Chapter Summaries

Fang Yue avoided an unwanted match with Zhang Shu after her outburst ruined her father’s attempt to arrange their marriage. Days later, he took his place among the candidates as Xiahe County’s first Martial Scholar assessment began.

• Zhang Boyang proposed that Fang Yue become betrothed to Zhang Shu, but Zhang Shu burst in and refused to marry him, insulting him and his family.
• Zhang Boyang struck a table in anger, Zhang Shu ran out crying, and Fang Yue took the opportunity to leave.
• Fang Yue spent the following days practicing in secluded places and wandering Xiahe County Town.
• Fang Yue joined nearly two hundred candidates at the County Yamen, where officials verified their identities before the assessment began.
• Fang Yue learned that the assessment would test strength and combat, saw that he was candidate number 98, and felt confident about the competition.

Fang Yue took the stone-lifting test in the Martial Scholar examination and lifted a 1,300-pound Stone Lock, securing a place in the next round while concealing his full strength. As the practical combat matches approached, a gray-clad man judged Fang Yue strong but believed he could still defeat him.

• At a banquet, Zhang Shu complained that her father wanted to marry her to Fang Yue and hinted she wanted him injured during the examination.
• Fang Yue entered the stone-lifting test and raised a 1,300-pound Stone Lock over his head.
• The military officer confirmed Fang Yue's result, and the candidates across the drill ground watched him with surprise.
• Fang Yue rested and chose not to reveal that his maximum strength had reached 1,500 pounds.
• A gray-clad man watched Fang Yue and decided that, despite his strength, Fang Yue was no match for him.

Fang Yue finished the Stone Lifting test in thirteenth place and learned from Chen Chengan that a Gray-clad Youth seemed hostile toward him. The Martial Combat round began, with the candidates set to fight for thirty places in Xiahe County’s Martial Scholar assessment.

• Fang Yue estimated that his Stone Lifting result ranked him thirteenth among the fifty candidates who passed.
• Chen Chengan warned Fang Yue that a Gray-clad Youth had looked at him with hostility, and Fang Yue recognized the youth as a fellow White Tiger Martial Arts School practitioner.
• Fang Yue thanked Chen Chengan, and the two grew friendlier after Chen Chengan joked that Fang Yue should go easy on him if they fought.
• After one incense stick, the examiners began the Martial Combat round and explained that candidates would fight unarmed for thirty places, with their Stone Lifting results determining the final rankings.

Fang Yue defeated Wang Renjia in the Martial Scholar assessment but was hurt by a strange counterattack that targeted the White Tiger Fist’s qi-and-blood routes. He suspected a gray-clad candidate had arranged the attack, leaving the reason for the scheme unresolved.

• Fang Yue faced Wang Renjia of Chenwang Village, whose Stone Lifting result was far below his own.
• County Magistrate Zheng Sancai proposed allowing candidates to challenge higher-ranked opponents, and Liu Zheng accepted the proposal.
• Fang Yue overwhelmed Wang Renjia, who launched a desperate attack instead of dodging, and won the match after sending him flying.
• Fang Yue realized Wang Renjia’s final punch had disrupted his qi and blood using a technique aimed at the White Tiger Fist’s circulation routes.
• Fang Yue suspected the gray-clad youth had instructed Wang Renjia to use the technique.

After the second assessment, the top thirty Martial Scholars were allowed to challenge those ranked above them, and Wang Teng chose Fang Yue as his target. Chen Chengan then publicly protested the county’s harsh taxation, prompting Liu Zheng to assign him responsibility for collecting taxes before the Martial Scholars completed their registration and Fang Yue returned to his lodgings.

• The military officer announced that Martial Scholars could challenge those ranked above them, with a failed challenge voiding their results, and Wang Teng chose Fang Yue as his target.
• Chen Chengan addressed Liu Zheng and urged him to punish officials who imposed extra taxes and oppressed the people of Xiahe County.
• Liu Zheng invoked the northern Barbarians’ invasion to defend the taxes and assigned Chen Chengan command of the tax collectors for a month, threatening him with military service if collections fell short.
• Liu Zheng left, ending the ranking challenges, and the Military Officers directed the Martial Scholars to register and secure tax exemptions for their families.
• Fang Yue completed his registration, bought mutton soup, and returned to his lodgings.

