Chapter Summaries

Li Xuancang reported to Du Tianfeng in Peace Prefecture and received command of a thousand veteran Battle Soldiers, along with warnings about the city's tangled factions and border threats. After being granted a manor for his family, he settled them into their new home and resolved to earn military merit quickly, despite Du Tianfeng's advice to proceed cautiously.

• Li Xuancang reported to Du Tianfeng at the Peace Prefecture Army camp, where Du warned him about the city's dangerous rivalries and border threats.
• Du Tianfeng gave Li Xuancang command of a thousand veteran Battle Soldiers and three days to settle his family.
• An Imperial Court official delivered Li Xuancang the deed and key to a furnished manor on West Street.
• Li Xuancang moved his family from the posthouse into the manor, where Father Li and Mother Li began organizing the household.
• Li Xuancang reflected on his rise and decided to pursue military merit quickly, believing his strength could now let him face an Astral Qi Realm expert.

Li Xuancang took command of the Peace Prefecture Army Camp and appointed his trusted soldiers to key posts, provoking defiance from veteran troops. He silenced the camp with his killing intent and seized a scar-faced Squad Leader by the throat, leaving the soldiers watching in terror.

• Li Xuancang arrived at the Peace Prefecture Army Camp with Wang Xiaoniu and formally assumed command of a thousand elite soldiers.
• Li Xuancang assigned his trusted men to key camp positions, angering veterans who believed outsiders were taking their authority.
• A scar-faced Squad Leader openly challenged Li Xuancang, while the two Battalion Commanders secretly encouraged the dissent.
• Li Xuancang unleashed his killing intent, frightening the troops and revealing his strength to the Battalion Commanders.
• Li Xuancang rushed down from the command platform, seized the scar-faced Squad Leader by the throat, and crushed his throat bones as the camp fell silent.

Li Xuancang subdued the veterans who challenged his authority and secured command of the camp. Cao Hua and Liu Qingyun disagreed over whether to give up military authority, and Cao Hua later visited Li Xuancang without yet revealing his purpose.

• Liu Qingyun and other officers pleaded for Liu Dadao, but Li Xuancang warned the veterans that disobeying military orders would not be tolerated and threw Liu Dadao to the ground.
• Li Xuancang ordered the soldiers back to their posts, and Wang Xiaoniu and the others took control of the camp's key positions as the troops accepted his command.
• Liu Qingyun and Cao Hua privately discussed their resentment toward Li Xuancang; Cao Hua decided to relinquish his troops and advance to Thousand-Man Commander, while Liu Qingyun refused to surrender his command.
• The next morning, Cao Hua visited Li Xuancang, bowed to him, and praised his promotion while Li Xuancang waited to hear why he had come.

Cao Hua tried to secure the vacant Battalion Commander position for a trusted subordinate in exchange for surrendering his military authority, but Li Xuancang refused and stood firm. After Cao Hua handed over command, Li Xuancang took control and announced a competition to choose the new Battalion Commander, which began with two strong contenders facing off.

• Cao Hua offered to relinquish his authority if Li Xuancang recommended his trusted subordinate as Battalion Commander, but Li Xuancang refused and invoked Colonel Du Tianfeng's authority.
• Cao Hua left in anger, and Li Xuancang decided to consult Du Tianfeng about filling the position.
• Three days later, Cao Hua handed over his military authority, and Li Xuancang took control of the troops.
• Li Xuancang ordered a competition for eligible Bone Forging Realm soldiers and announced that its winner would become Battalion Commander.
• More than a dozen Hundred-Man Commanders entered the competition, and Hundred-Man Commander Zhang and Hundred-Man Commander Wu stepped forward as leading contenders.

Wu Daokun defeated the commanders competing for Battalion Commander, overcoming Liu Qingyun and Wei Hu’s attempts to secure the position for Wei Hu. Li Xuancang formally promoted Wu Daokun, while Liu Qingyun left in anger and the camp rallied behind its new commander.

• Zhang Yuan fought Wu Daokun fiercely, but Wu used a feint and Mountain-Crushing Fist to knock him out of the arena and win his concession.
• Liu Qingyun’s guard revealed that his side had arranged for Wei Hu’s supporters to wear down the competitors and help Wei Hu win; Li Xuancang granted Wu an hour to recover before the contest continued.
• Liu Qingyun tried to persuade Li Xuancang to keep the contest moving, but Li intimidated him into backing down and ordered the commanders to fight.
• Wu Daokun defeated Wei Hu in the final match, winning the grand competition as the soldiers cheered.
• Li Xuancang promoted Wu Daokun to Battalion Commander and gave him the command tablet; Wu pledged his loyalty, while Liu Qingyun left with his subordinates in anger.

