Recaps

Chen Shi'an treated Zhao Ling's infected wound and welcomed Qin E'na into the household, but Zhao Ling developed a dangerous fever after he applied salve mixed with green mold. The chapter ended with Chen Shi'an and Qin E'na discovering black substance covering her wound and bandages.

• Chen Shi'an cleaned Zhao Ling's wound with wine, removed pus and dead tissue, and applied Wound Salve mixed with green mold.
• Chen Tiantian welcomed Qin E'na, and Su Qingrou reassured her that she was part of the family while limiting how much she ate after her long starvation.
• Chen Shi'an gave Qin E'na orange juice for Zhao Ling and told Su Qingrou that he suspected the two women were mistress and servant rather than cousins.
• Qin E'na woke Chen Shi'an when Zhao Ling developed a severe fever, and he told Qin E'na to cool her with well water.
• Chen Shi'an found Zhao Ling delirious with blackened gauze and a wound covered in black substance, leading Qin E'na to fear they had bought fake medicine.

Chen Shi'an used origin force and mold-treated salve to help Zhao Ling recover from her fever, then visited Hou Fang to deliver chili sauce. After leaving Hou Fang’s home, Hou Fang stopped him in a quiet alley and asked if he had come for another reason.

• Chen Shi'an treated Zhao Ling with mold-mixed salve and channeled origin force into her, and her fever fell as she began to improve.
• Chen Shi'an checked Zhao Ling’s wound, decided not to change the dressing, and buried the remaining mold-contaminated salve in the courtyard garden.
• Chen Shi'an asked Su Qingrou for Hou Fang’s address and went alone to deliver six jars of chili sauce, while Qin E'na stayed home.
• Hou Fang’s mother recognized Chen Shi'an as Chen Qingye’s younger brother and welcomed him inside, grieving over Chen Qingye and accepting the chili sauce.
• Hou Fang returned and said the City Guard Battalion enjoyed Chen Su Ji’s chili sauce, then escorted Chen Shi'an outside.
• Hou Fang stopped Chen Shi'an at a quiet alley and asked whether he had come for something else.

Chen Shi'an sought Hou Fang’s help joining the Demon Hunting Team so he could gain influence and protect Tiantian from Wang Tianye. As the recruitment selection approached and Zhao Ling recovered, Chen Shi'an knew he could no longer delay telling Su Qingrou about his plans.

• Chen Shi'an told Hou Fang that Wang Tianye had set his sights on Tiantian and explained that he hoped to get close to Fu Qingyang by joining the Demon Hunting Team.
• Hou Fang said the expanding team would recruit across the Stronghold for the West Mountain Hollow conflict, and he agreed to recommend Chen Shi'an despite his limited strength.
• Chen Shi'an returned home with medicine for Zhao Ling, teased Qin E'na, and continued channeling origin force into Zhao Ling while she recovered.
• The Demon Hunting Team announced its recruitment requirements and set the selection for six days later; Zhao Ling woke the following day and thanked Chen Shi'an and Su Qingrou.
• Chen Shi'an helped Zhao Ling recover until she could move freely, then prepared to tell Su Qingrou that he planned to take part in the selection.

Chen Shi'an learned Zhao Ling’s first Seven Star-Chasing Form and asked her to protect the Chen Family while he pursued a place in the Demon Hunting Team. He explained to his family that he needed influence to shield them from danger, but Qin E'na challenged whether his ambition was worth the risks.

• Zhao Ling revealed that she knew Chen Shi'an was a Ranked Martial Artist and taught him the first Seven Star-Chasing Form in exchange for his kindness to her and Qin E'na.
• Chen Shi'an and Zhao Ling agreed not to pry into each other’s secrets, and Zhao Ling promised to protect Su Qingrou and Chen Tiantian while he was away.
• Chen Shi'an traded barbs with Qin E'na after she came outside, and Su Qingrou sided with Qin E'na when she joined their argument.
• Chen Shi'an met Hou Fang, who confirmed that he had recommended him for the Demon Hunting Team selection three days later.
• At dinner, Chen Shi'an told his family he planned to join the Demon Hunting Team to gain status and protect them, while Su Qingrou and Chen Tiantian worried about the danger.
• Qin E'na accused Chen Shi'an of pursuing the Demon Hunting Team out of vanity and questioned whether rising in status was worth its high casualty rate.

