Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan abandoned his plan to write love poetry for Xun'er and instead prepared a collection of entertaining stories based on stratagems. On Xun'er's birthday, she endured a flood of gifts and poems from admirers and waited anxiously to see what Xiao Yan would give her.

• Xiao Yan nervously wrote the words "Deceive heaven to cross the sea," then decided a story would suit Xun'er better than classical love poetry.
• Xiao Yan translated the story into the Dou Qi Continent's language and became inspired to write a whole series, while Yao Lao watched and wondered why he was preparing military strategy for a young girl.
• On Xun'er's birthday, Xiao Clan disciples and boys from other families brought gifts and tossed presents and love poems into her courtyard.
• Xun'er politely refused or accepted some gifts while feeling burdened by the attention, and Ling Ying watched her distress without intervening.
• Xun'er looked toward Xiao Yan's courtyard and hoped he would give her even a simple birthday greeting.

Xun'er received Xiao Yan's storybook gift through Xiao Yi and treasured its clever military tales, while Xiao Yi repaid Xiao Yan for the delivery by pinning him down and beating him. The chapter ended with Xiao Yan screaming as Xiao Yi began his so-called “education of love.”

• Xiao Zhan gave Xun'er a Spirit-Calming Jade pendant for her birthday and privately considered the advantages of her marrying Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yi delivered Xiao Yan's thread-bound book to Xun'er, who recognized Xiao Yan's note and pretended to treat the gift casually.
• After the courtyard emptied, Xun'er retrieved the book, read its stories about military stratagems, and was moved by Xiao Yan's wisdom.
• Xiao Yi pinned Xiao Yan face-down in another courtyard and declared that his debt for delivering the gift was settled.
• Xiao Yi began beating Xiao Yan, whose screams rang through the night.

Xiao Yan trained outdoors with Yao Lao, who insisted on strengthening his body through food rather than medicine. After a loud blast nearly made Xiao Yan choke, he found Xiao Yi holding a gun and arguing that it counted as Daoist arts.

• Yao Lao explained that Xiao Yan should build a pure foundation through natural nourishment and avoid pills that could leave impurities in his body.
• Xiao Yan choked on rabbit meat when a sudden blast sounded from the woods, then cursed Xiao Yi and rushed to investigate.
• Xiao Yan found Xiao Yi beside a dead bird, holding a strange tubular weapon.
• Xiao Yi called the weapon protective Daoist arts, while Xiao Yan recognized it as a gun.
• Xiao Yi defended the name by claiming that ballistics was a path and that gunpowder traced back to pill refining.

Xiao Ding and Xiao Li returned with an urgent letter for Xiao Yan to deliver to their father. Xiao Yan rushed to the clan head’s study while Xiao Yi stayed behind and went to roast the bird he had caught.

• Xiao Yi teased Xiao Yan during their quarrel until Xiao Ding and Xiao Li arrived in the woods.
• Xiao Yan realized his brothers’ return was serious and asked whether something had happened to their mercenary company.
• Xiao Ding handed Xiao Yan a letter and ordered him to deliver it to their father immediately without letting anyone else handle it.
• Xiao Yan hurried toward the Xiao Clan estate while Xiao Yi followed behind with his iron tube and the dead bird.
• Steward Fu stopped Xiao Yi from entering the inner courtyard, so Xiao Yi returned to his courtyard to roast the bird.

Xiao Zhan learned from Xiao Ding’s urgent letter that the powerful Black Sand Alliance was fleeing toward Wutan City, threatening the Xiao Clan and the city’s fragile balance. He clung to the hope that Xun’er’s Gu Clan guard might help if disaster came, though the threat remained uncertain.

• Xiao Yan delivered an urgent letter from Xiao Ding and Xiao Li to Xiao Zhan and left the study at his father’s request.
• Xiao Zhan read that his sons had joined the fleeing Black Sand Alliance and learned it included a Dou Wang, two Dou Ling, and five Da Dou Shi.
• Xiao Zhan feared the alliance could overwhelm Wutan City and destroy the balance among the Xiao, Jia Lie, and Ao Ba families.
• Xiao Zhan thought Xun’er’s hidden Gu Clan guard might protect the Xiao Clan, then tried to reassure himself that the alliance might pass Wutan City by.

Xiao Zhan ordered the Xiao Clan to withdraw from its outside mines and tighten security, but the Jia Lie Family and Ao Ba Family seized the abandoned holdings. As the clan elders turned against him, Xiao Zhan worried about keeping the clan’s youngsters safe and considered asking Xiao Yi for help.