After Li Xuancang reorganized the army and secured real power, Li Ling'er went shopping with Zhang Cuier and yielded a box of rouge to the haughty Lin Yue'er to avoid causing trouble for her brother. Zhang Cuier told Li Xuancang what happened, and his expression darkened as he heard how his sister had been treated.

• Li Xuancang broke up the original army, rotated its officers, and reassigned the soldiers, leaving Liu Qingyun furious over the loss of his influence.
• Li Ling'er and Zhang Cuier visited a prosperous rouge shop, where Li Ling'er took a liking to a box of peach blossom rouge.
• Lin Yue'er sent her maid to claim the rouge Li Ling'er had chosen, and Li Ling'er yielded it rather than argue.
• Li Ling'er returned home disappointed and shut herself away, so Zhang Cuier went to tell Li Xuancang what had happened.
• Li Xuancang paused with his teacup as Zhang Cuier described the incident, and a trace of killing intent surfaced before he restrained it.

Li Xuancang comforted Li Ling'er after she hid how she had been mistreated at a rouge shop, then ordered his men to buy her an abundance of cosmetics. During a family dinner, his parents insisted he begin considering marriage, leaving him unable to refuse.

• Li Xuancang reassured Li Ling'er that she did not need to yield to anyone and promised to protect her.
• Li Xuancang sent Steward Liu and two personal guards to buy fine cosmetics, including every box of the Peach Blossom Rouge from the shop.
• A man who had watched Li Ling'er noticed the guards leaving, while the shopkeeper ordered an investigation into their identities.
• Li Ling'er delighted in the rouge delivered to her courtyard, and the family later gathered for dinner.
• Mother Li and Father Li told Li Xuancang to marry soon and said they would arrange meetings with suitable young ladies; Li Xuancang reluctantly fell silent.

Li Xuancang volunteered to lead a force against the Evil Cultivators ravaging Blessed Abundance Commandery. After arranging for Liu Qingyun to accompany him and leaving guards to protect his family, he reached the commandery city, where Commandery Governor Zhou Chengye welcomed him and prepared to discuss the crisis.

• Du Tianfeng called on the Thousand-Man Commanders to deal with Evil Cultivators in Blessed Abundance Commandery, and Li Xuancang volunteered.
• Li Xuancang ordered Battalion Commander Liu to take five hundred soldiers while Battalion Commander Wu stayed behind to train the rest.
• Li Xuancang instructed Nangong Zhan and the other personal guards to protect his family and gave them cultivation resources.
• Li Xuancang led the troops out of Peace Prefecture City and reached Blessed Abundance Commandery City after half a month.
• Zhou Chengye welcomed Li Xuancang and his troops, then led them into the city for a banquet and a discussion of the commandery's plight.

After learning that Evil Cultivators and Demons had slaughtered villages across Blessed Abundance Commandery, Li Xuancang led troops to investigate their trail into Blackwood Forest. As his force entered the forest, the hidden enemies prepared to use the Battle Soldiers as sacrifices.

• At the commandery governor's banquet, Zhou Chengye and the officials told Li Xuancang that Evil Cultivators had drained the blood of villagers and allied with Demons.
• Li Xuancang learned the attackers left no trace, then led five hundred elite troops to search the ruined villages around the commandery city.
• Li Xuancang followed a trace of sinister energy into the wilderness despite Liu Qingyun urging him to turn back.
• A Battle Soldier identified the ominous forest as Blackwood Forest, where the Evil Cultivators' sinister energy and the stench of blood grew stronger.
• Li Xuancang ordered his troops to advance into the forest, and Liu Qingyun followed reluctantly.
• Several hidden figures watched the army enter Blackwood Forest and said they would sacrifice the Battle Soldiers for their blood.

Li Xuancang led five hundred soldiers into Blackwood Forest and fought a horde of Corpse Puppets controlled by an Evil Cultivator. After he slaughtered hundreds of the puppets, the black-robed Evil Cultivator emerged and declared that he would capture Li Xuancang and make him his finest puppet.

• Li Xuancang and five hundred soldiers entered Blackwood Forest and found a horde of Corpse Puppets approaching.
• Liu Qingyun identified the puppets, and Li Xuancang ordered the soldiers to attack their heads while he charged into the horde.
• Li Xuancang destroyed hundreds of puppets with his fists, astonishing Liu Qingyun and the Battle Soldiers.
• Li Xuancang sensed the Evil Cultivator hiding deeper in the forest and rushed toward him.
• The black-robed Evil Cultivator emerged from the mist and said he intended to drain Li Xuancang's blood and refine him into a puppet.