Chen Shi'an arrived at the Demon Hunting Team's recruitment trials, where deputy commander Ye Xicheng enforced the queue despite the Windrise Martial Academy's demands. After Chen Shi'an reunited with Fang Ruyu, her former-fiancé remark provoked Song Yuming, whose threats drew the academy disciples into a confrontation just as an unidentified voice warned them against fighting.

• Chen Shi'an watched Ye Xicheng make the Windrise Martial Academy disciples join the applicants' line and allow only their instructor to enter early.
• Fang Ruyu recognized Chen Shi'an in the queue and questioned whether he could meet the trials' strength requirement.
• Song Yuming approached Fang Ruyu and belittled Chen Shi'an, but Chen Shi'an stepped aside and said he and Fang Ruyu were not close.
• Fang Ruyu called Chen Shi'an her former fiancé, prompting Song Yuming to threaten him and demand he stay away from her.
• Song Yuming and the academy disciples surrounded Chen Shi'an after he ignored them, and a nearby voice warned them that fighting would earn a month in the Demon Hunting Team's cells.

At the Demon Hunting Team camp, Chen Shi'an defended himself against Song Yuming's accusations, and Commander Ye Xicheng quelled the Martial Academy disciples' demands. Ye admitted Chen to the selection but imposed an additional requirement: he had to win a squad leader position after lifting the four-hundred-jin stone.

• Song Yuming invoked his father’s position and accused Chen Shi'an, but Chen denied wrongdoing and challenged the disciples’ account.
• When the Martial Academy disciples kept shouting, Ye Xicheng ordered the Demon Hunting Team to silence them, and a dark-faced man slapped and removed the freckled disciple.
• Ye warned Song Yuming that his father had no authority over the Demon Hunting Team and threatened to remove him from the selection if he spoke again.
• Ye questioned Chen about Hou Fang, criticized him for involving the Demon Hunting Team in his dispute, and explained that Chen had to win a squad leader position to qualify.
• Ye gave Chen Shi'an selection token 318 and let him enter the camp, while Fang Ruyu watched with guilt.

Chen Shi'an attended the Demon Hunting Team's selection, where candidates had to lift a four-hundred-jin stone to pass the first round. After Song Yuming and other academy disciples passed easily, Chen Shi'an failed his first attempt, leaving his strength and place in the selection uncertain.

• Fu Qingyang opened the selection and ordered candidates to prove they could lift a four-hundred-jin stone, while Ye Xicheng helped oversee the test.
• A black-clad academy disciple and another academy disciple lifted the stone with ease, then taunted Chen Shi'an; Song Yuming later passed with an impressive display and challenged him with a stare.
• Fu Qingyang learned that Hou Fang had been asking favors to get Chen Shi'an into the team, while Ye Xicheng said he had demanded Chen Shi'an secure a squad leader position.
• Chen Shi'an took extra time to prepare as the academy disciples mocked him, then slowly raised the stone before dropping it and failing his first attempt.

Chen Shi'an concealed his strength during the Demon Hunting Team’s recruitment assessment, while Fu Qingyang suspected his performance was an act. After the candidates survived three rounds, Ye Xicheng announced that Chen Shi'an would have to win a Squad Leader position to stay, setting up the selection.

• Chen Shi'an pretended to struggle through the stone-lifting test and passed, while Fu Qingyang told Ye Xicheng he suspected Chen Shi'an was hiding his strength.
• Ye Xicheng rejected the candidates’ objections to further eliminations and set a timed running test; Song Yuming finished first, while Chen Shi'an kept pace near the rear and noticed another candidate in bear hide who might also be concealing his abilities.
• Ye Xicheng started eliminating the last runner every sixty breaths, and Chen Shi'an and the bear-hide candidate stayed in the middle of the pack as candidates at the back fought to avoid elimination.
• Ye Xicheng stopped the running round when 110 candidates remained and announced that Chen Shi'an alone would need to win a Squad Leader position to join the Demon Hunting Team.
• Ye Xicheng said eleven Squad Leaders would be selected after a quarter-hour break, and the candidates sat down to recover for the competition.

Chen Shi'an and Tu Gou survived an archery test and advanced to the paired fights for ten Squad Leader positions. Chen Shi'an faced Pi Hou, who tried to talk him into conceding, while Song Yuming’s brutal victory drew disapproval from the Demon Hunting Team.

