Chapter Summaries

After dying from a lifelong illness, Guo Luo was reborn as a frail infant in Wushan Town. Old Jack found and took him in, and named him Loa.

• Guo Luo died in a hospital after wishing for another life like Linley's.
• Guo Luo was born in Wushan Town in the late autumn of year 9979 of the Yulan Calendar.
• Old Jack found the abandoned infant outside his smithy and brought him inside to warm him.
• Old Jack carried the baby across town to Henry's clinic, where Henry said the child was weak but could survive with care.
• Old Jack brought the baby back to the smithy and named him Loa.

Loa grew up under Old Jack’s care, gradually becoming more alert and showing an interest in his grandfather’s forging. On his first outing at five, Loa saw Hillman shatter a boulder with a punch, then suffered a violent headache and fever as memories from both lives began colliding.

• Old Jack cared for Loa through infancy and early childhood, while Loa’s memories and skills from his previous life surfaced in fragments.
• Loa learned to walk and climb, spoke his first clear word to Old Jack, and became more attentive after recovering from a fever shortly after his third birthday.
• At five, Loa agreed to go for a walk with Old Jack and greeted Old Henry outside his clinic.
• Loa and Old Jack reached a training ground where Hillman demonstrated his strength by shattering a boulder with one punch.
• Loa became intensely excited by Hillman’s power, then clutched his head as memories from both lives collided and a sudden high fever struck.

After recovering from a fever, Loa remembered his past life and realized he had been reborn in the world of Coiling Dragon. He trained on his own, learned blacksmithing from Old Jack, and began formal warrior training under Hillman.

• Loa woke after three days of fever, recognized Wushan Town as part of the Coiling Dragon World, and resolved to become stronger despite being unable to afford a magical aptitude test.
• Loa asked Old Jack to teach him blacksmithing and spent the following year exercising, sharpening his perception, and practicing with a small hammer.
• When Loa turned six, Old Jack brought him to Hillman's training ground and asked Hillman to teach him to become a warrior.
• Hillman demonstrated the Qi Accumulation Stance and coached Loa as he joined the younger children's group.
• Loa maintained his stance through his first training session while other children tired, then rested and headed home after Hillman ended practice.

Loya refined a force-generating technique while smithing, then applied his knowledge of two-handed swordsmanship to weapons training. He became absorbed in testing and adjusting his cuts, unaware that Hillman had watched him for five minutes.

• Loya used ideas from his previous life to improve his hammer swings and, after countless attempts, found a powerful, efficient strike.
• At the weekly weapons session, Loya chose a heavy two-handed wooden sword despite Hillman's warning that it usually suited larger warriors.
• Loya used his feet, waist, and breathing to drive a controlled diagonal cut that made a clear indentation in a training post.
• Loya added a subtle wrist rotation to his next cut, deepening the damage to the post, then continued adjusting his technique as Hillman watched.

Hillman recognized Loa’s unusually thoughtful sword technique and taught him to guide the sword while building the strength to support it. Loa returned to the smithy determined to train his body, and he planned a heavier hammer and a stricter routine.

• Hillman stopped the children’s training and asked Loa to demonstrate how he had refined his sword strokes.
• Loa showed Hillman a slow, spiraling strike that chipped the wooden post, and Hillman praised his technique while explaining how to guide the sword.
• Hillman ordered Loa to add three daily strength-training sets so his body could support his skill.
• Loa returned to Old Jack’s smithy and asked him to forge a heavier hammer, and Old Jack agreed.
• Loa revised his training plan that night, adding weighted exercises, hill running, and regular practice of his breathing method.

Loa intensified his physical training to expand his strength, while Old Jack supported him with food and heavier smithing work. Exhausted but determined, Loa planned to seek better nourishment and continue training the next day.

• Loa ran forty-five laps carrying sacks of stones, completed a hundred squats, and used his battle aura to endure the strain.
• Old Jack saw Loa's injuries, gave him an egg at breakfast, and let him use the main hammer to forge a billhook.
• Old Jack assigned Loa to drag a broken handcart to the carpenter, where Loa rested while its wheels were repaired.
• Loa pushed the repaired cart back to the smithy, and Old Jack promised him a daily egg and weekly meat.
• Loa reviewed his training and planned to ask Captain Hillman about finding nourishing food or earning money.

Loa refined his sword practice by learning to let his breathing follow his movements naturally, while his strength and control continued to improve. Old Jack treated Loa’s sore muscles with medicinal salve and privately resolved to keep supporting him as he trained.

• Loa trained through late autumn, growing stronger and consciously circulating the warmth produced by the Weapon Combat Breathing Method.
• Hillman watched Loa’s sword practice, noticed his tightly controlled breathing, and advised him to let his breath follow his movements rather than force it.
• Loa practiced feeling his natural breathing by the stream and gradually found a way to synchronize it with imagined sword movements.
• Loa applied Hillman’s advice during backyard sword practice, making his cuts smoother as his breathing and the warmth within him flowed naturally.
• Old Jack applied salve made by Old Henry to Loa’s sore shoulders, arms, and back, then decided to watch over him and arrange for more medicine.