• Xiao Zhan ordered the elders to withdraw most personnel from the clan’s outside mines and Market Districts and to place the estate under strict guard.
• The First Elder and other elders objected, but Xiao Zhan insisted that he had the final say and compelled them to comply.
• The Jia Lie Family and Ao Ba Family took over several undermanned Xiao Clan mines, prompting the elders to blame Xiao Zhan for the losses.
• Xiao Zhan dismissed the furious elders without explaining his plans and worried that the clan’s youths might sneak out to swim in the Cool River.
• Fearing the Black Sand Alliance’s spies and the youths’ recklessness, Xiao Zhan thought that Xiao Yi’s unusual ideas might help.

Xiao Yi frightened the Xiao Clan youngsters away from the Cool River with a staged Water Monkey and received a reward from Xiao Zhan. Xiao Zhan then considered how the Black Sand Alliance’s conflict with the Jia Lie and Ao Ba Families could let him regain control of Wutan City, though he feared the alliance’s powerful fighters.

• Xiao Yi presented a fabricated Water Monkey corpse and warned the Xiao Clan youngsters that the river held a dangerous evil creature.
• Xiao Yan recognized the Water Monkey as a folk legend, but Xiao Zhan praised Xiao Yi and paid him for protecting the clan.
• Xiao Zhan left Xiao Yi to swagger back to his courtyard and reflected that the youngsters would avoid the river for a while.
• Xiao Zhan considered how the Black Sand Alliance might clash with the Jia Lie and Ao Ba Families over the mines, giving him a chance to restore the Xiao Clan’s influence.
• Xiao Zhan worried that the three great families might not be able to defeat the Black Sand Alliance’s Da Dou Shi, Dou Ling, and Dou Wang experts.

Xiao Zhan weighed possible sources of help against the Black Sand Alliance but rejected asking the Gu Clan and doubted that the Mittel Family or Xiao Yi’s mysterious connections could save the Xiao Clan. Meanwhile, Xiao Yi prepared homemade cartridges for the Alliance’s expected arrival.

• Xiao Zhan considered asking the Gu Clan for help but refused because he believed it would shame the Xiao Clan.
• Xiao Zhan thought about bargaining with the Mittel Family but could not identify anything valuable enough for the Xiao Clan to offer.
• Xiao Zhan considered Xiao Yan’s mysterious teacher as a possible ally, then doubted a remnant soul could fight the Black Sand Alliance.
• Xiao Zhan thought of Xiao Yi’s strange tricks but dismissed them as unlikely to stop the Alliance.
• Xiao Yi made propellant and packed it into brass cartridge casings as a surprise for the approaching guests.

As tension mounted in the Xiao Clan, Xiao Yan sought Xiao Yi to learn what his father was discussing with the Jia Lie Family and the Ao Ba Family. Xiao Yi summoned Yao Lao from the Black Ring, while Xiao Yan discovered he was making ammunition and argued with him about his unfamiliarity with gunpowder.

• Xiao Yan saw Xiao Zhan leave in a carriage and suspected he was meeting the Jia Lie Family and the Ao Ba Family.
• Yao Lao warned Xiao Yan not to intrude on the meeting, so Xiao Yan went to Xiao Yi for answers.
• Xiao Yan found Xiao Yi manufacturing bullets and questioned why he was preparing so much ammunition.
• Xiao Yi set up an offering altar, allowing Yao Lao to leave the Black Ring temporarily and gather intelligence.
• Xiao Yan picked up a strand of gunpowder, and Xiao Yi teased him about not recognizing it.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi used a talisman to eavesdrop on Jia Lie Bi and Oba Pa’s meeting with Xiao Zhan about the approaching Black Sand Alliance. Yao Lao dismissed the alliance as a pack of beaten dogs, prompting Xiao Yan to realize the Xiao Clan might share that history and leaving him troubled as Xiao Yi denied saying anything.

• Yao Lao left to investigate the elders’ plans, and Xiao Yi prepared a talisman to listen through Xiao Yan’s ring.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi heard Jia Lie Bi and Oba Pa complain that Xiao Zhan was putting their families in danger against the Black Sand Alliance.
• Xiao Zhan joined the meeting, where Jia Lie Bi and Oba Pa proposed that the three families unite and assess the alliance before fighting.
• Yao Lao called the Black Sand Alliance a pack of beaten dogs, and Xiao Yan connected the phrase to the Xiao Clan’s lost former glory.
• Xiao Yan asked Xiao Yi what he had said, but Xiao Yi claimed he had said nothing.