• Ye Xicheng began the arrow-dodging test, and Chen Shi'an surrendered his board to avoid the fighting while Tu Gou also stayed clear of the crowds.
• Chen Shi'an and Tu Gou seized boards as the candidates dwindled, and both survived until forty candidates remained.
• Ye Xicheng explained the rules for paired fights, and Fu Qingyang drew lots that matched Chen Shi'an against Pi Hou in arena sixteen.
• Chen Shi'an and Pi Hou traded boasts and offers instead of fighting, with Pi Hou urging Chen Shi'an to concede and promising to look after him.
• Song Yuming knocked his opponent out of the circle with excessive force, prompting concern from the Demon Hunting Team and its leaders.

Chen Shi'an defeated Pi Hou in the first round, then advanced to the second round against Wang Teng, a Windrise Martial Academy disciple. After Wang Teng threatened to cripple him, Chen Shi'an broke his ribs and legs and knocked him out of the circle, leaving the Martial Academy disciples cowed and Fang Ruyu stunned.

• Chen Shi'an easily overpowered Pi Hou, who conceded, and the two staged a lively fight that made Chen Shi'an appear to win by luck.
• The twenty first-round winners gathered for the next drawing, while Song Yuming and the other Martial Academy disciples mocked and threatened Chen Shi'an.
• Chen Shi'an drew Wang Teng as his next opponent, and Fang Ruyu urged him to concede rather than risk a beating.
• Wang Teng attacked Chen Shi'an with kicks aimed at his legs, but Chen Shi'an evaded him and smashed him to the ground with a counterattack.
• Chen Shi'an broke Wang Teng's ribs and leg, then kicked him out of the circle despite the Martial Academy disciples' protests.
• Chen Shi'an stared down the threatening disciples, while Fang Ruyu watched him in astonishment as he turned away from her.

Chen Shi'an secured a squad leader position in the Demon Hunting Team after defeating challengers with startling speed, then learned he would soon face dangerous conflict with Flowing Stone Stronghold. Tao Yaoyao offered to nurture him at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, but Chen Shi'an remained committed to the Demon Hunting Team.

• After the initial matches, Ye Xicheng let defeated candidates challenge the victors, and Chen Shi'an knocked a burly challenger out of the circle with one swift kick.
• Chen Shi'an, Song Yuming, Tu Gou, Xu Yun, and six others became the Demon Hunting Team's new squad leaders, and the recruits began choosing whom to follow.
• Chen Shi'an left the selection ceremony with Pi Hou as his sole volunteer, while Ye Xicheng limited each squad to ten members and ordered excess recruits behind Song Yuming and Xu Yun to run laps.
• Chen Shi'an visited Hou Fang, who praised his seventh acquired-stage cultivation and urged him to earn merits for a Marrow-Washing Pill and a better cultivation technique.
• Tao Yaoyao stopped Chen Shi'an near home, warned that the Demon Hunting Team would send him into deadly conflict with Flowing Stone Stronghold, and offered to invest in him if he joined the Hundred Flowers Pavilion.

Chen Shi'an refused Tao Yaoyao's offer to join the Hundred Flowers Pavilion and returned to Windrise Stronghold, where he learned that City Lord Xiang was trying to win him over through Lu Chenyang. He accepted three Marrow-Washing Pills while pledging to serve the city lord, then asked Lu Chenyang how to deal with Song Yuming.

• Chen Shi'an rejected Tao Yaoyao's invitation, reaffirmed his commitment to the Demon Hunting Team, and left to visit his family.
• Tao Yaoyao told Cui Zhu that she expected Chen Shi'an to eventually join the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, while Chen Shi'an found his family celebrating their new Demon Hunting Team plaque.
• Fang Ruyu stopped Chen Shi'an in an alley and told him that Dean Lu wanted to see him; Chen Shi'an told her they should avoid further contact.
• Lu Chenyang gave Chen Shi'an three Marrow-Washing Pills on City Lord Xiang's behalf and said Song Yuan and Wang Tianye would not cause him trouble if he served the city lord.
• Chen Shi'an pledged his service to City Lord Xiang and asked Lu Chenyang what to do if Song Yuming provoked him; Lu Chenyang said he could hit back.

Chen Shi'an learned that Fu Nantian was the former City Lord of Azure Sun Stronghold and agreed to deliver a jade pendant to his son in the Hundred Miasma Forest. After standing down a confrontation with Xu Yun and the academy disciples, Chen Shi'an returned home and found Cheng Qiaogu waiting in his courtyard.