Loa waited out the rain at Baruch Mansion and discovered books about magical beasts and the Yulan continent, gaining his first detailed understanding of the world. Hiri noticed Loa’s hunger for knowledge and invited him to read at the mansion whenever he visited.

• Old Jack sent Loa to Baruch Mansion to collect repaired garden tools, and Hiri told him to wait out the rain.
• Hiri let Loa browse the mansion’s old books, and Loa studied an illustrated guide to magical beasts and a gazetteer of the Yulan continent.
• Hiri watched Loa read with intense focus and remembered his friendship with Old Jack.
• After Loa finished reading and the rain eased, Hiri learned that Old Jack had taught him to read and invited him to browse the books during future visits.
• Loa left the mansion carrying the tools and reflecting on how knowledge revealed the scale of the world, while Hiri quietly watched him go.

Loa returned to Baruch Mansion to read more books and learn about magical beasts and medicinal herbs, then stepped in when local boys bullied Kevin over a strange glowing stone. He headed back to Old Jack’s smithy, thinking about his studies and the next day’s work.

• Loa delivered repaired tools to Baruch Mansion and asked Hiri detailed questions about magical beasts and their weaknesses.
• Hiri invited Loa to read, and Loa studied Basic Herb Identification while the rain fell, memorizing the properties and growing conditions of more than thirty herbs.
• On his way home, Loa intervened when Tom and the other boys tried to take a strange glowing stone from Kevin.
• Loa told Kevin to hide the stone and take it home to his mother, then continued toward the smithy as Old Jack worked inside.

Loa visited Baruch Mansion, where Hiri gave him advice and supplies to gather medicinal herbs for Old Jack. He also met Linley Baruch, and left wondering what kind of person he wanted to become while planning to look for purpleheart grass the next day.

• Loa delivered repaired tools to Hiri and continued reading about herbs at Baruch Mansion.
• Loa asked where medicinal herbs grew, and Hiri warned him about gathering dangers before giving him lime powder, a knife, and directions to purpleheart grass.
• Loa read about the Yulan Continent and met Linley Baruch, who eagerly talked with him about the Four Ultimate Warriors.
• Hiri praised Loa's manner and explained that Linley often spent time alone.
• Loa considered his future on the way home and decided to focus on strengthening himself and trying to gather herbs for Old Jack.

At seven and a half, Loa had grown stronger through years of training, and Hillman assigned him to help Linley learn the Qi-Gathering Stance. Loa guided Linley through his first hour of practice, and the two agreed to train together again.

• Loa's strength and inner warmth increased as he trained, and Hillman gave him a heavier wooden sword for practice.
• Loa heard that Linley would join the training ground and saw him arrive with Hillman.
• Linley struggled to hold the Qi-Gathering Stance, so Hillman told Loa to demonstrate and guide him.
• Loa showed Linley how to position his body and regulate his breathing, helping him endure the full hour.
• After training, Loa corrected Linley's stance, and Linley thanked him before they parted until the next day.

Loa refined a rapid sword thrust and, after Hillman tested it, named it Gale Thrust. He also returned to drawing, discovering that studying and depicting what he saw gave him a new kind of mental training and insight.

• Loa spent months practicing thrusts, learning to channel power through his body into a fast, direct strike.
• Hillman sparred with Loa, parried his attacks, and advised him to improve the transitions between moves and give his technique a name.
• Loa found inspiration in a night breeze and named his thrust Gale Thrust.
• While delivering tools to Baruch Mansion, Loa saw an illustration of a Snowshadow Leopard and felt inspired to draw it.
• Loa used charcoal and firewood to sketch the beast from memory, finding that drawing brought focus, exhaustion, and clarity.
• Loa continued drawing subjects from his life and books, gaining fresh insights into their movements and characteristics.

Loa noticed Linley training as though punishing himself after his absence and spoke to him about the danger of destroying his body. Linley left the training ground with a calmer step, while Loa wondered whether his words had helped.

• Loa refined his Gale Thrust and received Hillman's advice not to become fixed on one move.
• Linley returned to training and pushed himself so hard that Hillman repeatedly told him to relax and breathe.
• After training was dismissed in the rain, Loa found Linley striking a wooden post alone and joined him with a steadier rhythm.
• Loa told Linley that training was not punishment and urged him to focus on the strengths and path he still had.
• Linley admitted that some things could not be gained through effort alone, then stopped practicing and walked home.
• Loa watched Linley leave, hoping his words had helped and reflecting that friendship meant offering support when someone stumbled.

Loa went into the mountains to hunt for food and herbs, but discovered a trapped Rockskin Boar, a rank-one magical beast. He killed it after narrowly evading its charge, and the chapter ended with the beast collapsing in the clearing.

• Loa asked Mund about dangers in the mountains and learned that a large creature had driven a herd of boars toward the outskirts.
• Loa showed Jack the sword he had secretly forged and set off into the mountains to hunt.
• A crashing noise led Loa to a trapped Rockskin Boar, which he recognized as a rank-one magical beast.
• Loa attacked the boar’s neck with Gale Thrust, but its hardened hide stopped the blade and its tusk tore his clothes.
• Loa circled behind the boar as it tried to escape, struck its vulnerable spot, and followed with another blow to its wounded neck.

