Recaps

While recuperating in the military camp, Wang Qi discovered that his out-of-body flights helped his cultivation and healed his old back injury. After fifteen days, his health had improved, and he cautiously resumed opening the meridians along his back.

• Wang Qi let his spirit follow a mountain breeze, learned to rise and glide through the air, and felt his body stretch and loosen.
• After returning to his body, Wang Qi felt a surge of heat clear his nose and stir his internal qi, but restrained it from completing a circuit through his back.
• Wang Qi stretched his back, heard a crack, and found that his old injury had improved considerably.
• Wang Qi spent fifteen days in isolation, building internal qi and roaming in spirit at night while his body recovered.
• Wang Qi noticed that his breathing had deepened and his back stayed warm, then began guiding qi to open the meridians from his back toward his cervical spine.

While quarantined, Wang Qi opened his Ren and Du meridians and advanced his cultivation, then showed Commandant Lin that he had recovered. Commandant Lin ordered him back to training and hinted that a strong performance at the Grand Military Review could bring him a better assignment.

• Wang Qi’s internal qi completed a smooth circuit through his torso, and he realized he had opened his Ren and Du meridians.
• Wang Qi began guiding his abundant internal qi toward his right hand to open another meridian.
• Commandant Lin remembered Wang Qi and visited the quarantined tent, intending to offer him a severance payment and send him home.
• Commandant Lin saw Wang Qi practicing the Mighty Stele-Crushing Palm and asked who had taught him.
• Wang Qi told Commandant Lin that he had recovered and his cultivation had improved, so Commandant Lin ordered him to return to camp the next day and resume training.

Wang Qi returned to training, advised Wang Ergou on his military preparation and gave him a new name, then led Xu Sanlang and the company military marquises to a plentiful winter fishing spot. The group planned to rely on county deliveries for food and prepare for the Grand Military Review.

• Wang Qi found tactics lessons easy, left during a break, and spotted Wang Ergou lifting a stone weight at the Drill Ground.
• Wang Qi corrected Wang Ergou's lifting form and advised him to focus on basic combat techniques while cultivating Blazing Sun Qi slowly.
• Wang Ergou asked Wang Qi for a more respectable name, and Wang Qi suggested Wang Er, which delighted him.
• Wang Qi joined Xu Sanlang and the five company military marquises on a hunt and led them downhill to catch Black-Spotted Fish by the river.
• Wang Qi recorded the terrain and catch, and Xu Sanlang explained that county towns would deliver pigs every five days and urged Wang Qi to perform well at the Grand Military Review.

Wang Qi left his body to recite the Heart Sutra by the river, then used his true yang qi to destroy the evil spirits drawn to him. After returning to his body, he found that his true yang qi and internal qi had increased, and began forming his own ideas about cultivation.

• Wang Qi recited the Heart Sutra alone by the riverbank and delivered the fish spirits, while evil spirits gathered around him.
• Wang Qi discovered that he could circulate true yang qi outside his body and that it made him strong enough to attack the evil spirits.
• Wang Qi used Mighty Stele-Crushing Palm and ordinary punches to disperse the evil spirits.
• Wang Qi returned to his sleeping body and guided the warmth from his excursion through his organs into his Dantian.
• Wang Qi found that his true yang qi and internal qi had increased and concluded that true yang qi could be cultivated outside the body and replenished through breathing practice.

Wang Qi won first place in the archery competition despite the freezing snow, then impressed Commandant Lin with a saber demonstration. The chapter ended with Lin planning to invite Wang Qi to join his elite force.

• Wang Qi shot all twenty arrows at the target from eighty paces, hitting the bull's-eye eleven times and taking first place among the Archer Companies.
• The soldiers competed in their primary martial skills, then learned they could earn extra points by demonstrating another skill.
• Xu Sanlang handed Wang Qi a ring-pommeled saber and urged him to perform for Commandant Lin.
• Wang Qi demonstrated the Grass-Cutting Saber Technique, which Commandant Lin recognized as a technique suited to cutting down cavalry horses.
• Commandant Lin told Zhao Ji to bring Wang Qi to him so he could discuss making other arrangements for the young soldier.

After ranking first in archery and overall, Wang Qi was lured into an ambush in the camp and fought off Xu Ping and hidden archers. Commandant Lin revealed that Xu Ping was meant to drill Wang Qi, but Wang Qi objected before learning the full arrangement.

