Chapter Summaries

Linley found a strange Black Ring while searching the Baruch Clan ancestral home, while Loa witnessed a mercenary squad fleeing from Harris and his Velociraptor in Wushan Town. As the beast began slaughtering the mercenaries, Loa spotted Captain Hillman and Linley near the battlefield and moved closer to investigate.

• Linley accidentally toppled a rotten bookshelf, found a black ring in the debris, and kept it.
• Loa finished his work at the blacksmith shop and headed to the training ground, nearing Rank 3 Warrior.
• A wounded mercenary squad ran into Wushan Town with Harris pursuing them on a Velociraptor.
• Harris demanded the Depelo Shadow Diamond, and the red-haired mercenary refused to surrender it.
• The Velociraptor killed an injured mercenary, and Loa recognized Captain Hillman and Linley near the battlefield before moving toward them.

Mage Harris and his velocidragon destroyed the mercenary squad with powerful fire magic, then claimed the Depelo Shadow Diamond and left Wushan Town. After witnessing the battle, Linley and Loa were inspired to become stronger, and the chapter ended with Loa training while Linley sat distracted nearby.

• Kailai and the surviving mercenaries formed a defensive line, but Harris and the velocidragon overwhelmed them despite their desperate counterattack.
• Harris unleashed Dance of the Fire Serpent, killing Kailai, Luisa, and the other mercenaries, while his lightning struck down Lina as she tried to escape.
• Harris retrieved the Depelo Shadow Diamond from Kailai's ashes and declared that he would use it against Haimans.
• Hogg identified himself as Wushan Town's lord and let Harris leave with the diamond, then arranged for the townspeople to salvage what they could from the battlefield.
• Linley and Loa were moved by the battle's display of power; afterward, Loa resumed training near the grounds while Linley sat nearby, distracted.

After witnessing a magician destroy a mercenary formation, Linley wondered whether he could pursue magic and hurried home to ask his father about it. Loa stayed committed to his path as a warrior and recorded the encounter in a drawing.

• Linley told Loa that the magician's power had made him question what strength meant and asked whether he could become a magician.
• Loa said he knew little about magic and urged Linley to ask his father, Hogg, about the Baruch Clan's history and how magicians were trained.
• Linley brightened at Loa's suggestion and rushed back to town to speak with Hogg.
• Loa reflected that magic was not his path, then practiced swordsmanship alone until nightfall.
• Loa drew the Velociraptor, its magician rider, and the mercenaries, then stored the picture beside his portrait of Old Jack.

Loa and Linley trained after witnessing the previous evening’s battle, but a clash between Dillon and the Saint-level mage Rudi soon erupted above Wushan Town. Rudi’s Meteor Fall sent flaming rocks toward the town, and Loa raced through the destruction to save the smithy and Grandpa Old Jack’s belongings.

• Loa and Linley pushed themselves through morning training while the other children questioned Linley about the previous night’s magical beast and mage.
• A black dragon carrying Rudi confronted Dillon above Wushan Town, and Dillon’s emerald Battle-qi strike wounded the dragon before Rudi unleashed Meteor Fall.
• Dillon broke most of the falling rocks with his sword, but flaming fragments crashed into Wushan Town, destroying buildings and injuring residents.
• Hillman ordered everyone to flee and take cover, while Loa raced toward the smithy to protect Grandpa Old Jack’s tools, memories, and hidden paintings.

Rudi and Dillon’s Saint-level battle devastated Wushan Town before ending when Dillon destroyed the object Rudi sought, forcing Rudi to withdraw. Linley survived being buried under rubble with Wharton and Hiri, while Loa returned to find his home and memories reduced to ruins.

• Rudi summoned an Earth Guardian that struck Dillon, while Linley shielded Wharton from a falling boulder and Hiri covered both brothers as the storehouse collapsed on them.
• Hogg and Hiri pulled Linley and Wharton from the rubble, and Hogg found Linley’s head wound was superficial as his blood briefly made the Black Ring glow.
• Dillon pierced the Earth Guardian’s core and destroyed it, but the giant struck him before it collapsed, leaving him injured as Rudi began summoning another.
• Dillon crushed the glowing object Rudi had pursued, and Rudi withdrew rather than risk a fight that could leave him badly wounded.
• Dillon flew away after Rudi, and Loa reached the blacksmith shop to find it destroyed and knelt before the ruins.