• Lu Chenyang told Chen Shi'an that Song Yuming could keep challenging him, while Song Yuan complained that Chen Shi'an had received three Marrow-Washing Pills.
• Fu Nantian cut open his abdomen to retrieve a jade pendant and asked Chen Shi'an to deliver it to the Hundred Miasma Forest for his son, Fu Qianfan.
• Fu Nantian revealed that he was the former City Lord of Azure Sun Stronghold, whose survivors had taken refuge in the Hundred Miasma Forest after the stronghold was destroyed.
• Xu Yun and Windrise Martial Academy disciples confronted Chen Shi'an at the gates, but Fu Nantian stopped the fight by saying Chen Shi'an was Dean Lu's honored guest.
• Chen Shi'an returned home and found Cheng Qiaogu and an elderly woman still waiting in the courtyard.

Chen Shi'an avoided a marriage proposal from Cheng Qiaogu's mother, then practiced the second of Zhao Ling's Seven Star-Chasing Forms and quickly learned its basic technique. He asked Zhao Ling to teach him the remaining five forms, leaving her response unknown.

• Chen Shi'an hurried away when Cheng Qiaogu and her mother visited, and her mother left offended after interpreting his departure as a slight.
• Chen Shi'an told Su Qingrou that Cheng Qiaogu's mother had come because of his new position, then bickered with Qin E'na about marriage and confirmed he already had someone in his heart.
• Chen Shi'an told Su Qingrou that Zhao Ling was a ninth acquired-stage martial artist and warned Zhao Ling to conceal her strength from outsiders.
• Zhao Ling demonstrated the second Seven Star-Chasing Form by splitting a thick stone, and Chen Shi'an quickly copied the technique and split another stone.
• Zhao Ling explained how Chen Shi'an could refine his strike, and he asked her to teach him the remaining five forms so he could carry the Seven Star-Chasing Forms to greater heights.

Chen Shi'an persuaded Zhao Ling to teach Chen Tiantian the Zhao Family's complete Seven Star-Chasing Forms if she proved talented by undergoing Marrow-Washing. After Chen Tiantian succeeded twice using just two pills, Chen Shi'an gave her the third, and she began another attempt.

• Zhao Ling refused to teach Chen Shi'an the complete Seven Star-Chasing Forms, but agreed to teach Chen Tiantian if she succeeded in undergoing Marrow-Washing with three pills.
• Chen Shi'an examined the Jade Pendant taken from Fu Nantian, then joined his family for a celebratory dinner before leaving for the Demon Hunting Team.
• Chen Shi'an gave Chen Tiantian a Marrow-Washing Pill, and she successfully underwent Marrow-Washing after taking just one.
• Chen Shi'an gave Chen Tiantian a second pill, and she successfully underwent Marrow-Washing a second time.
• Chen Shi'an immediately gave Chen Tiantian the third Marrow-Washing Pill, and she began circulating her energy again.

Chen Shi'an arranged for Zhao Ling to teach Chen Tiantian the Seven Star-Chasing Forms after Tiantian underwent three marrow cleansings, then prepared to leave Windrise Stronghold. On his way to the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, he intervened when gambling-house enforcers beat Han Shan and gave him ten days to repay his debt.

• Chen Tiantian swallowed three Marrow-Washing Pills and underwent three marrow cleansings, while Zhao Ling agreed to teach her the Seven Star-Chasing Forms and keep the pills secret.
• Chen Shi'an practiced the Seven Star-Chasing Forms beneath the old willow tree as Qin E'na sat with him, and he left home quietly at dawn to seek more pills from Tao Yaoyao.
• Chen Shi'an found gambling-house enforcers beating Han Shan over a three-tael debt and learned that Han Shan's father had lost his position as a centurion.
• After an enforcer threatened Chen Shi'an's dead brother, Chen Shi'an kicked the man into a wall and made the others back down.
• Chen Shi'an insisted Han Shan repay his debt, showed his Demon Hunting Team token, and took Han Shan away after granting him ten days to pay.

Chen Shi'an learned that a mysterious intruder from either the Hundred Miasma Forest or Desolate Suppression City had injured Han Shan's father, then visited the Hundred Flowers Pavilion to ask Tao Yaoyao for Marrow-Washing Pills. Tao Yaoyao offered to exchange the pills for Demon Cores, leaving Chen Shi'an to weigh the difficulty of hunting a first-level Demon Beast.