• Commandant Lin sent an unfamiliar soldier to bring Wang Qi to his quarters, and Wang Qi noticed the lack of patrols and tried to retreat.
• Hidden archers attacked Wang Qi with arrows as Xu Ping blocked his way, and Wang Qi fought Xu Ping with repeated Mighty Stele-Crushing Palm strikes.
• Xu Ping drove Wang Qi back with a surge of internal force, while arrows from the darkness forced Wang Qi to dodge.
• Wang Qi realized the arrows had no arrowheads, but a powerful Force-Piercing Arrow narrowly missed him and shattered a pillar.
• Commandant Lin appeared with Scribe Zhao and asked Xu Ping if he was satisfied with his new subordinate; Xu Ping promised to drill Wang Qi, who asked if he could object.

Wang Qi agreed to join the Yulin Shadow Guard after learning about its duties and his reassignment as a scout. He chose to see what techniques were available and was ordered to assemble outside camp the next morning.

• Xu Ping and Commandant Lin offered Wang Qi a place in their secret unit, explaining its rewards, obligations, and the classified nature of the southern expedition.
• Wang Qi agreed to join and learned that the Divine Archer Battalion would become a mobile bandit-suppression force while he would return to Chang'an with Commandant Lin.
• Commandant Lin revealed that he was Lin Chu and explained the Yulin Shadow Guard's origins and service to the emperor.
• Wang Qi asked for his own tent, and Lin Chu assigned him to Xu Ping's scout battalion, telling him he could carry whatever equipment he could bear.
• Wang Qi asked for the catalog of five techniques he could learn, and Xu Ping ordered him to assemble at the riverbank twenty li north of camp the next morning.
• Xu Ping vanished from sight, leaving Wang Qi impressed by the Shadow Guard's formidable masters.

Wang Qi reflected on his unconventional cultivation and chose five skills from the military camp’s collection, including three spells and two archery-related techniques. He began studying them overnight, prompting Lin Chu to angrily order Xu Ping to keep him away for three months.

• Wang Qi concluded that cultivation realms were broad guidelines and became eager to explore cultivation without reverence or rigid rules.
• Zhao Ji brought Wang Qi to the book tent, where Wang Qi chose the Clothing-Cleansing Spell, Water-Repelling Spell, and Light-Concealing Shadow-Masking Spell.
• After Zhao Ji urged him to choose martial techniques, Wang Qi selected Force-Piercing Arrow and Qi-Gathering Finger.
• Wang Qi returned to his camp and studied his new skills through the night beside a brazier.
• Lin Chu woke in a rage and shouted for Xu Ping to remove Wang Qi from the camp and keep him away for three months.

Wang Qi joined Xu Ping’s Scout Battalion and impressed its members by presenting a detailed map of the surrounding mountains. The battalion accepted him, and its month-long mapping task appeared to be finished already.

• Xu Ping took Wang Qi to the Scout Battalion’s hidden camp and warned him not to cast spells near Commandant Lin.
• Wang Qi noticed signs of the concealed camp and joined the ranks of the fourteen scouts, including a woman with vertical pupils.
• The woman challenged Wang Qi to map the terrain within twenty li in three days to prove himself.
• Wang Qi showed the scouts a detailed map covering a much larger region, including terrain, elevations, animals, and plants.
• Xu Ping discarded his own map, and the scouts welcomed Wang Qi after seeing how much work his map would save them.

Wang Qi settled into the Scout Battalion’s freedom by setting up a concealed campsite and practicing the Clothing-Cleansing Spell. After leaving his body in his sleep, he encountered Aunt Yun and A Bao again and saw that their gloomy, decaying aura had faded.

• Xu Ping gave the Scout Battalion nearly a month of free time, and Wang Qi returned to the recruit camp for food and a tent.
• Wang Qi carried his gear to a secluded mountain stream and pitched a tent beneath a hidden earthen mound.
• Wang Qi spent the day concealing his campsite and practicing the Clothing-Cleansing Spell before bathing in the unexpectedly warm stream.
• After falling asleep, Wang Qi left his body and cast the spell with true yang qi, creating an immaculate space at a considerable cost.
• Wang Qi saw Aunt Yun and A Bao approaching through the woods, connected by faint threads, and noticed their gloomy aura had faded.

Wang Qi’s out-of-body recitation helped Aunt Yun and A Bao shed gloomy energy, and he discovered that cultivating outside his body improved his spellwork and qi cultivation. He spent the day training his body and using spells and inner force to clean and dry his clothes, then prepared to continue exploring out-of-body cultivation.

