Chapter Summaries

Wang Qi endured a recurring nightmare, recited the Heart Sutra to drive away spirits, and left his body to practice on the roof before returning at dawn. After Wang Dashan warned him that contact with yin entities could damage his yang qi, Wang Qi ignored him and began cultivating.

• Wang Qi woke from his well nightmare and found Aunt Yun and A Bao waiting beside his bed.
• Wang Qi recited the Heart Sutra and its mantra until Aunt Yun swept away the spirits gathered in his room.
• At A Bao's reminder, Wang Qi left his sleeping body and went to the roof to await the first sunlight.
• Wang Qi returned to his body at dawn and felt warmth restore his exhausted body and mind.
• Wang Dashan summoned Wang Qi for morning practice and warned him to avoid contact with yin entities.
• Wang Qi went to the roof and meditated, leaving Wang Dashan helplessly shaking his head below.

Wang Qi achieved the “first yang arises” realm while cultivating lesser yang qi, and discovered that it improved his agility, stamina, and qi recovery. After outrunning Wang Dashan through the woods, he returned home and worried about their dwindling food supplies.

• Wang Qi entered meditation and felt a radiance sink into his dantian, spreading warmth throughout his body.
• Wang Dashan recognized that Wang Qi had reached the “first yang arises” realm and challenged him to spar so they could test the change.
• Wang Qi refused to fight and ran through the woods, noticing that his movements felt lighter as Wang Dashan chased him.
• Wang Qi ran for hours as his qi and stamina quickly recovered, while Wang Dashan became exhausted and angry.
• Wang Qi returned home, prepared to make porridge, and worried that they were running out of rice and would need to hunt before winter.

Wang Qi and Wang Dashan set out into the mountains to hunt and gather food before winter. After checking traps and collecting wild food along their familiar route, they reached their cabin as rain clouds gathered.

• Wang Qi persuaded Wang Dashan to hunt game and sell meat or pelts for rice and flour.
• Wang Qi and Wang Dashan packed their hunting gear and headed into the mountains, checking traps along the way.
• Wang Qi caught a hare and a pheasant in his traps, reset the traps, and gathered mushrooms.
• Wang Qi and Wang Dashan reached their mountain-stream cabin at dusk, where Wang Qi prepared their catch and Wang Dashan repaired the roof ahead of possible rain.

Wang Qi told Wang Dashan that he had been named for military recruitment and faced a choice between joining a southern campaign or a later levy against the steppe tribes. Wang Dashan accepted that enlistment was the safer option and advised him to join the archers while keeping a low profile.

• Wang Qi told Wang Dashan that the old village chief had put his name down for a general recruiting mountain men in Langya Commandery.
• Wang Qi explained that a later levy would take one man from every five households to fight the steppe tribes, while the current recruits would train for a year before fighting in the south.
• Wang Dashan offered to flee with Wang Qi, but Wang Qi refused to endanger the village chief's family or spend his life hiding in the mountains.
• Wang Qi described the general's plan to recruit three thousand troops, including six hundred archers, and Wang Dashan judged the southern campaign preferable to the northern levy.
• Wang Dashan advised Wang Qi to join the archers, where he would receive better protection and avoid attracting attention.

Wang Qi practiced leaving his body while asleep and encountered a pack of wolves in the dark woods, which jolted him awake. He wondered whether the wolves were really nearby as Wang Dashan woke and asked if he had a nightmare.

• Wang Qi succeeded in separating his consciousness from his sleeping body and explored the hunter's cabin.
• Wang Qi drifted outside and let fear of the dark woods stir deluded images.
• A pack of wolves charged at Wang Qi's spirit, and he abruptly returned to his body.
• Wang Qi stared into the woods and asked Wang Dashan whether a wolf pack might be passing nearby.

Wang Qi went outside to check on a suspicious noise and fought off a wolf pack with rapid bow shots before Wang Dashan joined him. They stayed up through the night skinning the wolves, aware that this might be their last hunt together.