After the battle destroyed much of Wushan Town and Old Jack’s smithy, Loa grieved over the loss of his home and found comfort in Hillman’s support. At Old Jack’s grave, Loa decided to leave Wushan Town someday and explore the world, seeking strength and a future of his own.

• Hillman reported that more than eight hundred people had been found dead, many others were injured, and much of Wushan Town lay in ruins.
• Loa dug Old Jack’s sword, damaged pictures, armor, and dagger from the smithy wreckage and sat grieving among the keepsakes.
• Hillman gave Loa liquor and urged him to cry, then told him that Wushan Town and its people could become his home.
• Loa gathered his belongings and went to Old Jack’s grave, where he poured out the remaining liquor and spoke about the destruction.
• Loa told Old Jack that he wanted to see the wider world and become strong enough to protect what mattered to him.
• Loa stayed beside Old Jack’s grave through the night, holding his keepsakes and facing the road ahead with resolve.

After mourning Old Jack, Loa said goodbye to Linley and the people of Wushan Town, deciding to leave and grow stronger. He broke through to Rank 3 and set out toward the wider world with supplies and farewells from his neighbors.

• Loa visited Linley, who had begun to seem more cheerful after the previous day's events, and told him he planned to leave Wushan Town.
• Loa met Linley's little brother Wharton and gave him Old Jack's carved wooden sword.
• Steward Hiri gave Loa a map and silver coins, and Loa discovered that he had advanced to Rank 3 Warrior.
• Uncle Pete, Old Brown, Auntie Anna, Grandpa Mund, and Hillman each offered Loa supplies, advice, or encouragement as he said goodbye.
• Loa left Wushan Town along the road toward the wider world.

On the road to Fenlai City, Loa encountered a cannibal bandit and killed him after outmaneuvering him in a fight. He buried the body, camped in the woods, and rested before continuing toward the city the next day.

• Loa walked toward Fenlai City and expected to reach its walls around noon the following day.
• A fat, axe-wielding man tried to attack Loa and spoke of eating him.
• Loa dodged the man's heavy blows and wounded him repeatedly with his sword.
• When the bandit tried to flee, Loa caught him and killed him with a thrust through the eye.
• Loa searched the corpse, buried it beside the road, and camped in the woods for the night.

Loa arrived in Fenlai City seeking cultivation books, but found them far beyond his means and struggled to find work that would not bind him to a long apprenticeship. After an old mercenary pointed him toward the Mercenary Guild, Loa decided to seek work there despite the dangers.

• Loa entered Fenlai City and was awed by its size, crowds, and bustling streets.
• Loa visited the Hall of Wisdom, discovered that even the cheapest battle-qi manual cost 50 gold coins, and left unable to afford one.
• Loa rented a cheap attic room in the southern district and counted his remaining possessions: one Magic Crystal Core, thirteen silver coins, and forty-five copper coins.
• Loa spent two days seeking work at smithies and elsewhere, but found no viable job and grew increasingly worried about supporting himself.
• An old mercenary told Loa that the Mercenary Guild offered varied work and freedom at the risk of injury or death.
• Loa decided to visit the Mercenary Guild and pursue mercenary work.

Loa registered with the Mercenary Guild in Fenlai City, becoming a Gray Iron Rank I mercenary after paying the fee and receiving his insignia and identity card. He headed to the mission board to find work and begin supporting himself.

• Loa left his attic room and followed directions to the Mercenary Guild in Fenlai City.
• Loa filled out a registration form, listing his age as ten and Wushan Town as his place of origin.
• The clerk took Loa's ten copper coins and issued him a Gray Iron Insignia and identity card, explaining the mission rules and risks.
• Loa pinned on his insignia and walked to the noticeboard to inspect Gray Iron Rank missions.