Li Xuancang fought the three Evil Cultivators and initially overwhelmed the black-robed one, but the trio trapped him in black mist and froze him with ice arrows. As the Evil Cultivators moved in to claim him, Liu Qingyun considered fleeing and the Battle Soldiers rushed to help.

• Li Xuancang battered the black-robed Evil Cultivator until a saber attack and ice arrows forced him to dodge.
• The three Evil Cultivators joined forces against Li Xuancang while Liu Qingyun held back a wolf demon and the Battle Soldiers fought the Corpse Puppets.
• Li Xuancang smashed the burly Evil Cultivator with a punch, breaking both his arms, but the scholar's ice arrows struck and froze him.
• The Battle Soldiers panicked and rushed toward Li Xuancang as Liu Qingyun prepared to flee.
• The black-robed Evil Cultivator laughed and rushed toward the frozen Li Xuancang to claim him and refine him into a puppet.

Li Xuancang and the five hundred border troops were trapped in the Blood-Soul Eroding Bone Formation, where the Evil Cultivators attacked them with blood needles, resentful souls, and other evil arts. Li Xuancang protected his soldiers and searched for a weakness in the formation as their defenses began to falter.

• Li Xuancang broke free of the ice, battered the black-robed Evil Cultivator, and forced the three Evil Cultivators to retreat.
• The black-robed Evil Cultivator activated a hidden blood formation that sealed Li Xuancang, Liu Qingyun, and the five hundred border troops inside Blackwood Forest.
• Li Xuancang ordered the Battle Soldiers into a shield formation after realizing the village bloodstains and forest tracks had been bait.
• The formation attacked with Blood-Soul Needles, bone claws, resentful souls, a soul-summoning banner, bone bells, and blood beasts, killing and disorienting soldiers.
• Li Xuancang used his Blood Qi Force and Killing Intent to shield the troops while searching for a flaw in the formation.

Li Xuancang fought through the Blood Formation and destroyed the Evil Cultivators’ plan, though the black-robed Evil Cultivator escaped with his unconscious companion. After tending to the survivors, Li Xuancang led the wounded soldiers back to Blessed Abundance Commandery City, where the citizens celebrated their return.

• Li Xuancang identified the formation core and ordered Liu Qingyun and the soldiers to hold the line while he attacked it.
• Li Xuancang defeated the brawny Evil Cultivator and forced the scholar Evil Cultivator to retreat, then pushed toward the formation core.
• The black-robed Evil Cultivator unleashed the formation’s power and fled with the incapacitated brawny man while Li Xuancang endured the attack.
• Li Xuancang ordered the soldiers to treat the wounded and gather the fallen before leading the survivors toward Blessed Abundance Commandery City.
• The black-robed Evil Cultivator and his companions fled Blessed Abundance Commandery, while the citizens cheered Li Xuancang and the returning soldiers at the city gates.

A black-robed Evil Cultivator attacked the Li Residence and tried to capture Li Ling'er, but Nangong Zhan, Zhang Erzhu, and the household fought to give her time to escape. Zhang Cuier lured the pursuer away, leaving Li Ling'er hidden in an alley as the black-robed man closed in on Cuier.

• A black-robed Evil Cultivator sneaked into the Li Residence, but Nangong Zhan sensed him and raised the alarm.
• The intruder overwhelmed Nangong Zhan and the personal guards, then targeted Li Ling'er as the household woke.
• Nangong Zhan held the attacker back while Zhang Cuier led Li Ling'er out of the residence, and Zhang Erzhu and the servants joined the fight.
• Zhang Cuier hid Li Ling'er in an alley and ran off to draw the black-robed man away.
• The black-robed man pursued Zhang Cuier, who ran faster to buy Li Ling'er more time.

A black-robed Evil Cultivator failed to capture Zhang Cuier and fled after a Prison Tiger Bureau man intervened, while the Li Residence was left devastated and Li Ling'er was rescued. After news of the attack spread, Du Tianfeng ordered the city sealed and the fleeing Evil Cultivator hunted down.

• A middle-aged man from the Prison Tiger Bureau wounded the black-robed man, allowing Zhang Cuier to escape, and the black-robed man fled Peace Prefecture City.
• A patrol team found the unconscious Zhang Cuier and reached the ruined Li Residence, where eight of the fifteen personal guards had died and the others were gravely wounded.
• Zhang Cuier told the patrol team that Li Ling'er had gone to Peaceful Street, and they brought Li Ling'er back to her family.
• News of the Evil Cultivators' attack spread through Peace Prefecture and enraged the military, whose soldiers feared for their own families.
• Du Tianfeng ordered the city gates closed, roads and checkpoints guarded, and a thorough search launched for the fleeing Evil Cultivator.