After passing the Martial Scholar assessment, Fang Yue left Xiahe County Town and ended his association with Zhang Shu after she insulted him. When the results were posted the next day, Zhang Shu learned that Fang Yue had passed, and Zhang Boyang struck her for disrespecting him.

• Fang Yue visited the Zhang Residence to tell Zhang Boyang he was leaving, but Zhang Shu mocked him and her friend warned him against becoming Zhang Shu’s live-in son-in-law.
• Fang Yue told Zhang Shu to inform Zhang Boyang that he would not return, then left town for home.
• The next morning, Zhang Shu waited at the Wine House for the results, confident Fang Yue had failed and believing Wang Teng had prevented him from passing.
• A maid told Zhang Shu that Fang Yue had passed the Martial Scholar assessment.
• Zhang Boyang arrived, struck Zhang Shu for insulting Fang Yue, and ordered the servants to take her home.

Daliushu Village struggled through a tax-driven famine as Fang Mu's family tried to keep its small grain reserve private. When Fang Clan Members demanded grain, Chen Shi confronted them and began reminding them of past favors and unpaid debts.

• Mother Chen worried that Zhi'er might not return safely, while Father Fang said Zhi'er could handle any danger.
• Fang Cheng admitted that someone had seen him deliver grain to Uncle Fuquan, and Chen Shi scolded him for attracting attention.
• Seven or eight Fang Clan Members arrived at Fang Yue's home and demanded grain, arguing that the family had helped outsiders and owed support to their own clan.
• Father Fang stammered that his family had no surplus, but the visitors threatened to shame and ostracize them if they refused.
• Chen Shi rushed out with a kitchen knife and challenged the visitors, recalling that Fang Mu had rescued Fang Ming's son and that Fang Zhi still owed them one hundred jin of grain.

Fang Suo and the Fang Clan Members pressured Fang Mu's family to lend them grain, but government runners arrived with news that Fang Yue had placed as a Martial Scholar. The chapter ended with Fang Suo mistakenly asking whether Fang Mu's son Zhi had earned the title.

• Chen Shi confronted Fang Ming, Fang Zhi, and the other Fang Clan Members for pressuring Fang Mu despite his past kindness to them.
• Fang Suo arrived and used appeals to clan duty and reputation to urge Fang Mu to lend grain, while Fang Mu hesitated and Chen Shi grew angry.
• Fang Suo's thoughts revealed that he resented Fang Mu's family for living better than he did and wanted them to share their grain.
• Yamen runners arrived at Fang Yue's door and congratulated him for placing as a Martial Scholar.
• Fang Suo rose in surprise and asked whether Fang Mu's son Zhi had become a Martial Scholar.

After Fang Yue became a Martial Scholar, yamen runners brought his family their tax refund, and Chen Shi drove away the Fang Clan Members who had pressured them. Liu Dezhen then arrived with lavish gifts to congratulate Fang Yue, leaving the villagers stunned and raising the question of whether he had come to make a land donation.

• The yamen runners announced that Fang Yue had placed highly in the Martial Scholar examination and returned his family's land tax because he was exempt.
• Chen Shi gave the yamen runners a tip, then began sweeping and ordered the Fang Clan Members to leave.
• Fang Suo objected that Fang Yue was only a Xiucai, while the other clan members worried they had offended his family.
• Liu Dezhen arrived at Fang Yue's home and congratulated the family, bringing silk, food, and wine worth at least fifty taels of silver.
• Liu Dezhen's visit astonished the villagers, and someone asked whether he had come to make a land donation.

Fang Yue’s family learned that his Martial Scholar status granted a tax exemption on three hundred mu of land, and Chen Shi drove Fang Suo and the clan members away. As Chen Shi prepared a feast for Fang Yue’s return, she learned he had stopped at Fang Hu’s house and ordered Fang Mu to bring food and wine there.

• Scholar Liu explained that Martial Scholars received exemption from taxes on three hundred mu of land, and Chen Shi drove Fang Suo and the Fang Clan Members out of the courtyard.
• Chen Shi prepared more than ten dishes for Fang Yue, while Fang Cheng brought out old mountain ginseng given by Uncle Fuquan.
• Chen Shi sent Fang Mu to fetch Fang Yue, but Fang Mu returned alone and explained that Fang Yue had gone to Fang Hu’s house first.
• Chen Shi told Fang Mu to take several dishes and three jars of wine to Fang Hu’s house for Fang Yue.

