Chapter Summaries

Li Dao, a reincarnated earl condemned to the Death Row Camp, struggled to survive after the emperor sent him to the northern frontier. When a burly prisoner tried to steal his food, Li Dao killed him and established himself as someone not to provoke.

• Li Dao recalled how he had violated Princess Mingyue while drunk, prompting the Great Qian emperor to condemn him and send him to the Death Row Camp.
• Li Dao resolved to stay alive and joined the prisoners lining up for their meager daily food.
• A burly prisoner demanded Li Dao's flatbread, then reached for it when Li Dao stayed silent.
• Li Dao stabbed the burly prisoner in the eye with a wooden spike and strangled him with his chain.
• Li Dao retrieved his flatbread, and the other prisoners scattered away from him.

After killing the burly prisoner, Li Dao discovered that the Enemy-Killing Attribute-Drop System rewarded him with physique points that strengthened his whole body and mind. He resolved to survive the Death Row Camp and earn the five hundred enemy left ears needed to leave it.

• Li Dao activated the system after his first enemy kill and gained 1.2 available attribute points.
• Li Dao spent his points on physique, reaching twice an ordinary person's level and realizing his strength came at the cost of greater hunger.
• Li Dao rejected the idea of killing fellow prisoners who had done him no wrong and went to sleep clutching a sharpened wooden splinter.
• Two soldiers entered the cell, cut the dead burly prisoner's left ear for military merit, and dragged away his body.
• Li Dao recalled that prisoners could earn freedom by collecting five hundred enemy left ears and set that as his goal.

Li Dao and nineteen other condemned prisoners were selected for a nighttime surprise attack on a Northern Barbarian camp. After leaving the Death Row Camp and receiving shabby uniforms, weapons, and food, they set out with Squad Leader Liu and more than a hundred soldiers.

• Squad Leader Liu ordered the jailers to select twenty condemned prisoners for a military mission, and Li Dao was chosen from his cell.
• A former eighth-rank official broke his left thumb to avoid selection, but the jailer threatened to cripple his right thumb too, so he went along.
• Squad Leader Liu led the prisoners out of the Death Row Camp and told them they would join a surprise attack on a Northern Barbarian camp that night.
• Li Dao and the other prisoners changed into shabby uniforms, ate flatbread, and received water before nightfall.
• Squad Leader Liu's soldiers distributed poor-quality weapons, including a rusty, dull saber to Li Dao.
• Li Dao and the condemned prisoners set out across the grassland with Squad Leader Liu and more than a hundred soldiers.

Li Dao joined Commander Liu’s attack on a Northern Barbarian camp, where he used the chaos to kill soldiers and increase his physique with system-gained attribute points. When the Northern Barbarians surrendered, Li Dao killed two of them anyway, claiming his hand had slipped, and left the remaining prisoners terrified.

• Commander Liu sent Li Dao and the condemned prisoners to set fires and draw the Northern Barbarians’ attention while his regular soldiers prepared to attack.
• Li Dao killed Northern Barbarian soldiers, took their sabers and left ears, and spent the attribute points he gained to raise his physique to 2.4.
• Commander Liu’s troops attacked, and Li Dao fought alongside them, killing more Northern Barbarians as his combat grew sharper.
• When Commander Liu called for the Northern Barbarians to surrender, Li Dao charged at them with two sabers instead of stopping.
• Li Dao killed two surrendered Northern Barbarians, dismissing each death as his hand slipping and frightening the others into silence.

After surviving a night raid and killing eighteen Northern Barbarian soldiers, Li Dao was punished for killing surrendered prisoners but kept his enemy-kill merit. He spent his attribute points to raise his physique to 4.40, then returned in manacles to the Death Row Camp, determined to earn a clean identity and reunite with his family.

