Chapter Summaries

Li Dao discovered that his blood had become treasure blood, which could transform animals, make them affectionate and obedient, and temporarily consume his Physique. After feeding a rat more blood and adopting it as a pet, he and Jiu'er welcomed the now-cute mouse into their household.

• Li Dao tested his treasure blood on a rat and found it grew larger, smarter, affectionate, and obedient while his wounds healed rapidly.
• Li Dao fed the rat four more drops, causing it to shed and regrow its fur, claws, and teeth as it became smaller, cuter, and more intelligent.
• Li Dao discovered that producing treasure blood temporarily reduced his Physique, then washed with the rat and decided to keep it as a pet.
• The next morning, Jiu'er panicked at the rat, but Li Dao explained that it was his pet and translated its complaints about her frightening it.
• Jiu'er apologized to the rat, agreed to keep it, and discovered it was a female when it jumped into her arms.

Li Dao studied the Peerless Halberd Art and quickly reached minor mastery, then read the Li Family’s Pagoda Art of War. He agreed to stay in Peach Spring Village a few more days so its women could recover from their ordeal.

• Jiu'er named Li Dao’s little mouse Yuanbao, and Li Dao helped a scarred villager carry water to the kitchen.
• Li Dao read the Peerless Halberd Art, memorized it, and practiced with the Dragon-Patterned Halberd until he produced astral force and reached minor mastery.
• Li Dao read and memorized the Pagoda Art of War, learning about the Iron Pagoda troops and their demanding training.
• Jiu'er asked whether they could stay longer to keep the women company, and Li Dao agreed.

After ten days in Peach Spring Village, Li Dao gave the women martial arts manuals and a formation so they could protect themselves and shape their own futures. He and Jiu'er departed the next morning, leaving Liu Xiuer to lead the women in training and prepare for the day they might meet their benefactor again.

• Li Dao told the women a story about women holding up half the sky, and affirmed that they could bear their share of the burden.
• Liu Xiuer quieted the women when they pleaded for Li Dao to stay, then led them in thanking him before he left.
• Li Dao gave Liu Xiuer three books—the Yellow Sun Art, Swift Wind Saber Technique, and Mandarin Duck Combined Attack Formation—to help the women grow stronger.
• Li Dao and Jiu'er left Peach Spring Village the next morning, and the women watched their carriage disappear down the road.
• Liu Xiuer urged the women to repay Li Dao by becoming stronger, and they agreed to follow her lead and cultivate.

Li Dao reached Cloudrise City with Jiu'er and decided to enlist under Shen Zhong, the Marquis of Suppressing the North, while keeping Jiu'er with him. Wei Yun, far away on the frontier, hoped Li Dao would soon join the Mighty Camp as tensions there began to stir.

• Li Dao and Jiu'er entered Cloudrise City, where a guard told Li Dao that Shen Zhong would recruit soldiers in three days.
• Li Dao learned that Cloudrise City thrived as a trading hub because it lay near Fufeng Pass, and he reassured Jiu'er that he would not abandon her.
• Li Dao reflected that enlistment could help him reclaim the Li Family title, settle accounts with his enemies, and grow stronger through battle.
• Wei Yun wondered whether Li Dao had reached the Imperial Capital and anticipated recruiting him into the Mighty Camp.
• Wei Yun hoped Li Dao would return soon because the frontier was becoming restless.

Li Dao settled Jiu'er into a new home in Cloudrise City and prepared to enlist in the Marquis of Suppressing the Far Realm’s army. He joined the recruitment assessment and was left waiting outside a medicine tent with the other candidates.

• Li Dao exchanged valuables for silver, bought a house in a neighborhood where soldiers’ families lived, and brought Jiu'er there from the inn.
• Jiu'er organized the house and befriended the neighbors while Li Dao spent three days settling in and preparing to enlist.
• Li Dao left for the recruitment office, escaping the neighbors’ matchmaking chatter on his way through the alley.
• Li Dao registered as a commoner and joined a batch of fifty candidates for the enlistment assessment.
• An officer led Li Dao’s batch to a tent marked “Medicine,” asked whether anyone had a physical impairment, and went inside while the candidates waited.

Li Dao underwent a military medical examination, where Elder Zheng discovered his astonishing dragonlike vitality and singled him out as a promising prospect. The officer then brought the recruits to the square for the final assessment, beginning with a test of physical fitness.