Xiao Yan and Yao Lao discussed how to secure help against the Black Sand Alliance, settling on refining a fifth-grade pill while concealing Xiao Yan’s identity. After they left, Xiao Yi prepared his firearms and equipment, apparently making his own plans for the threat.

• Xiao Yan listened to Xiao Zhan, Jia Lie Bi, and Oba Pa discuss seeking help from the Mittel Family and paying the price to keep the Black Sand Alliance in check.
• Yao Lao returned to Xiao Yan’s courtyard and claimed his pill-refining skills could attract powerful allies, though Xiao Yan worried that gathering ingredients would take too long to protect ordinary people.
• Yao Lao explained that the serpent’s gallbladder and horn could help him refine a fifth-grade pill, which they could use to bargain for help.
• Xiao Yan worried that making a fifth-grade pill would draw attention from other factions, and Yao Lao advised him to conceal his identity.
• After Xiao Yan and Yao Lao left, Xiao Yi armed himself with a vest, ammunition, a large revolver, and a rifle.

Xiao Yi ambushed the Black Sand Alliance thugs with his rifle as they terrorized a village, killing several before the survivors fled in panic. The rescued girl was left behind as the outlaws scattered.

• A Black Sand Alliance brute dragged a terrified girl from a house and tried to assault her.
• Xiao Yi shot the brute dead from the darkness, then appeared beneath a locust tree holding his rifle.
• Xiao Yi said "Next" and shot three more thugs as they tried to rally, take cover, or escape.
• The surviving Black Sand Alliance thugs realized they could not resist the rifle and fled, abandoning their weapons and possessions.

Xiao Yi killed the three thugs who charged him, then collected the remaining Dou Qi essence from all seven corpses with a spinning bucket. He left the stunned girl and the village behind, disappearing into the night with his strange ritual implement.

• Three thugs attacked Xiao Yi from different directions, but he drew a large-caliber revolver and shot them dead.
• Xiao Yi reloaded his revolver while the frightened girl watched from the ground.
• Xiao Yi fetched a carrying pole and a bucket of well water, then spun the bucket rapidly without spilling its contents.
• Xiao Yi invoked a mysterious phrase, drawing the Dou Qi essence from the seven corpses into the spinning bucket.
• Xiao Yi walked into the darkness, leaving the girl and the villagers staring at the aftermath.

Xiao Li enforced Xiao Ding’s rules against looting until a stranger appeared after overpowering a Wolf Head Mercenary Group fighter. The chapter left the stranger’s identity and purpose unknown as the assembled mercenaries stared at his strange gear and spinning water bucket.

• Xiao Ding ordered the Desert Iron Mercenary Group to take only visible valuables and thirty percent of each household’s grain, and to leave townspeople alone.
• Xiao Li caught a mercenary trying to steal an old woman’s bracelet and whipped him twice for breaking the rules.
• The mercenary protested that the Desert Iron Mercenary Group no longer existed because they had been made pathfinding vanguards.
• A Wolf Head Mercenary Group fighter was hurled from the woods, his Dou Qi apparently drained away.
• A boy with green-and-black face paint emerged carrying a black fire poker and a pole with a rapidly spinning bucket that spilled no water.

Xiao Yi confronted Xiao Ding and Xiao Li in the market town, then used his spinning bucket weapon to drain the Dou Qi of Xiao Li and the surrounding mercenaries. He continued attacking the terrified mercenaries with the weapon, leaving many unable to fight.

• Xiao Yi recognized Xiao Ding and Xiao Li as Xiao Yan’s elder brothers and decided not to use firearms against them.
• Xiao Yi charged at Xiao Li with his spinning bucket, and Xiao Li’s whip became trapped as the bucket drained his Dou Qi.
• Xiao Yi transformed the bucket’s connection to its pole into a Dou Qi vortex and launched it at a nearby mercenary.
• The bucket covered the mercenary’s head and drained his Dou Qi before Xiao Yi pulled it back.
• Xiao Yi repeatedly flung the bucket among the mercenaries, draining their Dou Qi and dropping them to the ground.

Xiao Yi bound Xiao Ding and the remaining Desert Iron mercenaries with strange Dou Qi rings while continuing to drain Xiao Li's power. As Xiao Ding secretly studied how to escape, Xiao Yi revealed that he was Xiao Zhan's adopted son and liked picking on Xiao Yan.