Fang Yue’s rise as a Martial Scholar changed his family’s standing in Daliushu Village, while Fang Hu prepared to leave for the Prefecture City with Fang Ergou. Fang Yue remained in the village after seeing them off, and his diligence improved his aptitude.

• Fang Liang’s wife blamed him for joining the commotion against Fang Yue’s family, and the couple argued over the land-tax exemption they had missed.
• Fang Suo was removed as clan elder, and Fang Mu’s cousin was chosen to replace him after Fang Mu refused the position.
• Fang Hu told Fang Yue he would leave for the Prefecture City with Fang Ergou to pursue a military opportunity for his disciple.
• Fang Yue respectfully saw Fang Hu and Fang Ergou off in the snow after receiving his master’s advice on martial cultivation.
• More than a month passed, winter deepened, and Fang Yue’s diligence increased his aptitude by one.

Fang Yue improved his fist talent and discovered it increased his techniques’ power and cultivation speed, then spent another year cultivating and helping his family prosper. The chapter ended with Fang Yue using his strength to raise the main beam of his family’s new house.

• Fang Yue raised his aptitude to 550 points but found his strength had stalled at two thousand jin until he advanced his martial realm.
• Fang Yue upgraded Beginner Fist Mastery to Intermediate Fist Mastery and shattered a wooden stake with a punch ten percent more powerful than before.
• Fang Yue continued cultivating, hunting, gathering herbs, and selling them for Secret Medicine as another year passed.
• Fang Yue’s family used their savings and rent income to rebuild their home as a brick-and-tile house with four additional rooms.
• At the beam-raising ceremony, Fang Yue lifted and positioned the heavy main beam, astonishing the gathered villagers.

Fang Yue helped Anu learn a poem while tenant farmers finished building his family’s new house. Meanwhile, Liu Chuanzhi rode into Daliushu Village ahead of the Xiucai examination and encountered Widow Yu and Anu.

• Fang Yue watched the tenant farmers finish the roof and reflected on their loyalty to his family.
• Anu asked Fang Yue to teach her to write a letter to her grandfather, and he taught her to recite and write Quiet Night Thought.
• Widow Yu called Anu home, and Anu happily left Fang Yue after learning several characters.
• Liu Chuanzhi rode toward Daliushu Village with Zhu Mo and two servants, boasting that he expected to place near the top in the Xiucai examination.
• Liu Chuanzhi noticed Widow Yu and Anu on the road and recognized Widow Yu.

Anu defended Fang Yue’s poetry when Liu Chuanzhi tried to impress Widow Yu with his own verse, leaving Liu Chuanzhi shaken and humiliated. More than ten days later, Fang Yue finished training and went fishing in the snow, where a catch inspired him to recite a line about fishing alone in the cold river snow.

• Anu recited Fang Yue’s poem to Liu Chuanzhi and insisted it surpassed his verse.
• Liu Chuanzhi’s book boy tried to criticize Anu’s poem by comparing its character count, and Widow Yu laughed at him.
• Liu Chuanzhi struck his book boy and left after realizing he could not openly compare his poem with Fang Yue’s.
• More than ten days later, Fang Yue’s new house was nearly complete, and he continued practicing martial arts at Fang Hu’s home.
• Fang Yue rowed into the lake to fish during a snowfall, caught a silver fish, and recited a line about an old man fishing alone in the cold river snow.

Liu Chuanzhi mistook Fang Yue for a hidden great scholar after hearing his poem and ended up kneeling to him in the snow, bringing him fresh humiliation. Meanwhile, Fang Yue's mother pressured him to marry, but he redirected her attention to his older brother Fang Cheng.

• Liu Chuanzhi learned from Wen Donglou that the poem attributed to Fang Yue was a modern work, and he felt bitter about Fang Yue's growing status.
• At the lakeside, Liu Chuanzhi heard Fang Yue's verse, mistook him for a reclusive sage, and waited in the snow before kneeling to ask him to accept him as a disciple.
• Liu Chuanzhi recognized Fang Yue and fainted after his bookboy witnessed him kneeling; the story spread through Daliushu Village and reached Liu as he rode past in a carriage.
• Chen Shi repeatedly urged Fang Yue to marry, so Fang Yue pointed out that Fang Cheng was still unmarried.
• Chen Shi turned her marriage pressure on Fang Cheng and ordered him to bring Fuquan's daughter home as his wife within a month.