• Chen Shi'an questioned Han Shan about his father's demotion and learned that Commander Wang Tianye had warned the family not to reveal details about the intruder.
• Han Shan said his father suspected the intruder came from the Hundred Miasma Forest or Desolate Suppression City, and Chen Shi'an lent him three taels of silver to settle his gambling debt.
• Chen Shi'an paid an attendant to arrange an audience at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion and met Cui Zhu, who was introduced as Junior Steward Li.
• Cui Zhu attacked Chen Shi'an, but he caught her wrist, flicked her forehead, and told her to fetch Tao Yaoyao.
• Chen Shi'an asked Tao Yaoyao for Marrow-Washing Pills, and she explained that he could exchange a first-level Demon Beast core for three pills.

Chen Shi'an joined the Demon Hunting Team as a squad leader and learned that his new recruits would soon face desperate fighting at West Mountain Hollow. When Xiang Qinglong confronted him over his attack on gambling house employees, Chen Shi'an rejected his demand for an apology and challenged him to settle the dispute directly.

• Tao Yaoyao urged Chen Shi'an to seek a demon core himself or become a resident guest of Hundred Flowers Pavilion, while Cui Zhu questioned her decision to bet on him.
• Ye Xicheng assigned Chen Shi'an eleven subordinates, drawing the attention and hostility of the other squad leaders, and announced that the team would march to West Mountain Hollow the next morning.
• Chen Shi'an met his new squad and was summoned by Fu Qingyang after Xiang Qinglong arrived to accuse him of injuring Four Directions Gambling House employees.
• Xiang Qinglong demanded that Chen Shi'an apologize and pay medical expenses, but Chen Shi'an questioned his evidence and confirmed that Fu Qingyang would not intervene.
• Chen Shi'an told Xiang Qinglong to either discuss the matter reasonably or challenge him, then angrily rebuked him for barging into the Demon Hunting Team.

Chen Shi'an stood up to Xiang Qinglong and earned Fu Qingyang's support and the Flowing Flame Saber Technique, while recognizing that both Fu Qingyang and Xiang Chuxiong were trying to recruit him into their power struggle. As he began cultivating with the new technique, the Mysterious Stone Stele disrupted his attempt to gather spiritual energy.

• Chen Shi'an refused to apologize to Xiang Qinglong, and Ye Xicheng backed him while warning Xiang Qinglong not to threaten a Demon Hunting Team member.
• Fu Qingyang told Chen Shi'an he would protect him and smooth things over with the City Lord, then gifted him the Flowing Flame Saber Technique and ordered him to keep it secret.
• Chen Shi'an invited his men to drink before their expedition to West Mountain Hollow and reflected on how he was caught between Fu Qingyang and Xiang Chuxiong.
• Chen Shi'an studied and practiced the Flowing Flame Saber Technique, using its energy-circulation method to draw spiritual energy into his body.
• The Mysterious Stone Stele trembled, scattering the spiritual energy Chen Shi'an had gathered and sending it back into the world.

Chen Shi'an discovered that the Mysterious Stone Stele prevented him from cultivating Origin Force by any method other than Sword-Draw, but that his Sword-Draw Origin Force strengthened techniques from other schools. Later, he fought Song Yuming and copied his Star-Treading Step before Iron Bull arrived and halted the brawl.

• Chen Shi'an found that the Mysterious Stone Stele dispersed Origin Force gathered through the Flowing Flame Saber Technique, but his Sword-Draw Origin Force made its saber strike and the Zhao Family's Seven Star-Chasing Forms unusually powerful.
• Chen Shi'an and his squad drank and feasted in their tent until Song Yuming arrived with his men to accuse them of breaking camp discipline.
• Chen Shi'an ordered his men to fight Song Yuming's squad, and he kept Song Yuming occupied while observing and learning his movement technique.
• Chen Shi'an used the Star-Treading Step he had copied to outpace Song Yuming and taunted him as Song prepared another technique.
• Iron Bull arrived and stopped the fight, and Song Yuming immediately complained that Chen Shi'an had attacked his men.

After Iron Bull punished Chen Shi'an and Song Yuming for their brawl, he secretly relayed Commander Ye's support for Chen Shi'an against Song Yuming. The next morning, Chen Shi'an joined a routine mission to destroy the Black Saber Alliance, whose leader Jiang Beiwang fled as the Demon Hunting Team overwhelmed its headquarters.

• Iron Bull ordered Chen Shi'an, Song Yuming, and their men to run twenty laps for fighting, then later apologized and conveyed Commander Ye's backing for Chen Shi'an.
• Chen Shi'an concluded that he could learn techniques by watching others fight and resolved to watch Song Yuming, Xu Yun, and Tu Gou closely.
• Fu Qingyang led the Demon Hunting Team out of Windrise Stronghold, and Chen Shi'an's squad joined Iron Bull on a routine mission against the Black Saber Alliance.
• Iron Bull's veterans cleared the alliance's sentries, and Chen Shi'an led his squad through the headquarters, killing sentries with the Army-Breaking Saber Technique.
• Jiang Beiwang rallied his experts after the attack began, then fled with his family and valuables when he learned the Demon Hunting Team had come for the alliance.