• Squad Leader Liu confronted Li Dao for killing surrendered prisoners, and Li Dao admitted he had killed them while claiming his hands and foot had slipped.
• Li Dao presented eighteen Northern Barbarian ears, forfeited the mission’s base merit as punishment, and learned that his enemy kills would still count.
• Li Dao reflected that he needed to escape the Death Row Camp openly and earn a clean identity so he could return to his family.
• While eating roast lamb, Li Dao spent all 1.24 available attribute points and increased his physique from 3.16 to 4.40.
• Squad Leader Liu warned Li Dao not to attempt escape, then brought him back to Changgu Town and ordered him to wear manacles and leg irons.
• Li Dao returned to the Death Row Camp, where the other prisoners were startled to see him alive, and fell asleep in his cell without his wooden spike.

Li Dao received a reward for his first mission, killed a human trafficker in the Death Prison, and was sent on an ambush against Northern Barbarians cavalry. When other prisoners challenged his new weapons, he killed the strongest one to establish his authority.

• Li Dao ate the roast chicken and drank the wine that Squad Leader Liu sent as a reward for his previous mission.
• A prisoner posing as a ninth-rank official attacked Li Dao with a wooden spike, and Li Dao killed him after identifying him as a human trafficker.
• Li Dao spent three days in the Death Prison before a jailer summoned him for another mission.
• Squad Leader Liu told Li Dao that the prisoners would ambush a unit of Northern Barbarians cavalry and gave Li Dao two new long sabers.
• When prisoners objected to Li Dao receiving better weapons, Squad Leader Liu revealed that Li Dao had taken them from Northern Barbarians soldiers; Li Dao then killed a burly prisoner who challenged him.

Li Dao helped Great Qian ambush the Northern Barbarian cavalry, broke through their formation, and killed many riders to gain attribute points. The Northern Barbarian leader nearly killed him, but Squad Leader Liu intervened and identified the enemy as a Houtian Martial Artist.

• Squad Leader Liu forced the prisoners to join the ambush and positioned them between two mountain peaks.
• The Northern Barbarian cavalry blocked the arrows with iron shields and met the charging prisoners with coordinated spear attacks.
• Li Dao dodged the cavalry’s spears, broke through their formation, and fought on horseback as Squad Leader Liu sent soldiers to support him.
• Li Dao repeatedly charged into battle to kill cavalrymen and collect attribute points, drawing the attention of their leader.
• The Northern Barbarian leader attacked Li Dao and knocked him from his horse, but Squad Leader Liu blocked the next strike and called him a Houtian Martial Artist.

Li Dao recalled how his sister and fiancée had been found fit to cultivate while he was born with severed meridians, then used his system to strengthen himself amid the battle against the Northern Barbarians. After saving Squad Leader Liu and dueling the newly promoted Northern Barbarian leader, Li Dao struck down his opponent, though he was wounded in the exchange.

• Li Dao remembered that a Daoist had identified his sister as fit to cultivate, his fiancée as possessing supreme aptitude, and him as unable to cultivate because of his severed meridians.
• Li Dao added his available attribute points to his Physique and killed a Northern Barbarian cavalryman who attacked him.
• Li Dao charged through the enemy cavalry, rallied Great Qian soldiers, and helped turn the battle against the Northern Barbarians.
• The Northern Barbarian leader broke through to acquired fifth grade, snapped Squad Leader Liu's saber, and nearly killed him before Li Dao intervened.
• Li Dao insisted on fighting the Northern Barbarian leader alone and used his newly gained attribute points to counter the leader's Gale Saber Technique.
• Li Dao suffered a wound to his right arm but broke the Northern Barbarian leader's saber and cut him open from neck to waist.

After killing the Northern Barbarians leader, Li Dao gained attributes, helped force the remaining cavalry to surrender, and returned to the Death Row Camp with two books taken from the leader. He failed to cultivate because he had no meridians, then turned to the Gale Saber Technique to see whether he could learn it without true qi.