Fang Yue continued training for the Imperial Martial Candidate examination while reflecting on the dangers of reckless action after learning that Chen Chengan had become a wanted fugitive. When two chickens were stolen from Fang Atong’s home, Fang Yue investigated and noticed a shoeprint that suggested the thief was a martial man.

• Fang Yue advanced his cultivation toward bronze skin and believed he might be ready for the Imperial Martial Candidate examination that year.
• Two Yamen runners gave Fang Yue an official assignment to watch for Chen Chengan, who had killed a County Yamen tax clerk and fled.
• Fang Yue decided to prioritize his family and avoid confronting Chen Chengan directly, since the fugitive could still be dangerous.
• After more than ten peaceful days, Fang Atong asked Fang Yue to investigate the theft of his two chickens.
• Fang Yue inspected Fang Atong’s chicken coop and spotted a faint shoeprint, suspecting that a martial man had stolen the chickens.

Fang Yue suspected that the chicken thief in Daliushu Village was Chen Chengan and warned his family to stay home while he forged a powerful bow. When he returned to his mountain hut to hunt, he found Chen Chengan hiding inside and urged him to leave Xiahe County.

• Fang Yue concluded that the chicken thief had fled and chose not to report the theft to the Yamen.
• Fang Yue warned his parents, elder brother, and elder sister to remain in the village because Chen Chengan might be nearby.
• Fang Yue forged a Ten-stone Bow and later set out to hunt for the Secret Medicine needed for cultivation.
• Fang Yue discovered that someone had opened the trap on his mountain hut and sensed a person inside.
• Chen Chengan identified himself from within the hut, and Fang Yue kept his bow drawn as he told him to leave Xiahe County.

Fang Yue found the fugitive Chen Chengan, who revealed that a Qi Sensing manual was behind his wanted status. Fang Yue left without fighting, but Yamen runners then closed in on Chen Chengan, who revealed his strength and killed several of them.

• Fang Yue cautiously questioned Chen Chengan and resisted the temptation of the three-thousand-tael bounty.
• Chen Chengan accused Fang Yue of seeking the Qi Sensing manual, and Fang Yue realized it might explain why Chen had become a wanted criminal.
• Chen Chengan stepped out of the hut with a Binate Iron Staff, but Fang Yue said he had no interest in him and withdrew into the forest.
• After Fang Yue left, Chen Chengan collapsed from his injuries, and several Yamen runners emerged and demanded his surrender.
• Chen Chengan ambushed the approaching runners and killed several with a sweeping strike from his Binate Iron Staff.

Fang Yue intervened when Captain Tang tried to kill the badly wounded Chen Chengan, then found and took the Wutu True Art manual from Chen Chengan’s body. He returned home after misleading the pursuing yamen runners, where Chen Shi was boasting about him to the neighbors.

• Captain Tang attacked Chen Chengan and demanded the Qi Sensing Manual, but Fang Yue shot his pu dao from his hands, forcing him to flee.
• Fang Yue found that Chen Chengan had died from his old wounds and desperate fight, then discovered the Wutu True Art manual on his body.
• Fang Yue erased his traces, burned the thatched hut, concealed Chen Chengan’s death, and planted false clues to mislead the officials.
• Captain Tang returned with other yamen runners, and their leader ordered them to pursue the false trail deeper into the mountains.
• Fang Yue returned home, where Chen Shi was praising his Martial Scholar status to the neighborhood aunties and asked him what benefits it brought.

Fang Yue revealed his new status and benefits to the village women, then studied the Wutu True Art and wondered whether it was an immortal cultivation method. After seven failed attempts to sense Primal Spirit Power, he remained determined to try again as his aptitude improved.

• Fang Yue told the village women that his farmland was exempt from taxes and levies and that he had become a Martial Scholar who received a monthly subsidy.
• Chen Shi stopped the women from discussing Fang Yue's marriage, and she prepared him a lavish meal at home.
• Fang Yue read the Wutu True Art and questioned whether its method of sensing Primal Spirit Power was a form of immortal cultivation.
• Fang Yue memorized the manual and burned it before trying to cultivate according to its instructions.
• After seven failed attempts to sense Primal Spirit Power, Fang Yue concluded that his aptitude or cultivation might be insufficient and resolved to keep trying.