• Wang Qi completed 108 repetitions of the Heart Sutra and directed its wish power toward Aunt Yun and A Bao, whose forms regained color as gloomy energy left them.
• Aunt Yun drove off nearby evil spirits with a whip, and Wang Qi returned to his body, guiding the lingering hot currents into his dantian to cultivate true yang qi and internal qi.
• Wang Qi realized his spells had become clearer after his out-of-body experience and decided to try different kinds of cultivation in that state.
• Wang Qi practiced the Mighty Stele-Splitting Palm all day and built wooden exercise equipment to push his physical training.
• Wang Qi caught and roasted two fish, then used the Water-Repelling Spell, Clothing-Cleansing Spell, and inner force to dry and freshen his clothes.

Wang Qi made rapid progress in cultivation and martial techniques by training in his out-of-body state, while his fellow soldiers grew bored during his twenty-day absence. They sent Ran Jiao to sneak into his camp, ostensibly to test him and make his acquaintance.

• Wang Qi mastered several spells and discovered that he could see the flow of qi through his meridians while out of his body.
• Wang Qi struggled to learn the meridian-based Qi-Gathering Finger, then reshaped it into a technique that cultivated both internal and external strength.
• Wang Qi's true yang qi and out-of-body cultivation helped his body recover, accelerating his practice of the Mighty Stele-Crushing Palm.
• After twenty days of Wang Qi training alone, his teammates complained that he had made himself at home and went to the Recruit Camp for meals.
• Wang Qi's teammates proposed a prank, then persuaded Ran Jiao to sneak into his camp and approach him as a test and an opportunity to befriend him.

Wang Qi sensed his teammates approaching while practicing out-of-body cultivation and watched Ran Jiao enter his tent. She sensed his presence and, when he rose, saw a vision of him wreathed in crimson-gold flames before fleeing in confusion.

• While practicing out of body, Wang Qi sensed fourteen people approaching and found his teammates stealthily closing in on his campsite.
• Wang Qi followed Ran Jiao’s group as a disembodied consciousness and noticed that Ran Jiao seemed able to sense him.
• Ran Jiao entered Wang Qi’s tent and felt the sensation of being watched from where he lay.
• When Wang Qi rose, Ran Jiao saw what appeared to be a second Wang Qi and crimson-gold flames flowing over him.
• Ran Jiao warned Wang Qi to stay vigilant and move his campsite, then ran away without giving him her name.

Wang Qi learned more about his scout unit and became intrigued by Ran Jiao’s Demon Race blood before an urgent assembly summoned the scouts to suppress brigands in Fei County. The mission was also a rehearsal for their planned campaign south, bringing the prospect of war much closer to Wang Qi.

• Wang Qi learned that Ran Jiao had Demon Race blood, which deepened his curiosity about the world.
• Two days later, Wang Qi answered the scouts’ emergency signal, released a trapped rabbit, destroyed his traps, and hurried to the riverside assembly point.
• Xu Ping scolded the scouts for their slow assembly before announcing that brigands in Fei County were forcing civilians into their ranks and pillaging.
• Xu Ping explained that the Secret Guard would target the brigand chiefs to limit civilian casualties and protect preparations for the Northern Expedition.
• Xu Ping ordered the scouts to pair up and set out, saying the mission would prepare them for their coming campaign south; Wang Qi realized war was near.

Wang Qi and Ran Jiao began scouting together as partners, and their first evening in the forest revealed both Ran Jiao’s keen senses and Wang Qi’s extreme cleanliness. Ran Jiao accepted his fussiness after he purified water for them to wash their hands, leaving the pair unexpectedly in agreement.

• Xu Ping paired Wang Qi with Ran Jiao for the scouting mission because their skills complemented each other.
• Ran Jiao detected a rabbit in the brush, and Wang Qi flushed it out with an arrow before shooting it for dinner.
• Ran Jiao gathered firewood and insisted that Wang Qi wash his hands before sharing the meal.
• Wang Qi melted snow and used a Water-Cleansing Spell to purify the water, astonishing Ran Jiao with his elaborate handwashing routine.
• Ran Jiao washed her hands in the purified water and reconsidered which of them was truly the odd one.

Wang Qi and Ran Jiao camped during their scouting mission, where Wang Qi’s careful habits and spell experiments repeatedly surprised Ran Jiao. They planned to head toward Fei County before dawn, while Wang Qi ended the chapter still trying to learn how to conceal a campfire’s light.