After killing a first-rank magical beast, Loa returned to Wushan Town with its hide, tusks, meat, and herbs, then recovered and prepared for future trips into the mountains. Half a month later, Old Jack agreed that Loa could go up the mountain again, leaving him equipped with armor and tusk daggers but warned to stay cautious.

• Loa killed the trapped Rockskin Boar, dressed its carcass, and gathered purpleheart grass and silverleaf vine before returning to town.
• Old Jack recognized the boar as a first-rank magical beast, helped Loa tend his wounds, and cooked its meat for dinner.
• Loa struggled to sleep as he replayed the fight, then resumed morning sword practice with renewed determination.
• Old Jack taught Loa to tan the boar hide, and Loa made plans for two tusk daggers; together they fashioned a leather chest guard and bracers.
• Half a month later, Old Jack told Loa he could go up the mountain again if he stayed cautious and returned safely.

Loa spent an ordinary day training and hunting on the mountain, working at the forge with Old Jack, and making tools from rabbit bones. After listening closely to the mountain stream, he discovered a clearer, more attentive state of mind and planned to test it during sword practice the next morning.

• Loa trained by running and climbing, then hunted a rabbit and a pheasant with his bow.
• Loa rested beside a stream and found that quieting his mind made his senses seem sharper, giving him a glimpse of what swordsmanship called clear eyes.
• Loa returned to Wushan Town with game and wild celery, prepared the food, and helped Old Jack forge a billhook for Old John.
• Loa ground rabbit bones into an arrowhead and a thumb ring while Old Jack watched.
• Loa went to bed planning to practice his sword in the quieted state the next morning.

Loa changed his sword practice to focus on stillness, slowness, and concentration, then joined Linley for a weighted run up the back mountain. Linley shared his desire to leave Wushan Town, control his fate, and fulfill a mission, and Loa continued after him.

• Loa practiced a basic sword thrust slowly and steadily before working on Gale Thrust with the same approach.
• Linley arrived and completed his demanding morning exercises, then prepared for a weighted run to the back mountain.
• Loa joined Linley, and the two set off carrying weights on their legs and backs.
• Linley coached Loa to lean forward and drive uphill with his thighs when the climb became difficult.
• Linley told Loa he wanted to leave Wushan Town, explore the outside world, control his fate, and fulfill a mission.
• Loa caught up with Linley and said he would risk his life to keep him company.

Loa and Linley endured grueling morning stamina training, then practiced swordsmanship as Loa taught Linley to use feints, timing, and redirected force. They agreed to leave Wushan Town and pursue strength together, though their journey remained in the future.

• Loa and Linley completed their third weighted lap, collapsed at the smithy, and agreed to train together again the next day.
• Linley treated his training injuries with herbal powder, and Old Jack served Loa an extra egg at breakfast out of concern.
• Loa taught Linley how to conceal attacks, use feints, and redirect an opponent’s force during their afternoon sword practice.
• Linley quickly adapted his swordsmanship, shifting from relying solely on brute strength toward controlling rhythm and using finesse.
• Loa told Linley he wanted to leave Wushan Town and see the wider world, and Linley declared he would go too.
• Loa and Linley agreed to pursue their futures together before returning home for dinner.

After Old Jack died peacefully in his sleep, Loa buried him with the help of Mund, Old Brown, and Grandpa Hiri. Finding a charcoal stub among Old Jack’s keepsakes, Loa drew his portrait and resolved to grow strong enough to escape the frailty and death that had claimed his grandfather.

• On Loa’s tenth birthday, Old Jack’s health seemed briefly to improve, and he spoke to Loa about the small box he had hidden beneath the cabinet.
• Loa found Old Jack dead in bed the next morning, washed his body, and told Mund, Grandpa Hiri, and Old Brown.
• Mund, Old Brown, and Grandpa Hiri helped Loa arrange Old Jack’s simple burial outside town.
• Loa found coins, a carving knife, and a charcoal stub in Old Jack’s box, then used the charcoal to draw a portrait of his grandfather on leather.
• After grieving over the portrait, Loa vowed to become strong enough to control his own life and death.

After Old Jack’s death, Loa grieved, then devoted himself to refining Gale Thrust while the people of Wushan Town quietly supported him. By ten and a half, he had reached the peak of rank two and sensed both an approaching breakthrough and trouble brewing beyond the town’s peaceful life.

• On the seventh day of his vigil, Loa said goodbye at Old Jack’s grave, while Linley kept him company and invited him to train the next morning.
• Loa returned to the smithy, put Old Jack’s belongings in order, and began practicing his sword before dawn, concentrating on perfecting Gale Thrust.
• As winter turned to spring, Loa trained by piercing falling leaves, steadily improving his speed, aim, and control.
• Old Brown, Uncle Pete, and Aunt Anna each showed Loa kindness, helping him through his grief as he worked and trained in Wushan Town.
• At ten and a half, Loa reached the peak of rank two and sensed that the barrier to rank three was near, while an uneasy feeling suggested danger was gathering.