• Wang Qi heard movement near the woods and killed the first three wolves with precise arrows as the pack emerged.
• Wang Qi fired rapidly at the wolves, killing many and advancing toward the woods until he ran out of arrows.
• Wang Dashan shot a wolf hiding behind a tree and warned Wang Qi not to let success make him reckless.
• Wang Qi and Wang Dashan decided to skin the wolves and share some meat with the villagers, then worked through the night.
• Wang Qi and Wang Dashan realized the wolves had likely lost a territorial battle and understood this might be their last hunt together.

Wang Qi and Wang Dashan returned from the mountains with more than a dozen wolves, and Wang Qi set out for Jiqiu City with ten other young men from Wang Family Village to enlist. He reached the county town before curfew and, unlike his companions, spent nearly half his savings on a room at an inn.

• Wang Qi and Wang Dashan hauled the wolf carcasses back to the village and shared them at a farewell feast for the young men preparing to enlist.
• The old village head asked Wang Qi to look after the other village recruits, and the villagers supplied the eleven young men with clothes, provisions, and iron swords.
• Wang Qi left for Jiqiu City with the other ten recruits, worrying about Wang Dashan and considering how to present his abilities during recruitment.
• The group reached Jiqiu City at dusk but planned to sleep outside the gates because they could not afford an inn.
• Wang Qi entered the city before curfew and paid for a room at a clean-looking inn, using nearly half his savings.

Wang Qi enlisted at the recruitment station and demonstrated his archery skills during the assessment. The recruiting officer was astonished by his speed and consistency, making Wang Qi stand out despite his effort to appear ordinary.

• Wang Qi registered for recruitment, claimed to know only a little reading and writing, and was assigned to the Archer Company.
• The clerk recorded Wang Qi's basic literacy and sent him to the drill ground for testing.
• Wang Qi took up a standard war bow and shot twenty arrows, quickly adjusting to its heavier draw.
• Wang Qi hit the target at eighty paces with roughly two arrows per breath, far beyond the usual range for recruits.
• The recruiting officer regarded Wang Qi as an exceptional prospect, while Wang Qi realized he had still shown too much ability.

Wang Qi joined the Divine Archer Battalion and studied its command structure while preparing to earn a team-leader position without drawing too much attention. After a meager first meal left him worried about his growth, his section leader and squad leader noticed his miserable expression.

• Wang Qi passed the enlistment test, received an army token, and learned that Commandant Lin’s force was heading south to suppress bandits in Danyang Commandery.
• Wang Qi considered why the army was recruiting archers for a southern campaign while Great Peng prepared for another war against the Northern Hu, and resolved to stay cautious.
• Wang Qi helped veterans at the drill ground, learned about the Divine Archer Battalion and its officers, and met the other recruits assigned to Xu Sanlang’s company.
• Xu Sanlang announced that the company would select forty five-man team leaders from its recruits and ordered them to eat, sleep early, and set out the next morning.
• Wang Qi decided he needed to win a team-leader position, then worried that the flatbread, scallions, sauce, and vegetable soup would not provide enough nutrition.
• Wang Qi’s assigned section leader and squad leader spotted him frowning after his meal, having been told to pay special attention to the promising recruit.

Wang Qi tried to keep a low profile in the Divine Archer Battalion, but his height, night vision, and rapid archery drew the officers’ attention. After shooting down two birds to secure meat, he became the camp’s first five-man squad leader.

• Wang Qi told Company Commander Wu that he worried about going hungry because he had grown up eating meat every day.
• Company Commander Wu led the recruits to the training ground and invited Wang Qi to shoot birds for food.
• Wang Qi used his own shortbow to fire six arrows rapidly and brought down two waterbirds.
• Wang Qi roasted the birds for supper while the officers recognized his self-taught chain shots and exceptional potential.
• Wang Qi became the first of the forty five-man squad leaders, with no one objecting.

Wang Qi struggled to sleep in the crowded military tent, so he spent the night meditating and discovered he could refine his control of internal qi by striking mosquitoes with bursts of force. He fell asleep outside and was found at dawn covered in bites by Platoon Commander Wu.