• Wang Qi stopped Ran Jiao from drinking water used to wash their hands, then purified and boiled fresh water for her.
• Wang Qi gave Ran Jiao most of the roasted rabbit, explaining that he needed less food, and she accepted his sincerity.
• Ran Jiao said they should leave before dawn for Fei County and avoid lighting fires while searching for bandit traces.
• Wang Qi tried to conceal the campfire’s light with the Light-Concealing Shadow-Masking Spell, but the flames disrupted his spell.
• Wang Qi expanded his spell’s range and briefly concealed the firelight, impressing Ran Jiao with his spell talent as he said he had not chosen between the Spellcaster and martial warrior paths.

Wang Qi refined his idea for improving the Light-Concealing Shadow-Masking Spell before he and Ran Jiao investigated signs of the outlaws in Mount Tai Commandery. They found a deserted village with someone hiding inside, but the person would not open the door.

• While his body slept, Wang Qi reasoned that he could sustain the spell's effect by continuously supplying mental power and internal qi, turning it into an invisibility barrier.
• Wang Qi and Ran Jiao crossed into Mount Tai Commandery and found traces of a large group that had left at least five days earlier.
• Wang Qi and Ran Jiao followed the mountain foothills toward Fei County, searching for signs of the bandits and a village where they could ask for information.
• Wang Qi and Ran Jiao entered a nearly deserted village, where Ran Jiao spotted someone hiding inside a wooden house.
• Wang Qi knocked and asked to speak with the person inside, but the hidden resident kept the door shut despite their audible breathing.

Wang Qi and Ran Jiao questioned two elderly villagers and discovered that the able-bodied villagers and their grain had gone to the bandits. Wang Qi spared the elders while using their likely attempt to report the strangers as a chance to find the bandits, and he and Ran Jiao followed one elder toward the mountains.

• Ran Jiao kicked in the hut door, and Wang Qi questioned the elderly couple about their missing grain and the villagers.
• When the old man struck Wang Qi with a cane, Wang Qi pulled Ran Jiao outside and persuaded her not to harm the couple.
• Wang Qi told Ran Jiao that the villagers had joined the bandits and suggested they wait for the elders to lead them to the bandits.
• After two hours, the old man left the village and headed toward the western mountains, so Wang Qi and Ran Jiao followed him.
• Wang Qi and Ran Jiao agreed to confirm the bandits' location before contacting their fellow soldiers.

Wang Qi and Ran Jiao followed an old man to a fortified estate in Fei County and discovered it was tied to the bandits who had seized displaced villagers. After Ran Jiao warned him that a formidable martial artist guarded the owners’ courtyard, they stayed hidden and waited for Sima Xu and the others.

• Wang Qi and Ran Jiao reached a fortified estate after following the old man from the village and suspected the bandits had connections to a wealthy household.
• Wang Qi entered the estate under the Light-Concealing Shadow-Masking Spell and confirmed that it had been turned into a barracks for the bandits and their men.
• Wang Qi observed the old man entering the compound, memorized its layout, and discovered a way to extend the spell’s duration.
• Ran Jiao threw a stone to stop Wang Qi from entering the owners’ courtyard and warned him that a formidable martial artist was stationed inside.
• Ran Jiao said she would send a message to Sima Xu and the others using her special method, and she and Wang Qi stayed hidden to watch for their arrival.

Wang Qi and Ran Jiao watched Chen Family Fort after sending a report, then sneaked into its inner courtyard when the fort’s soldiers marched out. They learned the Chen Family Head planned to shield his son by blaming a household servant, leaving the mission’s outcome more complicated than they had expected.

• Ran Jiao used the Wind Whisper Spell to report their coordinates to Sima Xu, and Wang Qi waited with her instead of scouting with his disembodied consciousness.
• A powerful martial artist led the fort’s private soldiers out to search for them, and Wang Qi and Ran Jiao slipped farther into the inner courtyard after the soldiers departed.
• Wang Qi and Ran Jiao listened through a lifted roof tile and learned that the fort belonged to the Mount Tai Chen Family.
• Madam Chen feared her son Tian'er would be treated as a rebel, while the Chen Family Head said they could blame a household-born servant if Tian'er disbanded the commoners he had rallied.

Wang Qi and Ran Jiao listened to Chen Jingtian's parents discuss the heavy taxes and the unrest at Chen Family Fort, leaving Wang Qi conflicted about Chen Jingtian's actions and the perspectives surrounding them. After receiving Sima Xu's orders, Ran Jiao went to take control of Chen Jingtian's parents while Wang Qi stayed hidden to watch for trouble.