Loa accepted a mission to clear Gnawtooth Rats from a dockside warehouse and earned his first money in Fenlai City. After collecting his reward, he took another mission to patrol the southern city wall with the City Guard.

• Loa chose the Gray Iron Rank mission to clear rats from Warehouse Three and registered it at the Mercenary Guild.
• Loa entered the warehouse and killed the Gnawtooth Rats, sharpening his use of Gale Thrust and gaining a new understanding of Weapon Combat Battle-qi.
• Loa killed more than thirty rats and received proof of completion from the dock supervisor.
• Loa turned in thirty-five rat tails at the guild and received four silver coins and five copper after the guild’s cut.
• Loa chose a City Guard perimeter patrol mission for the two hours before sunset.

Loa earned extra pay after stopping a smuggler, then found work at Bob’s Anvil by demonstrating his hundred-fold steel forging skill. After forging six billets, he earned six silver coins and secured a place to sleep, giving him a foothold in Fenlai.

• Loa patrolled the southern wall, dodged a crossbow bolt, and helped capture a smuggler carrying untaxed daggers, earning a dagger and extra pay.
• Loa took a rush-gathering job and searched the Mercenary Guild board for a chance to advance his rank.
• Loa accepted a notice seeking a blacksmith's assistant and passed Bob's test by forging a billet of hundred-fold steel.
• Bob hired Loa to forge billets at Bob's Anvil and offered him a bed in a shed behind the shop.
• Loa forged six billets that day, received six silver coins, and counted his savings before going to sleep.

Loa balanced his training and smithing under Bob’s guidance, then investigated an abandoned quarry with Old Blade and discovered a bristleback boar hunting there. After reporting the threat and earning mission credit, Loa believed he was close to qualifying for promotion from Gray Iron Rank.

• Loa practiced sword thrusts before dawn, and Bob recognized him as an unusually young Rank 3 Warrior and advised him to balance his qi between both arms.
• Loa and Bob forged chopping knives, and Bob spotted that Loa was overusing his right arm and told him to circulate some qi through his left.
• Loa teamed up with Old Blade to investigate an abandoned quarry, where they found a Rank 2 bristleback boar and Loa pierced its eye with a thrust before Old Blade killed it.
• Loa and Old Blade spotted two more beasts inside the hut and withdrew to report the threat, then split the mission’s twelve silver coins and received a strong experience assessment.
• Bob gave Loa Fire Phosphorus Powder for future missions while pretending to dock his pay for bent knife blanks.
• Loa reviewed the guild’s promotion requirements and concluded he was probably one step away from applying for a Gray Iron Rank assessment.

Loa advanced to mid-stage Rank 3 and joined Old Blade’s escort job to Black Marsh Town, where he fought bandits at Shatterbone Gorge. He returned safely to Fenlai City with enough savings to move closer to buying a battle-qi manual.

• Loa repaired Old Blade’s chain mail and counted his savings, which he planned to grow through an upcoming ore escort job.
• Old Blade assembled a six-person mercenary team, including the Rank 4 Warrior Shadow Snake, to guard thirty wagons of black iron ore.
• Shadow Snake spotted moving torches during the first night, and Old Blade ordered extra watches before the caravan continued toward Shatterbone Gorge.
• Bandits attacked at the gorge, and Loa killed a flail-wielding attacker while Shadow Snake and the others protected the high-purity ore wagons.
• The caravan drove off the bandits and reached Fenlai City safely, earning Loa six gold coins for the escort.
• Loa returned to Bob’s blacksmith shop with twenty-nine gold coins saved and thought about buying General Principles of Battle-qi.

Loa trained his swordsmanship at dawn, then spent the day catching up on blacksmithing orders while Bob warned him about the risks of advancing to Rank 4. The chapter ended with Loa considering how to earn more gold and deciding to ask Old Dao about it.

• Loa practiced Gale Thrust and a twenty-form greatsword routine, refining his technique and control of qi.
• Bob watched Loa train but chose not to ask about the origins of his unusual swordsmanship.
• Bob told Loa to make up the blacksmith shop’s backlog of orders, and Loa spent the day forging tools under his supervision.
• Bob observed that Loa’s qi was nearing its limit and cautioned him that breaking through from Rank 3 to Rank 4 required care.
• After dinner, Loa worried that he was still short on gold and thought of asking Old Dao about a quick way to earn more.