• An officer led Li Dao and forty-nine recruits into a tent for an examination by Elder Zheng, who exposed the other men’s depleted health.
• Elder Zheng examined Li Dao’s pulse and found his blood and qi extraordinarily powerful, declaring him healthy and promising.
• Elder Zheng urged the officer to pay attention to Li Dao, and the officer later explained the physician’s immense influence in Cloud Province.
• The officer brought the recruits to a square and explained that they needed strong physiques or useful skills to serve under Shen Zhong.
• The officer led the recruits toward a platform to begin the required physique assessment.

Li Dao’s group underwent a strength test to qualify for positions in the army camp, and most of them performed poorly. Li Dao stunned the spectators by bypassing the lighter weights and choosing the heaviest 500-jin barbell, leaving the safety officer warning that he could only limit how badly Li Dao might be hurt.

• Li Dao watched the strength test and learned that lifting heavier barbells brought better prospects, while the 500-jin weight could secure a place in the best camp.
• A strong man lifted the 300-jin barbell but declined to try the final weight, and the tests continued until Li Dao’s group took its turn.
• The kidney-deficient fellow failed to hold the first barbell for five seconds, and several others in Li Dao’s group also failed their attempts.
• Li Dao’s officer wagered double the meals with a rival officer on whether someone in his group could lift the 500-jin barbell.
• After the last participant before him failed, Li Dao rejected the first barbell and walked past the lighter weights to the 500-jin one.
• The safety officer warned Li Dao that he could not prevent serious injury if Li Dao attempted the heaviest barbell.

Li Dao passed the military camp’s strength test by lifting a five-hundred-jin stone weight with one hand, but revealed that he could not cultivate because he was born with severed meridians. After returning home, he settled in for lunch with Jiu'er and Yuanbao; the chapter ended with battalion representatives gathering to compete for the new recruits.

• Li Dao lifted the fifth stone weight with one hand, passed the test, and impressed the crowd and the lead officer.
• The lead officer learned that Li Dao could not cultivate because he had no meridian pathways, then directed the martial artists and archers to further testing.
• Li Dao registered as a recruit, declined the mess-hall meal, and returned to Cloudrise City for lunch with Jiu'er and Yuanbao.
• The chapter explained the structure of Great Qian’s border forces and why recruitment into Shen Zhong’s legion was especially competitive.
• A day later, battalion representatives gathered at the camp, each treating the others as rivals for the recruits.

Zhang Ci gathered Cloudrise City’s camp commanders to assign new recruits, but Qi Sheng arrived to select eight reserve guards for General Shen. Qi Sheng rejected Li Dao as unqualified for the personal guard and suggested sending him to the dangerous Yellow Sand Town Camp, leaving Zhang Ci to consider the assignment.

• Zhang Ci’s meeting to allocate recruits descended into a brawl among more than thirty camp commanders, and he let them fight until they settled down.
• Qi Sheng arrived to select eight reserve personal guards for General Shen, who was preparing to transfer away with some of his men.
• Zhang Ci recommended Li Dao for his exceptional physical strength, but Qi Sheng rejected him because he had no cultivation.
• Qi Sheng suggested assigning Li Dao to Yellow Sand Town Camp, a feared camp known as the Troublemaker Camp.

Qi Sheng arranged for Li Dao to report to the notorious Yellow Sand Town Camp, but Li Dao focused on acquiring rare animals before his deadline. After bringing home two wolf cubs and two Saker Falcons, he began testing whether his Treasure Blood could affect them.

• Qi Sheng persuaded Zhang Ci to assign Li Dao to Yellow Sand Town Camp, a camp infamous for tormenting its recruits.
• Li Dao received orders to report to Yellow Sand Town Camp within three days and noticed a strange note saying he could apply for discharge if he could not adjust.
• Li Dao met the pawnshop assistant, who led him to a one-eyed animal lover selling two wolf cubs and two young Saker Falcons.
• Li Dao bought the four animals and brought them home, where Jiu'er and Yuanbao saw the covered cages.
• Li Dao drew his Black Iron Saber, cut his arm, and collected Treasure Blood in a teacup.
• The white wolf cub tried to rush toward the Treasure Blood, but the cautious black cub pinned it down, while both Saker Falcons stared at the cup.