• Li Dao gained 0.69 attributes from killing the Northern Barbarians leader, bringing his physique to 9.38.
• Squad Leader Liu announced the leader's death, and the remaining Northern Barbarians cavalry surrendered.
• Li Dao found the Yellow Sun Art and Gale Saber Technique in the leader's armor, and Squad Leader Liu let him keep them.
• The battle tally showed that only Li Dao survived among the Death Row Camp's fifty-five men, while the Great Qian force suffered heavy losses.
• Squad Leader Liu escorted Li Dao back to the Death Row Camp and arranged roast chicken and wine for him.
• Li Dao memorized the Yellow Sun Art but could not sense any meridians, so he put it aside and opened the Gale Saber Technique.

Li Dao refined the Gale Saber Technique and was summoned by Wei Yun, Grand Commander of the Mighty Camp, to join four other condemned prisoners on dangerous assignments. Li Dao negotiated the team’s terms and subdued Little Madman, leaving the group’s cooperation unsettled.

• Li Dao mastered the Gale Saber Technique through mental practice, then spent a week modifying it to suit his Physique.
• Squad Leader Liu brought Li Dao to meet Wei Yun and four other unusual prisoners, including Shen San, an old medicine practitioner, Little Giant, and Little Madman.
• Wei Yun asked the five prisoners to complete tasks for the Mighty Camp, and Shen San agreed after Wei Yun offered to restore his household registration and freedom.
• Li Dao negotiated the number of tasks down from ten to three and asked Wei Yun to promise not to deliberately send them to their deaths.
• Shen San tried to persuade Little Madman to cooperate, but Little Madman chased and bit him; Li Dao stopped the pursuit and spun Little Madman until his expression turned fearful.

Li Dao helped Shen San and the others satisfy Wei Yun’s tests, then learned that the five of them were being recruited to complete three assignments for the Mighty Camp in exchange for restored household registrations and freedom. Wei Yun gave Li Dao a booklet of his teammates’ records, leaving Li Dao to lead a group he suspected would be difficult to manage.

• Li Dao subdued Little Madman, and Little Giant agreed to follow him after their strength contest ended with the stone table shattering.
• Wei Yun revealed that he had been inviting the five prisoners to help the Mighty Camp, and Shen San realized the tests had been a setup to make them prove themselves.
• Wei Yun offered to restore their household registrations and grant their freedom after they completed three assignments, and Li Dao confirmed the terms were acceptable.
• Li Dao admitted he had guessed Wei Yun’s limit was three assignments through ordinary bargaining, and Wei Yun praised him as a suitable leader for the group.
• Wei Yun gave Li Dao a Registration Booklet containing information about the other four, and explained that Li Dao’s records had been erased.
• Wei Yun revealed that Shen San had been imprisoned for tying up the emperor’s younger brother-in-law during a theft, while Li Dao considered the challenge of leading his teammates.

Li Dao reviewed the unusual prisoners Wei Yun had assembled and agreed to lead them on a mission to assassinate the Falling Cloud Tribe's Third Prince. The group prepared to attack his escort of at least three hundred, and Wei Yun lent Li Dao a saber for the mission.

• Li Dao read the records for Little Madman, Old Ghost, and Xu Hu, learning about their unusual histories and abilities.
• Old Ghost reminded Shen San to focus on escaping the Death Row Camp, and Li Dao asked Wei Yun about available missions.
• Wei Yun offered the group a mission to assassinate the Falling Cloud Tribe's Third Prince, whose negotiations could bring the Tamu Tribe into a campaign against Great Qian.
• Li Dao accepted the mission after learning the Third Prince traveled with at least three hundred soldiers, and the other four agreed to follow him.
• Wei Yun returned Shen San's confiscated equipment and supplied the group with provisions and gear.
• Li Dao asked for a durable saber, and Wei Yun lent him one forged from centennial darksteel, betting he would return with it.

Li Dao led a four-man team to intercept the Third Prince of Falling Cloud and harvest attributes from his Northern Barbarian soldiers. Their poisoned night raid failed when the wind carried the gas away, so Li Dao prepared to attack openly and kill everyone who discovered them.