Li Xuancang learned that an Evil Cultivator had attacked his residence and nearly abducted Li Ling'er, so he rushed home in fury. After confirming his family was safe, he vowed to save his gravely wounded guards and headed to the military camp to obtain help.

• Li Xuancang received news that the Evil Cultivator had attacked the Li Residence, nearly abducted Li Ling'er, and killed several guards.
• Li Xuancang rushed back to Peace Prefecture City, traveling through the night and running the final stretch after his horse collapsed.
• Li Xuancang reunited with Father Li, Mother Li, and his eldest sister, then found Li Ling'er safe but shaken in her room.
• Li Xuancang visited the wounded guards and learned that Nangong Zhan and the others might not survive without a yellow-grade Foundation-Nourishing Pill.
• Li Xuancang ordered the physician to do everything possible to preserve the guards’ lives and went to the military camp.

Li Xuancang obtained Foundation-Nourishing Pills from Du Tianfeng to save his wounded guards and learned that the attacker targeting his sister was the Profound Yin Old Man of the Heavenly Yin Sect. After discovering the enemy could return, Li Xuancang asked Shen Qingshan whether he knew the man’s whereabouts.

• Li Xuancang begged Du Tianfeng for Foundation-Nourishing Pills, and Du gave him ten without demanding his military merits in exchange.
• Li Xuancang used the pills to revive Nangong Zhan and the other wounded guards, gave one to Li Xiu for Zhang Erzhu, and arranged proper burials for eight fallen guards.
• Three days later, Du Tianfeng introduced Li Xuancang to Shen Qingshan of the Prison Tiger Bureau, who had driven off the attacker.
• Shen Qingshan identified the attacker as the Profound Yin Old Man of the Heavenly Yin Sect and warned that he might return to target Li Ling'er.
• Li Xuancang asked Shen Qingshan whether he knew where the Profound Yin Old Man was.

Li Xuancang learned that Profound Yin Old Man had targeted his sister and used his military authority to investigate the people who had encountered her. After the rouge shopkeeper identified the man as the Iron Fist Sect master's son, Li Xuancang led his troops toward the sect.

• Shen Qingshan warned Li Xuancang that Profound Yin Old Man was near the Astral Qi Realm, but Du Tianfeng revealed that Li Xuancang had defeated three notorious Evil Cultivators at once.
• Shen Qingshan explained that Profound Yin Old Man's artifact could detect women born at an yin hour in an yin month, and suggested investigating anyone who had met Li Ling'er.
• Li Ling'er and Zhang Cuier recalled a suspicious man at a rouge shop, where Li Ling'er had argued with a young lady from a powerful family.
• Li Xuancang gathered three hundred elite soldiers, surrounded the rouge shop, and threatened the shopkeeper until he disclosed the pair's identities.
• The shopkeeper identified the young lady as being from the Peace Prefecture Marquis Estate and the man as the Iron Fist Sect master's son, so Li Xuancang ordered his troops to the Iron Fist Sect.

Li Xuancang led three hundred border troops to the Iron Fist Sect to arrest Tie Yue for colluding with an Evil Cultivator. Tie Yue turned the nearby crowd against Li Xuancang by claiming the arrest was a personal vendetta, and both sides stood on the brink of fighting.

• Li Xuancang rejected a commander's warning and marched his troops to the Iron Fist Sect without consulting Du Tianfeng.
• Li Xuancang killed a gatekeeper who tried to stop him and demanded that the sect hand over Tie Yue or be leveled.
• Tie Shanhe and the Iron Fist Sect's members confronted Li Xuancang, denied the charge, and insulted the official troops.
• Tie Yue resolved to deny his guilt and claimed Li Xuancang was targeting him over a conflict involving Li Xuancang's sister and the Peace Prefecture Marquis Estate.
• Tie Yue's accusation riled the nearby gang members, while Tie Shanhe vowed to protect his son and Li Xuancang's soldiers prepared to force their way inside.

Li Xuancang confronted the Iron Fist Sect and demanded that they hand over Tie Yue. After defeating Tie Shanhe and killing the Third Elder, he led the Battle Soldiers into battle and threatened to destroy the sect unless it surrendered Tie Yue.

• Li Xuancang caught the Third Elder's attack, broke his hand and spine, and used him as a shield against Tie Shanhe's Astral Qi, killing him.
• Li Xuancang met Tie Shanhe's full-strength punch with his own and sent the sect master staggering back, injured and shocked.
• An Iron Fist Sect elder ordered an attack, and over a thousand sect members charged Li Xuancang as the three hundred Battle Soldiers joined the fight.
• Li Xuancang overwhelmed the sect's fighters and demanded Tie Yue's surrender, warning that the Iron Fist Sect would be flattened otherwise.