Recaps

Qin Tiexin buried his master and struggled to preserve the family smithy against the Heavenly Craft Workshop's pressure, until a mysterious ring helped him restore Li Zhenwei's saber. He prepared to join the army with his newly forged saber Edgeless, while Zhao Xuan readied a poisoned needle to stop his departure.

• Old Qin revealed Qin Tiexin's origins, entrusted him with a black ring and meteoric iron, and died after asking him to preserve the shop and craft.
• Qin Tiexin buried Old Qin beside his wife and refused Zhao Ming's offers to buy the smithy.
• Zhao Xuan restricted Qin Tiexin's supplies and work opportunities and arranged a two-tael fine, while Qin Tiexin took laboring jobs to survive.
• Qin Tiexin awakened the Illustrated Catalog of Ten Thousand Artifacts through the black ring and studied restoration in the Virtual Realm · Forging Hall.
• Qin Tiexin restored Li Zhenwei's damaged saber while preserving its Intent, badly injured his hand, and earned payment and an invitation to join the army.
• Qin Tiexin paid the fine, unlocked the catalog's appraisal ability and weapon-recording quest, and arranged to preserve his shop while he joined the army.
• Qin Tiexin forged the mysterious black iron into an enormous saber, accepted its resistance to sharpening, and named it Edgeless.
• Zhao Xuan prepared to strike Qin Tiexin with a poisoned needle after another purchase offer failed, while Li Zhenwei arrived in the alley and sensed danger.

Qin Tiexin joined the Craftsmen's Camp, proved himself as a smith, and was selected for Li Zhenwei's secret unit. After surviving brutal training and his first battlefield deaths, he helped defeat a Northern Di Night Scout force, while Zhou Cang lost his leg and Helian Zheng vowed revenge.

• Li Zhenwei escorted Qin Tiexin to Xinyang Pass, where Zhou Cang challenged him to forge ten sabers from poor iron in five days.
• Qin Tiexin completed the sabers, learned from Zhou Cang, and designed armor-piercing arrowheads that earned him a promotion and a major production order.
• Zhou Cang took Qin Tiexin as his student, and Li Zhenwei selected him for a secret unit targeting Yelü Hongshan.
• Qin Tiexin passed the unit's trials, joined Squad A, and endured intensive combat training alongside Lin Feng and the other recruits.
• Qin Tiexin helped Squad A kill a Northern Di patrol, then struggled with the trauma of his first kill.
• Zhou Cang killed a Night Scout but lost his injured leg protecting Qin Tiexin from a second rider, whom Qin killed before carrying Zhou Cang to Xinyang Pass.
• Qin Tiexin found Squad A trapped by Night Scouts and helped them break out, then pursued Helian Zhen on Black Cloud and killed him with Edgeless.
• Helian Zheng examined Helian Zhen's remains and swore revenge on the Xuan soldier who had killed him.

Qin Tiexin helped defeat the Northern Di invasion, captured Yelü Hongshan, and left the army to bring his fallen comrades home. After reopening his forge and discovering Lin Feng’s request, he crossed into the cultivation lands and earned his first spirit crystals repairing a sword.

• Qin Tiexin developed the Horse-Slaying Sickle with Zhou Cang and Zhou Nan and trained with Team A before the Northern Di invasion.
• Li Xun routed the Northern Di army while Team A destroyed Night Scouts command posts and suffered heavy losses.
• Qin Tiexin captured Yelü Hongshan after Li Zhenwei died fighting Helian Zheng and a black-robed man carried Lin Feng away to the Blood Baleful Intent Sect.
• Qin Tiexin resigned from the army, returned fallen comrades’ ashes to their families, and reopened the Qin Household Blacksmith Shop with Tu Dazhu, Zhou Cang, and Zhou Nan.
• Qin Tiexin killed Zhao Ming after an ambush and took his Spirit Awakening Pill, while Great Xuan Law Enforcement Squad cultivators later arrested Zhao Xuan for attacking Qin Tiexin.
• Qin Tiexin discovered Lin Feng’s letter asking him to return the damaged sword to the Lin Household and left Ink City after Tu Dazhu married Liu Wan'er.
• Qin Tiexin crossed the Spirit-Severing Mountain Range into the Azure Xuan Region, where Edgeless awakened with a hunger to eat.
• Qin Tiexin repaired Cultivator Wang’s Breezy Wind Sword in Green Cliff Town, earned spirit crystals and future referrals, and unlocked the All Laws Return to Artifacts quest.

Qin Tiexin joined the Flowing Cloud Sect as a body-refining disciple, advanced his cultivation and artifact skills, and placed joint sixth in the minor competition’s combat assessment. He then turned to artifact refining and intensified his training ahead of the assessment in three months.

• Qin Tiexin left Green Cliff Town for the Flowing Cloud Sect, survived the journey through the mountains, and passed the sect’s strength and willpower trials despite failing the spirit-root test.
• Qin Tiexin became an outer sect menial disciple, chose the Discarded Artifact Pavilion, and used the Illustrated Catalog to salvage materials and improve his artifact knowledge.
• Qin Tiexin developed his body and Qi cultivation while working, exposed Shen Qingshan’s false accusation, and helped reveal Li Yuan and Du Ming’s theft.
• Qin Tiexin fused spiritual materials into Edgeless, learned to repair artifacts, and chose the Heavy Mountain Saber Technique to prepare for the minor competition.
• Qin Tiexin forged a Flowing Cloud Sword and tied for third in the artifact-refining assessment, after which Senior Sister Nangong offered to teach him on the condition that he take first place in artifact refining six months later.
• Qin Tiexin won four combat matches and drew with Li Yun, earning joint sixth place and resolving to improve his cultivation and counter ranged attacks.
• Qin Tiexin joined the Artifact Refining Branch Hall, forged and sold a Semi-Law Artifact short saber, and reduced his rest to two hours as he trained for the next assessment.