• Xiao Ding charged at Xiao Yi after watching him drain the Desert Iron mercenaries, but Xiao Yi used energy rings from his bucket to bind Xiao Ding and the remaining fighters.
• Xiao Li continued losing Dou Qi while he watched his elder brother and comrades trapped by the rings.
• Xiao Ding realized that struggling strengthened the rings, so he began suppressing his Dou Qi and planned to release it all at once.
• Xiao Ding asked Xiao Yi who he was to buy time, and Xiao Yi said Xiao Zhan had adopted him the previous year and that he liked picking on Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Ding was stunned by Xiao Yi's revelation, nearly losing control of the Dou Qi he had been preparing to unleash.

Xiao Yi overwhelmed Xiao Ding, Xiao Li, and the Desert Iron mercenaries, then revealed that he planned to attack the Black Sand Alliance and ordered them to keep his actions secret. After Xiao Yi left, Xiao Ding wondered whether Xiao Zhan had sent him after reading the secret letter about the alliance.

• Xiao Ding struggled to believe that the greasepaint-wearing Xiao Yi was Xiao Zhan’s adopted son, while Xiao Li grew furious after hearing that Xiao Yi had bullied Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yi claimed he had beaten Xiao Yan after the boy lost his Dou Qi, provoking Xiao Ding and Xiao Li to argue with him.
• Xiao Yi recalled that they were supposed to be fighting and returned the yellow Dou Qi halos to the Wooden Bucket, which reached Three-Star Dou Zhe strength.
• Xiao Yi announced his plan to take down the Black Sand Alliance and told Xiao Ding and the mercenaries to prevent anyone from reporting back to Wutan City.
• After Xiao Yi departed, Xiao Ding recalled that Xiao Yi had been present when he gave Xiao Yan a secret letter and wondered if Xiao Zhan had sent him in response.

Xiao Ding and Xiao Li decided to keep Xiao Yi’s plans hidden from the Black Sand Alliance, hoping he might offer a way to protect Wutan City. Meanwhile, Xiao Yan set out to sell Yao Lao’s pills, but several strangers began stalking him as he headed for the Xiao Family Market.

• Xiao Ding told Xiao Li that Xiao Yi’s strange abilities and plans made him a possible ally against the Black Sand Alliance, so they agreed to keep his existence quiet.
• Xiao Li complained that Xiao Yi had bragged about bullying Xiao Yan, and Xiao Ding promised they would deal with him after the crisis if he truly was their adopted younger brother.
• Xiao Yan left with pills refined by Yao Lao, intending to sell them at the Xiao Clan and use the money to buy better medicinal ingredients.
• Yao Lao warned Xiao Yan that someone was watching him, and Xiao Yan spotted several unfamiliar figures closing in behind him.
• Xiao Yan headed toward the crowded Xiao Family Market for safety as the pursuers drew closer and his weak cultivation left him with little ability to fight back.

Xiao Yan escaped an attempted kidnapping in the Xiao Family Market with Yao Lao’s help, and Pain helped the Xiao Clan guards capture the attackers. Elsewhere, Elder Ling quietly eliminated figures approaching Xun’er, while Xiao Ning fled after mistaking the incident for a ghost.

• A kidnapper threw a burlap sack over Xiao Yan, but Yao Lao’s pale flame burned through it and forced the attacker to let go.
• Xiao Yan shouted for help, and Xiao Clan guards arrived and surrounded the attackers.
• Pain subdued a three-star Dou Shi by stuffing chilies into his mouth and kicking him in the groin, allowing the guards to capture him.
• Xiao Ning saw several figures collapse in the shadows near Xun’er’s door and panicked, believing a ghost had returned.
• Elder Ling emerged from the shadows and told Xun’er he had dealt with those approaching her.
• Xun’er thanked Elder Ling and instructed him to clean up without leaving traces.

The Jia Lie and Ao Ba families’ children were abducted by the Black Sand Alliance, while Xiao Yi hunted its stragglers and reached Seven-Star Dou Zhe. In Wutan City, Xiao Zhan urged Jia Lie Bi and Oba Pa to prepare ransom and seek help from the Mittel Family, leaving the three families to face costly negotiations.

• Jia Lie Ao and Oba Dun were held with other abducted children in iron cages being transported outside Wutan City.
• Xiao Yi finished hunting Black Sand Alliance stragglers, raised his strength to Seven-Star Dou Zhe, and fell asleep from exhaustion.
• Jia Lie Bi and Oba Pa demanded action at a meeting with Xiao Zhan, and Jia Lie Bi mocked him over Xiao Yi’s disappearance.
• Xiao Zhan calmed the two clan heads and argued that the families should avoid provoking the kidnappers while the children remained captive.
• Xiao Zhan proposed preparing the ransom and hiring the Mittel Family’s experts, warning that their help would be expensive.