in Tang Family Village, but Qin Yongnian dismissed the idea and guessed Qin Yao had died in the wilderness.
• Qin Yongnian said he would send capable men to investigate Qin Yao's whereabouts and find out what had happened to Wang Xiangming and Qin Xusheng.
• Qin Yuwei agreed to concentrate on the examination while privately vowing to destroy Qin Yao and his family if he was still alive.

After leaving Snow Pine County, Qin Yao settled temporarily in a forest cabin with his family and Hu Xueyou's stone statue while hunting and training his skills. A month later, he checked his attribute panel and found that his cultivation and several skills had improved substantially.

• Qin Yao rented and repaired an old hunter's cabin, then arranged daily care and supplies for his grandfather, younger sister, and Hu Xueyou's stone statue.
• Qin Yao used his silver martial artist badge to command respect in nearby settlements and protected his family while traveling and hunting.
• Qin Yao practiced carving until he unlocked the Carving skill, and he trained Archery, Tracking, and Stealth by hunting in the forest.
• Qin Yao's hunting provided more meat than his household needed, which he bartered with the mountain folk as his skills improved.
• Qin Yao opened his attribute panel and saw that he had reached Peak Level Nine Body-Tempering Realm, improved several skills, and gained 35 available points.

After failing to find information about the rare materials needed to cleanse his meridians or cure Hu Xueyou, Qin Yao decided to take the Water Moon False Meridian Pill despite the danger of failing to complete the treatment within a year. He spent the remaining month training his skills, determined to grow stronger and eventually fulfill his promise to Hu Xueyou.

• Qin Yao searched for the eight meridian-cleansing treasures and the three-yang flower but found no useful information.
• Qin Yao weighed the risks of taking the Water Moon False Meridian Pill against remaining trapped at the peak of body tempering.
• Qin Yao resolved to take the pill, grow stronger, and seek revenge on Qin Yuwei and Qin Yongnian if he could not obtain the required treasures.
• Qin Yao trained his Logging, Lockpicking, and Disguise skills, advancing each to a higher realm.
• Qin Lan caught Qin Yao disguised as a woman and teased him about finding a sister-in-law and telling Hu Xueyou.

Qin Yao raised his Blacksmithing and Carving skills while studying the world and teaching Qin Lan, as he and his family traveled toward Three Yang County. With his sixteenth birthday and the deadline for taking the Water Moon False Meridian Pill only three days away, he set off with Qin Lan to buy sweet sesame buns as winter neared its end.

• Qin Yao advanced Blacksmithing to Proficiency Realm and gained the knowledge to forge weapons and armor.
• Qin Yao advanced Carving to Great Accomplishment Realm, giving him a credible explanation for Hu Xueyou's stone sculpture and the ability to combine carving with smithing.
• Qin Yao read and memorized more than a thousand books, learning about the scarcity of ranked cultivation methods and considering using System Coupons to improve his Literacy skill.
• Qin Dashan regained his strength, while Qin Lan grew lively, learned to read from Qin Yao, and tended Hu Xueyou's stone sculpture.
• Qin Yao realized his sixteenth birthday and the deadline for taking the Water Moon False Meridian Pill were three days away.
• Qin Yao answered Qin Lan's call and drove their carriage toward Three Yang County to get the first batch of sweet sesame buns.

At Chen's Bun Shop, Qin Yao learned that young martial artists who fought Frost Kingdom raiders could earn a direct examination opportunity at the Imperial Capital Academy. The attendant explained the system's purpose and requirements, leaving Qin Yao newly aware of a shortcut to the academy.

• Qin Yao overheard a young attendant tell Old Chen that his young master was traveling to Nine Suns Commandery to compete for an Imperial Capital Academy Direct Examination slot.
• Qin Yao bought the attendant's buns and asked him about the direct examination, explaining that he had traveled from elsewhere.
• The attendant told Qin Yao that Frost Kingdom raiders used swift Frosthoof Horses to raid northern villages and towns during winter.
• The attendant explained that the court had established Foreign Repelling Camps in the three northern prefectures to recruit civilian martial artists and other skilled people to defend against the raiders.
• The attendant said participants over twenty could earn silver for kills, while those under twenty could earn enough military merit to qualify directly for the Imperial Capital Academy examination.