• Xu Sanlang recognized Wang Qi's exceptional vision at dusk and noted that night blindness could hinder the planned Divine Archery Battalion.
• Unable to endure the snoring and stale air in the tent, Wang Qi went outside and meditated beside it.
• Wang Qi practiced using internal force to knock mosquitoes away and discovered the exercise improved his control of qi.
• Wang Qi continued practicing until he fell asleep, drawing mosquitoes that left swollen bites across his body.
• Platoon Commander Wu found Wang Qi outside at dawn and scolded him for sleeping away from the tent.

Wang Qi joined the recruits’ march toward the mountains where the Divine Archer Battalion would train and discovered that his fellow villager Wang Ergou had been burdened with extra packs. He helped carry one, then worried that his supply of boiled water would not last the march.

• Wang Qi noticed that his improved constitution kept him rested and helped him recover from the swelling on his face.
• The recruits began a full day of marching under load toward the western mountains, and Wang Qi spotted Wang Ergou among them.
• Wang Qi asked why Wang Ergou carried extra packs, then took one despite Wang Ergou’s protest.
• Wang Qi saw that the men at the front were marching without loads and reassured Wang Ergou that the officers would notice the cheating.
• Wang Qi realized his dwindling supply of boiled water might not last through the march.

During the march, Wang Qi struggled with thirst until he found a mountain spring and met Clerk Zhao, who mistook his detour for a possible desertion. Clerk Zhao offered him a lesson in the Water-Cleansing Spell instead of a combat technique, leaving Wang Qi delighted at the chance to get cleaner water.

• Wang Qi used internal qi to reduce his fluid loss as the exhausted soldiers continued their march.
• Wang Qi and Wang Ergou stopped at a mountain spring to refill their waterskins, and Ergou said they needed to grow stronger to stop others from bullying them.
• Wang Qi went upstream to draw clearer water and ran into Clerk Zhao, who warned him that leaving the route could look like desertion.
• Clerk Zhao offered to teach Wang Qi the Water-Cleansing Spell in place of his chance to learn a combat technique.
• Clerk Zhao assured Wang Qi that the spell was simple, and Wang Qi followed him back, secretly pleased.

Wang Qi and Wang Ergou reached the Divine Archer Battalion’s camp, where Wang Qi met the silver-masked Commandant Lin. After Xu Sanlang rejected recruits who had abandoned their weapons and armor, Commandant Lin used a wind spell to sweep them out of the camp.

• Wang Qi marched with Wang Ergou, conserving his strength and avoiding the river water as he waited to learn the Water-Cleansing Spell.
• They arrived at the riverside camp and approached Company Commander Xu Sanlang and three officers instead of joining the recruits who were eating.
• Commandant Lin asked whether Wang Qi had trained his qi, and Xu Sanlang identified him as the adopted son of former northern military commandant Wang Dashan.
• Xu Sanlang ordered the recruits who had discarded their weapons and armor to leave the Divine Archer Battalion.
• When one wandering bravo threatened the officers, Commandant Lin cast a wind spell that carried the troublemakers outside the camp.

After the march, Wang Qi received the Water-Cleansing Spell and used his ingenuity to record its spoken incantation. Scribe Zhao then offered him a second reward, but Wang Qi’s request for a Clothing-Cleansing Spell left him suspecting the youth was mocking him.

• Commandant Lin rewarded the first thirty recruits to finish the march by appointing them squad leaders, and Wang Ergou was among them.
• Wang Ergou showed Wang Qi his Blazing Sun Qi manual and worried that he could not read it.
• Scribe Zhao taught Wang Qi how to use the Water-Cleansing Spell and recited its incantation for him.
• Wang Qi quickly transcribed the incantation’s sounds with simplified characters and marks, impressing Scribe Zhao.
• Scribe Zhao told Wang Qi he could receive a second reward and choose a basic combat technique or spell.
• Wang Qi asked for a Clothing-Cleansing Spell, and Scribe Zhao suspected he was making fun of him.

Wang Qi practiced the Water-Cleansing Spell and succeeded, discovering how incantations used internal qi to stir the primordial qi of heaven and earth. He then experimented with cleaning muddy water and began testing whether he could cast the spell silently.