• Li Dao took the Black Iron Saber and set out with Shen San, Old Ghost, Xu Hu, and Little Madman to intercept the Third Prince of Falling Cloud.
• The Third Prince ignored Guard Captain Jin Sheng’s warnings and ordered his party to camp for the night.
• Li Dao’s team found the camp too close to Shen San’s traps, so they planned a night raid instead.
• Old Ghost released poison toward the camp, and Shen San slipped inside to assassinate the third prince.
• Shen San was spotted before reaching the command tent, and the camp woke after the wind carried the poison away from it.
• Li Dao drew his saber and announced they would kill everyone who spotted them.

Li Dao and his companions attacked the Falling Cloud tribe’s camp, killing guards and gaining the upper hand through their different fighting styles. When Li Dao heard a powerful clash nearby, he left the guards he had cornered to find which companion had encountered the camp’s hidden expert.

• Li Dao led Xu Hu, Little Madman, Old Ghost, and Shen San into the camp, where they began attacking the guards from different directions.
• The Third Prince of Falling Cloud learned that assassins had entered the camp, then went outside with Jin Sheng to watch his guards fight.
• Li Dao cut down dozens of guards with the Gale Saber Technique, while Xu Hu and Little Madman fought together and Old Ghost’s poison made guards attack one another.
• Xu Hu charged the Third Prince and Jin Sheng, prompting the Third Prince to order Jin Sheng to fight them; Jin Sheng and Xu Hu exchanged powerful blows.
• Li Dao checked his panel and saw that his available attributes had risen to 8.69 after his killings.
• After hearing a loud shout and a fierce commotion nearby, Li Dao left the surrounded guards and headed toward the sound to help his companions.

Xu Hu broke through three times while fighting Jin Sheng, but Li Dao arrived in time to rescue him and Little Madman. After using all his attribute points to double his Physique, Li Dao overwhelmed the guards and challenged Jin Sheng, leaving the saber captain shocked by the force of their clash.

• Jin Sheng wounded Xu Hu and sent Little Madman flying, triggering Xu Hu's memories of his foster mother and three successive breakthroughs.
• Xu Hu fought off Jin Sheng's first two saber strikes, but his wounds and blood loss left him helpless against the third.
• Li Dao rescued Xu Hu and Little Madman just before Jin Sheng's final strike landed.
• Li Dao spent all his available attribute points to raise his Physique to 18.07, then killed or injured scores of attacking guards with his physical strength.
• Jin Sheng stepped forward to fight Li Dao after the Third Prince of Falling Cloud ordered him to kill the three men.
• Li Dao met Jin Sheng's saber with his Gale Saber Technique, and Jin Sheng was forced back with his hand trembling.

Li Dao overwhelmed Jin Sheng in battle while Shen San and Old Ghost captured the Third Prince of Falling Cloud and treated Xu Hu and Little Madman. The chapter left Li Dao unleashing a new, precise technique against Jin Sheng.

• Li Dao used his strength and Gale Saber Technique to drive Jin Sheng back, prompting the Third Prince of Falling Cloud to flee for help.
• Old Ghost poisoned the guards near the tent, and Shen San took the Third Prince of Falling Cloud hostage.
• Shen San forced the prince to order the guards to bring Xu Hu and Little Madman over, while Old Ghost treated their wounds with medicines made from his research.
• Old Ghost used his Evergreen True Qi to calm Xu Hu and Little Madman, then applied Blood Spirit Mist and Blood Spirit Salve to their injuries.
• Jin Sheng begged Li Dao to let him go, but Li Dao refused and struck with his newly developed Nameless Slash.

Li Dao and his companions killed the Third Prince of Falling Cloud and returned to Changgu Town, where Wei Yun gave them separate tents to rest in. Li Dao completed a physique transformation that strengthened his skin, leaving him nearly impervious to blades and spears.