Qin Yao learned that fighting at the northern frontier could earn him a direct examination opportunity for Imperial Capital Academy, and that his family could be protected in a military dependents' camp. After explaining the risks and his reasons to Qin Dashan, he resolved to pursue the dangerous but swift path to greater strength and revenge.

• A young attendant told Qin Yao that martial artists could earn an Imperial Capital Academy Direct Examination slot by serving in the Foreign Repelling Camp, but warned that the Golden Frost Barbarians made the battlefield deadly.
• The attendant explained that Nine Suns Commandery would shelter servicemen's families in a guarded military dependents' camp and compensate them with accumulated military merit if a serviceman died.
• Qin Yao hurried Qin Lan back to the carriage, then told Qin Dashan and Qin Lan about the opportunity and its dangers after they left Three Yang County.
• Qin Dashan asked whether Qin Yao sought the opportunity for advancement or revenge, and Qin Yao answered that he wanted both greater strength and the chance to face Qin Yuwei and Qin Yongnian openly.

Qin Yao set out with Qin Dashan and Qin Lan for Nine Suns Commandery, where he planned to join the Foreign Repelling Camp and head toward the front lines. As they traveled, news of the camp’s dangers made Qin Dashan worry about his grandson.

• Qin Dashan overcame his hesitation and agreed to let Qin Yao go, while Qin Lan voiced her support and urged him to flee if he could not win.
• Qin Yao shared a meal with the hired mountain folk, then arranged for Qin Dashan, Qin Lan, and Hu Xueyou’s stone statue to travel with him toward Nine Suns Commandery.
• Qin Yao warned his family to stay within the military dependents’ camp after they arrived and thought about delaying the Water Moon False Meridian Pill until he found clues to the Eight Meridian-Washing Treasures.
• Qin Yao paid and farewelled the mountain folk, then drove the carriage southeast with Qin Dashan and Qin Lan.
• The family stopped in a town, where locals discussed martial artists joining the Foreign Repelling Camp and the heavy casualties from its previous campaign against the Golden Frost Barbarians, worrying Qin Dashan.

Qin Yao drove his grandfather and sister toward Nine Suns Commandery, refusing to pay a group of armed martial artists for protection. As he entered Double Hump Ridge, the road was blocked by a gang of masked robbers, including the same men who had demanded money earlier.

• Qin Yao used his charioteering skill to guide the carriage along the rough road toward Nine Suns Commandery.
• Eight martial artists caught up with Qin Yao and demanded five hundred taels to escort his family through Double Hump Ridge.
• Qin Yao refused their offer, and the group rode ahead after warning him that travelers were being robbed along the route.
• Qin Yao entered Double Hump Ridge and spotted the fleshy-faced man and his companions farther up the road.
• Robbers dropped boulders across the road and surrounded Qin Yao's carriage, led by a brown-haired man who demanded money for their lives.

Qin Yao was ambushed by Red-Head Tiger and his bandits, who mistook him for an easy target. He slaughtered nearly half of them with his bow, leaving Red-Head Tiger to realize he had badly underestimated him.

• Qin Yao stopped before the bandits' roadblock and refused to pay Red-Head Tiger's demand for five thousand taels of silver.
• Red-Head Tiger ordered his bandits to attack Qin Yao and the carriage.
• Qin Yao leapt onto the carriage roof and killed the first three attackers with a single volley of arrows.
• Qin Yao continued firing with deadly accuracy, killing nearly half of the twenty-eight bandits.
• Red-Head Tiger recognized Qin Yao's extraordinary archery and realized he had misjudged his opponent.

Qin Yao used his formidable archery to slaughter the bandits attacking his carriage, leaving Red-Head Tiger as the last threat. After Red-Head Tiger deflected Qin Yao’s final arrow and saw his empty quiver and fifth-level identity token, he charged in, convinced he could win in close combat.