• Wang Qi set aside the Linked Arrows technique and practiced the Water-Cleansing Spell beside a brazier outside the barracks.
• Wang Qi gathered internal qi beneath his tongue, recited the incantation, and used his will to make his waterskin’s water taste sweet and refreshing.
• Scribe Zhao sensed Wang Qi’s successful spellcasting and left his tent because the fluctuations were disturbing someone else in camp.
• Wang Qi experimented with muddy water and discovered that his tongue’s movements dispersed internal qi, which stirred the primordial qi of heaven and earth.
• Wang Qi used the spell to separate the silt from the water, then began testing whether he could cast it silently.

Wang Qi repeatedly experimented with the Water-Cleansing Spell, revealing unusual spellcasting talent and frustrating Commandant Lin and Scribe Zhao. After Scribe Zhao warned him to build a proper foundation, Wang Qi went outside to cultivate qi, prompting Commandant Lin to arrange separate tents and literacy classes for the new squad leaders.

• Commandant Lin told Scribe Zhao that Wang Qi had learned to cast the Water-Cleansing Spell silently after only four failures and was now experimenting with hand seals.
• Scribe Zhao warned Wang Qi not to skip foundational practice and told him to rest in his tent.
• Wang Qi appeared to go to bed, then slipped out and began cultivating qi beside the tent.
• Commandant Lin decided to have separate tents built for squad leaders learning qi cultivation and asked Scribe Zhao to teach them literacy.
• Scribe Zhao agreed to teach the squad leaders enough to memorize the Blazing Sun Qi formula within three days.

Wang Qi balanced the benefits of inner force and spiritual force while strengthening his control over internal qi, then spent his first day in camp practicing the Water-Cleansing Spell. After being sent out of Clerk Zhao’s tent, he asked Xu Sanlang to take him hunting so he could get more meat.

• Wang Qi improved his control over internal qi overnight and decided to postpone converting it all into inner force so he could preserve his options.
• Wang Qi completed the recruits’ morning march and archery practice, then silently practiced the Water-Cleansing Spell during academic lessons.
• Wang Qi realized that reciting the spell’s incantation guided his mental power, and he repeatedly recited it until he became mentally exhausted.
• Clerk Zhao summoned the new squad leaders to teach them Blazing Sun Qi, but pointed Wang Qi out of the tent.
• Wang Qi spotted Xu Sanlang preparing to leave camp and asked to join the officers on a hunt, offering his marksmanship and hunting experience.

Wang Qi was rejected from Xu Sanlang’s hunting party, but Commandant Lin soon ordered the group to take him along so his chanting would stop disturbing the camp. Once in the mountains, Wang Qi proved his hunting skill by shooting down a mountain goat with five arrows.

• Xu Sanlang refused to take Wang Qi hunting and ordered him to stay in camp, so Wang Qi resumed chanting his spell at an easier pace.
• Commandant Lin, driven to distraction by Wang Qi’s chanting, recalled Xu Sanlang’s group and ordered them to take Wang Qi out every day.
• Xu Sanlang returned to Wang Qi and ordered him to bring his bow and arrows, then led the group into the mountains at a fast run.
• Wang Qi noticed that the group’s noise was scaring away game and questioned whether they were truly hunting.
• Wang Qi fired five arrows in rapid succession, hitting a mountain goat with two of them and impressing the group.

Wang Qi demonstrated Linked Arrows on a hunt, then experimented with using the Water-Cleansing Spell to separate water from sheep blood. The chapter ended with Commandant Lin angrily ordering Xu Sanlang and four other Military Marquises back out to hunt, while they blamed Wang Qi.

• Wang Qi used Linked Arrows to kill a Mountain Goat from about sixty-five paces, impressing the officers despite hitting only two of five arrows.
• Xu Sanlang and the officers brought the goat back to camp, where the cooks butchered it and prepared meat and offal for them.
• Wang Qi used the Water-Cleansing Spell on sheep blood, separating clear water from the blood and compressing the remaining material into a dark clot.
• Commandant Lin angrily sent Xu Sanlang and the four other Military Marquises back out to hunt until seven in the evening.
• Commandant Lin asked how many had gone hunting, and the five officers turned to glare at Wang Qi, who suspected trouble was coming.