• Li Dao killed Jin Sheng and slaughtered the remaining guards, then reunited with Shen San, Old Ghost, Xu Hu, and Little Madman.
• Li Dao killed the Third Prince of Falling Cloud, and Shen San looted the corpse before the group returned to Changgu Town.
• Wei Yun praised the group’s success and assigned each of them a separate tent to rest in.
• Li Dao confirmed his physique transformation and endured intense pain as his skin changed beneath a layer of darkened dead skin.
• Li Dao tested his transformed skin with the Black Iron Saber and found that it resisted cuts even when he struck it with great force.

After completing their first mission, Li Dao and the others learned that their next task was to destroy a shipment of a hundred thousand arrows guarded by a Xiantian Martial Artist. Wei Yun led the Mighty Camp into an ambush, and the chapter ended as Li Dao charged into the bloody battle.

• Wei Yun thanked Li Dao and the others for killing the Falling Cloud Tribe's Third Prince, then assigned them to destroy a shipment of arrows ordered by the Tamu Tribe.
• Wei Yun revealed that a Xiantian Martial Artist guarded the shipment and said he would face the expert himself; Li Dao and the others accepted the mission because they could not refuse.
• Two days later, Wei Yun led the Mighty Camp to ambush the convoy near Changgu Town, while Squad Leader Liu and his men joined the ambush.
• Li Dao spotted flags from both the Tamu Tribe and the Blazing Fire Tribe, revealing that the convoy had at least a thousand escorts.
• Squad Leader Liu's archers and Wei Yun's troops attacked as the convoy entered the ambush zone, but a Xiantian Martial Artist deflected part of the arrow storm.
• Wei Yun charged the Xiantian Martial Artist, while Li Dao, Xu Hu, and the others rushed toward the convoy and the two forces clashed.

Li Dao helped the Great Qian forces attack the Tamu Tribe convoy, destroying arrows and defeating a Houtian Martial Artist with overwhelming strength. As Wei Yun struggled to protect the mission from Ta Shan and Lie Xin, Xu Hu engaged the half-step innate martial artist, and Wei Yun chose to hold on in hope of help.

• Li Dao killed the guards protecting a wagon and ordered Squad Leader Liu's men to destroy its arrows while he held off Tamu Tribe reinforcements.
• A burly Houtian Martial Artist attacked Li Dao, but Li Dao stopped his twin axes with one hand, disarmed him, and killed him with Nameless Slash.
• Wei Yun held Ta Shan back while the Great Qian forces destroyed the arrows, but Lie Xin joined the battle after Ta Shan agreed to double the Blazing Fire Tribe's payment.
• Lie Xin charged into the Great Qian ranks and struck Xu Hu, burning his palms, before a nimble figure used poison to create an opening and led Xu Hu away.
• Ta Shan attacked Wei Yun, who decided to keep fighting and wait for the help he hoped would come.

Li Dao defeated and killed the half-step Innate Lie Xin during the battle, then returned to the melee as Great Qian destroyed the enemy arrows. After the mission was completed, Wei Yun and Squad Leader Liu led the troops in a successful retreat, leaving Ta Shan furious and unable to stop them.

• Li Dao saved Shen San and Xu Hu from Lie Xin, withstood the flames of Lie Xin’s staff, and fought him in a fierce duel.
• Li Dao spent all his available attributes on Physique, grew stronger during the fight, and killed Lie Xin by trapping his staff and slashing his neck.
• Squad Leader Liu rallied the Great Qian soldiers after Lie Xin’s death, and they pressed the Tamu Tribe and Blazing Fire Tribe while destroying the arrows.
• After the last wagon’s arrows were destroyed, Squad Leader Liu and Wei Yun blew their whistles to signal that the mission was complete.
• Squad Leader Liu ordered a retreat, and Wei Yun covered the Great Qian troops’ withdrawal while Ta Shan failed to catch them.