• Red-Head Tiger ordered his bowmen to suppress Qin Yao while the other bandits advanced behind stone shields.
• Qin Yao dodged incoming fire and killed the attacking bandits with precise arrows, while Zhang Fan fled.
• Qin Yao shot Zhang Fan and used curving arrows to kill two bandits advancing behind a boulder, breaking the survivors’ nerve.
• Red-Head Tiger charged Qin Yao, and his spinning ghoul-head saber knocked aside Qin Yao’s final arrow but was torn from his grasp.
• Red-Head Tiger noticed Qin Yao’s quiver was empty and his token marked him as a fifth-level cultivator, then laughed and rushed to kill him.

Qin Yao defeated Red-Head Tiger with a single devastating punch, while the bandit leader struggled to understand Qin Yao’s strength and unusual lack of martial signs. Red-Head Tiger begged for his life, but Qin Yao refused to trust a murderous bandit and left his fate unresolved.

• Red-Head Tiger attacked Qin Yao, who shattered the bandit leader’s right arm and crushed his chest with the perfected Tiger-Fighting Fist.
• Red-Head Tiger noticed Qin Yao showed neither blood-red tendon glow nor the inner-force signs of a Blood Aperture Realm martial artist, and could not explain his strength.
• Qin Yao landed beside the fallen Red-Head Tiger and picked up the ghost-head saber.
• Red-Head Tiger knelt and begged Qin Yao to spare him, offering to serve him.
• Qin Yao refused to trust the bandit leader, concerned for his grandfather and younger sister’s safety.

Qin Yao killed Red-Head Tiger after learning the ambush was his own doing, then returned to the carriage before a group of martial artists came back to check the gorge. He revealed the corpses behind the stone wall, leaving the eight men stunned by the strength of the opponents he had defeated.

• Red-Head Tiger confessed that he had chosen the gorge to ambush lone travelers heading for the Foreign Repelling Camp, and Qin Yao executed him with the Ghost-Head Blade.
• Qin Yao returned to the carriage to reassure Old Master Qin and Qin Lan, then hid them inside when he heard approaching hoofbeats.
• The martial artist squad that had previously left returned to inspect the sounds of battle, and its members complained that their boss had tried to help Qin Yao.
• Qin Yao jumped onto the stone wall, then shoved it down with his strength to reveal the bodies of twenty or thirty attackers.
• The eight martial artists recognized the corpses as men of the sixth and seventh levels of the Body Tempering Realm and stared at Qin Yao in shock.

Qin Yao killed the bandits who had blocked the road, then accepted help from Mao Yuchong’s squad in clearing the boulders and looted the battlefield. He offered the squad the bandits’ weapons at a price of Mao Yuchong’s choosing, leaving Mao convinced that Qin Yao was making him pay back their earlier demand for escort silver.

• Qin Yao finished clearing the road while Mao Yuchong’s squad apologized and explained that Mao had secretly helped him along the way.
• Mao Yuchong and his companions helped Qin Yao move the boulders after he agreed to let their earlier offense go.
• Qin Yao searched the bandits’ bodies, collected their weapons and more than fifty thousand taels in banknotes, and complained that the arrows had been damaged.
• Qin Yao offered to sell the bandits’ weapons to Mao Yuchong for whatever price he chose, and Mao suspected the offer was payback for demanding escort silver earlier.

After defeating the bandits, Qin Yao gave Mao Yuchong and his brothers their weapons for five taels and continued toward Nine Suns Commandery with his family. He reached the commandery city as calls for martial artists to join the northern war spread along the road.

• Qin Yao accepted five taels from Mao Yuchong for the weapons, revealed his name, and drove away with his grandfather and sister.
• Mao Yuchong and his brothers guessed Qin Yao was far stronger and more influential than his identity token suggested, then vowed to be more cautious.
• Qin Yao reassured Qin Lan that he was safe and boasted about their remaining silver, while Qin Dashan watched over them with pride.
• Qin Yao spent the night keeping watch beside the carriage, then resumed the journey before dawn.
• Qin Yao passed villages and taverns where notices urged martial artists to join the war against the Golden Frost Barbarians, without stopping.
• Qin Yao and his family arrived within sight of Nine Suns Commandery City.