• Wang Qi learned that the land tax had risen to four-tenths to fund the Northern Expedition, while Ran Jiao said the increase was temporary and army households were exempt.
• After hearing Madam Chen and the Chen Family Head complain about the levies, Wang Qi reconsidered Chen Jingtian's revolt and weighed how it looked to commoners, local gentry, and the emperor.
• Ran Jiao received a message from Sima Xu through the Wind Whisper Spell, and Wang Qi noticed clues that the spell worked like an encrypted communications channel.
• Ran Jiao relayed Sima Xu's order to take control of Chen Jingtian's parents and stabilize Chen Family Fort while awaiting further instructions.
• Ran Jiao went down alone to act, while Wang Qi stayed hidden and watched their surroundings.

Ran Jiao infiltrated the Chen Family's great house and took the Chen Family Head and Madam Chen hostage, while Wang Qi watched and prepared to support her. As the courtyard filled with soldiers and suspicious swordsmen tried to enter the house, Wang Qi readied his war bow for the worsening situation.

• Ran Jiao slipped into the Chen Family's great house and held the Chen Family Head and Madam Chen at swordpoint.
• Madam Chen shouted for the guards, so Ran Jiao knocked her unconscious as Chen Family soldiers crowded into the hall.
• Wang Qi concealed himself in an osmanthus tree and saw about five hundred people surround the great house while a servant rushed to notify Chen Jingtian.
• Wang Qi took out his war bow and spotted a group of wandering swordsmen trying to sneak into the house, then prepared to intervene.

Ran Jiao and Wang Qi turned Zhong Qi’s attempt to seize control of the Chen Family into a fight, but Zhong Qi broke through the household troops and charged at Wang Qi. The chapter ended with Wang Qi realizing that Zhong Qi had made him his next target.

• Zhong Qi arrived with his men and refused Old Master Chen’s order to withdraw, while Chen Shi hesitated to intervene.
• Ran Jiao put away her sword and pretended that she had only come to discuss an urgent matter, prompting Old Master Chen to call the confrontation a misunderstanding.
• When a swordsman attacked Chen Shi, Wang Qi shot him with a Force-Piercing Arrow, and Ran Jiao imitated Chen Shi’s voice to accuse Zhong Qi of trying to murder Old Master Chen.
• Zhong Qi abandoned Chen Shi and attacked Old Master Chen, forcing Ran Jiao to block his saber while Wang Qi fired a second arrow that Zhong Qi cut in two.
• Zhong Qi spotted Wang Qi in the osmanthus tree and charged through the Chen Family’s private troops toward him.

Wang Qi used arrows and the Light-Concealing Shadow-Masking Spell to support the Chen Family’s defenders while evading Zhong Qi. After helping Ran Jiao create an opening, he fought Zhong Qi at close range and ended the chapter charging in with his iron sword.

• Wang Qi shot five arrows that killed one Wandering Swordsman but failed to help Chen Shi take command of the household troops.
• Wang Qi spotted Ran Jiao struggling against four Wandering Swordsmen and fired another volley to support her.
• Ran Jiao met Wang Qi’s gaze, and he sensed her resolve before she made her move.
• Zhong Qi caught up with Wang Qi as he jumped down from the wall and attacked him in midair.
• Wang Qi deflected Zhong Qi’s great saber with his sword pommel, sending Zhong Qi crashing into the courtyard wall.
• Wang Qi rushed at Zhong Qi with his iron sword and began using the Grass-Cutting Saber Technique.

Wang Qi defeated Zhong Qi with his sword and bow, then killed him after thwarting a feigned-death counterattack. Carrying Zhong Qi’s head into the great house, he found that Chen Shi and the household soldiers had also defeated the remaining outlaws.

• Wang Qi wounded Zhong Qi’s legs with swift sword strikes, then avoided the powerful projected saber attack.
• Wang Qi shot Zhong Qi repeatedly with arrows until the wounded outlaw collapsed by the Chen Family compound gate.
• Wang Qi approached to finish Zhong Qi, but Zhong Qi feigned death and launched a palm strike.
• Wang Qi blocked Zhong Qi’s palm with his own and took his head with a sword stroke.
• Wang Qi carried Zhong Qi’s head into the great house and saw Chen Shi and the household soldiers kill the last outlaw, while Ran Jiao stood beside the Chen Family Head.