Loa sought a fast way to earn money and entered the black market’s Blood Arena, where he defeated the heavily favored Skullcrusher in his first deathmatch. He escaped through the sewers with enough money to buy the General Principles of Battle-qi, and the fight brought him closer to breaking through to rank 4.

• Loa asked Old Dao how to make quick money, and Old Dao told him about the Blood Arena and showed him a safe escape route.
• Loa entered the underground arena under the alias Wild Wind, paid the ten-gold entry fee, and bet all his remaining gold on himself.
• The host paired Loa with Skullcrusher, a powerful fighter on a four-match winning streak, and the crowd heavily favored Skullcrusher.
• Loa dodged Skullcrusher’s hammer attacks, struck his armpit, and killed him with a thrust to the throat.
• Loa escaped through the sewers with 110 gold coins, bringing his savings above his goal and sensing that the rank 4 barrier had grown thinner.

Loa returned to Cast Iron Alley after the arena and helped Bob begin forging a thousand-fold steel saber billet, learning how to control force and heat. He then visited the Hall of Wisdom and bought a systematic battle-qi text, a magical beast compendium, and a map before heading back toward the alley.

• Loa rested at an inn, reviewed the improvised thrusts he had used in the arena, and recognized that he had reached the peak of Rank 3 Warrior.
• Loa returned to Cast Iron Alley, where Bob taught him the principles of forging thousand-fold steel for a mercenary captain's saber.
• Loa helped Bob work the black water iron billet and practiced hammering it, gradually learning to transmit force through the metal.
• Loa visited the Hall of Wisdom and bought General Principles of Battle-qi and Body Tempering for fifty gold coins.
• Loa also bought an illustrated magical beast compendium and a map of the Fenlai Kingdom and surrounding regions, then left for Cast Iron Alley.

Loa studied the Hall of Wisdom’s book on Battle-qi and learned how warriors advanced through the ranks and circulated Qi. After following its Great Circulation route, he broke through to rank four and gained a clearer path forward.

• Loa returned to his shack and carefully read the Hall of Wisdom’s book on Battle-qi and physical conditioning.
• Loa learned that Battle-qi became essential from rank four onward, and that higher ranks brought greater control and power.
• Loa studied the meridian diagrams and the different circulation routes associated with elemental Battle-qi.
• Loa guided his Weapon Combat Battle-qi through thirty circuits of the Great Circulation route, easing his fatigue and making the Qi more condensed and responsive.
• Loa broke through the barrier to become a rank-four warrior.

After breaking through to Rank 4, Loa continued forging with Bob, learned that Bob was a Rank 6 Fire Element Warrior, and considered taking Fenlai City’s autumn magical aptitude test. Loa expected Linley to arrive for the test, anticipating that they might meet again beneath the White Spire.

• Loa practiced combining his sword styles and helped Bob finish the rough grinding of the Thousand-Fold Steel Warblade.
• Bob recognized Loa’s breakthrough, and Loa described his improved control, strength, and endurance.
• Bob revealed that he was a Rank 6 Fire Element Warrior whose battle-qi enhanced his forging.
• Bob suggested Loa take the Radiant Church’s autumn magical aptitude test, and Loa agreed that learning his elemental affinity could guide his future cultivation.
• Loa thought that Linley would soon come to Fenlai City for the test and anticipated meeting him again beneath the White Spire.

Loa went out with Bob to celebrate the sale of their warblade, then slipped away and wandered Fenlai City's food street. There he unexpectedly spotted Hillman and Linley, leaving him to approach the familiar figures.

• Tie Yan inspected the Thousand-Fold Steel Warblade and paid Bob a thousand gold coins for it.
• Bob took Loa to Bishui Paradise, but Loa dodged the women there and escaped outside.
• Loa wandered through the food street, buying snacks and enjoying the bustle of the city.
• Loa spotted Hillman and Linley at a sugar-painting stall and moved toward them.