Chen Shi'an spared a woman and her child and went alone to pursue Jiang Beiwang, hoping to capture the alliance leader and make up for his squad's head count. He reached the battle just as Jiang Beiwang fled, but Black-Iron Arrows wounded Iron Bull and his companions, while Chen Shi'an secretly continued the chase.

• Chen Shi'an ordered Pi Hou and the others to spare defenseless women and children, then left to pursue Jiang Beiwang.
• Chen Shi'an followed the trail of Iron Bull and the veterans to a courtyard where they were fighting dozens of Black Saber Alliance martial artists led by Jiang Beiwang.
• Jiang Beiwang abandoned the fight and fled deeper into the compound as more Demon Hunting Team fighters approached, and Iron Bull, three companions, and Chen Shi'an pursued him.
• Black-Iron Arrows ambushed Iron Bull and the three veterans, who blocked four volleys but suffered serious wounds, including one companion shot through the abdomen.
• Chen Shi'an silently vaulted over the wall and continued after Jiang Beiwang while Iron Bull and the others halted their pursuit.

Chen Shi'an pursued Jiang Beiwang through a hidden tunnel, killed his six confidants, and defeated him in a sword clash. Jiang revealed that West Mountain Hollow held a vast black-iron deposit, but his son killed him and offered to lead Chen to the ore in exchange for safe passage out of the Outer City.

• Jiang Beiwang escaped through a hidden tunnel with his son and six confidants, leaving his wife and daughter behind.
• Chen Shi'an followed them underground and killed all six confidants in a sudden attack.
• Jiang Beiwang attacked Chen, but Chen disarmed and wounded him with the first of the Seven Star-Chasing Forms.
• Jiang revealed that Flowing Stone Stronghold had given him Black-Iron Bows in exchange for part of a secret about black-iron ore at West Mountain Hollow.
• Jiang's son stabbed his father and offered to reveal the deposit's exact location if Chen got him out of the Outer City.

Chen Shi'an killed Jiang Beiwang's son rather than bargain for the location of the black-iron ore deposit, then returned to the Demon Hunting Team after concealing half the valuables he had seized. He arrived as Ye Xicheng reprimanded his squad for its low kill tally, carrying a heavy bundle whose contents remained unknown.

• Chen Shi'an refused to deal with Jiang Beiwang's son and killed him, then burned the secret chamber and disguised his own injury.
• Chen Shi'an hid half of the valuables taken from Jiang Beiwang and carried the rest back toward the Demon Hunting Team.
• Iron Bull completed the casualty count and declared Song Yuming the greatest contributor, while Chen Shi'an's squad had the fewest recorded kills.
• Ye Xicheng questioned Pi Hou about Chen Shi'an's absence and ordered the squad to find him, while Song Yuming's men mocked them.
• Chen Shi'an returned carrying a heavy oilcloth bundle, and Ye Xicheng reprimanded him for abandoning his post and threatened him with a major demerit.

Chen Shi'an returned with Jiang Beiwang's head, six Black-Iron Bows, and captured treasure, earning praise and rewards for his squad. As the Demon Hunting Team continued toward West Mountain Hollow, Chen Shi'an rebuked Song Yuming, and Ye Xicheng challenged him to prove himself through military merit.

• Chen Shi'an revealed Jiang Beiwang's head and explained that he had killed the wounded man after infighting within the Black Saber Alliance, then presented six Black-Iron Bows and twenty-four arrows.
• Ye Xicheng recognized Chen Shi'an's squad for its service, while Qianshan Xue questioned him about the bows' origins and asked him to lead her and Ye Xicheng to the site, which was already engulfed in flames.
• Fu Qingyang awarded Chen Shi'an two Marrow-Washing Pills and gave each other member of his squad ten Strong-Blood Pills and Linked-Ring Soft Armor.
• After Song Yuming mocked the squad's rewards, Chen Shi'an defended his men and challenged Song Yuming and his subordinates to earn merit instead of complaining.
• Ye Xicheng dismissed Song Yuming's complaint and told him to answer Chen Shi'an with military merit at West Mountain Hollow.