Chapter Summaries

After awakening memories of his previous life, Lin Yuan realized that Zhao Yan had likely ordered his poisoning to secure the Lin family fortune for Lin Shan. A newly activated system granted him greatly increased talent, and Master Wu was astonished when he examined Lin Yuan’s aptitude again.

• Lin Yuan woke with memories of his previous life and found a suspicious red mark beneath his ribs after recalling his encounter with Zhang San.
• Lin Yuan saw Zhang San watching the medicine shop and grew suspicious when the thug slipped away.
• A funeral procession revealed that Lin Dafu had died to mountain bandits, leading Lin Yuan to suspect Zhao Yan had arranged the poisoning so Lin Shan could inherit the family wealth.
• Lin Yuan’s system activated and granted him a hundredfold increase in talent after awarding him the title of Disowning the Six Relations.
• Lin Yuan asked Master Wu about martial arts and requested another aptitude examination, which left Master Wu shocked.

After Master Wu discovered Lin Yuan’s extraordinary bone aptitude, he gave him the Wu Lineage’s ancient Five Qi Converging to the Origin Art. Lin Yuan quickly advanced in cultivation and waited in ambush when an intruder approached his room.

• Master Wu found that Lin Yuan’s bone aptitude had become astonishingly strong, and Lin Yuan blamed the change on a strange fruit.
• Master Wu decided to pass Lin Yuan the Wu Lineage’s Five Qi Converging to the Origin Art, an internal tempering method no one in the lineage had mastered.
• Lin Yuan used sudden enlightenment to understand the art and secretly reached its beginner stage.
• Lin Yuan practiced for four hours, reached Minor Accomplishment of Body Tempering, and felt strength beyond that of ordinary people.
• Lin Yuan hid behind his door with a boning knife as a wary intruder slipped into the courtyard and began opening it.

Lin Yuan killed Zhang San, discovered the wounded Lin Jiu and his father’s letter naming him as a trusted companion, and decided to save him. Lin Jiu survived the night and woke in Master Wu’s clinic as dawn broke.

• Lin Yuan killed Zhang San after stopping his attack, then found a bloodied figure hidden in the room.
• Lin Yuan discovered the wounded man carried an iron token bearing the Lin character and a letter addressed to Lin Yuan.
• Lin Yuan read that Lin Shan was not his father’s biological child and that the dying man named Lin Jiu as someone Lin Yuan could trust.
• Lin Yuan chose to save Lin Jiu, and Master Wu treated his wounds and confirmed he would survive.
• Lin Yuan told Master Wu he would wait for Lin Jiu to wake before deciding what to do next.
• At dawn, Lin Jiu opened his eyes and instinctively reached for his waist.

After Lin Yuan exposed his identity and used the townspeople and Master Wu to drive off assassins, he recovered Lin Dafu’s hidden bundle and advanced his martial arts with a Body Tempering Pill. The chapter ended as another assassin entered the clinic courtyard and approached Master Wu’s room.

• Lin Jiu told Lin Yuan that hardened soldiers had ambushed Lin Dafu on Black Wind Mountain and revealed that Lin Dafu’s belongings were hidden in a cave in Falling Goose Valley.
• Lin Yuan shouted in the street that the principal wife had driven him out and barred him from his father’s funeral, drawing a crowd that forced two assassins to retreat.
• Master Wu declared Lin Yuan his disciple and heir, publicly shielding him and winning the townspeople’s support.
• Lin Yuan found fifty thousand taels in silver notes, a porcelain bottle of pills, and a note bearing the word “Wuya” in the hidden cave.
• Master Wu identified the pills as Body Tempering Pills, and Lin Yuan used one to increase his cultivation to major accomplishment and reach a thousand jin of strength.
• A dark figure entered the clinic courtyard with a saber and approached the main hall, where Master Wu was inside.

Lin Yuan, Lin Jiu, and Master Wu fled Blackstone Town after discovering deserters nearby and signs of an impending bandit attack. They escaped an ambush but were intercepted by another group of deserters, who brought them before their wounded leader.

• Lin Jiu captured Liu San, who admitted that he and a dozen other soldiers had fled Weishui City, prompting Lin Yuan to plan an escape to the county seat.
• Lin Yuan, Lin Jiu, and Master Wu left at dawn and avoided wounded Inspector Liu as soldiers carried him toward the clinic.
• Lin Yuan and Lin Jiu detected an ambush outside town and carried Master Wu away from pursuing bandits who intended to seal Blackstone Town.
• Master Wu confirmed that Lin Yuan had reached the entry level of the cultivation method and rejoiced that someone in the Wu Lineage had finally achieved it.
• Lin Yuan, Lin Jiu, and Master Wu hid near a fork in the road, but a deserter leader detected them and ordered them brought over after Master Wu identified them as doctors.

Lin Jiu used the Lin family's Life-Severing Saber to kill Liu Lie and six soldiers while Lin Yuan fled with Master Wu. Surrounded by six more soldiers, Lin Yuan fought back but fell into danger as Master Wu prepared to stake his life to save him.

• Liu Lie attacked Lin Jiu and ordered his soldiers to kill Lin Yuan, Master Wu, and Lin Jiu after suspecting them of killing Liu San.
• Lin Jiu used the Life-Severing Saber, killing six soldiers and mortally wounding Liu Lie.
• Lin Yuan carried Master Wu through the woods, but six soldiers surrounded them after a long chase.
• Master Wu prepared to use the Wu family's life-staking method, but Lin Yuan stopped him and claimed he could handle the soldiers.
• Lin Yuan killed one soldier and fought the remaining five, but their coordinated saber attacks drove him into a disadvantage as Master Wu readied his needles.

Lin Yuan defeated the men who ambushed him by rapidly mastering the Army-Breaking Saber Art, then found Lin Jiu alive but gravely wounded. With Ping'an County under lockdown, Lin Yuan arranged for himself and his companions to enter the town through a steward who turned out to be Lin Hai.

• Lin Yuan used Enlightenment to learn the Army-Breaking Saber Art during the fight, killed two attackers, and watched the remaining leader escape with a lightness skill.
• Lin Yuan and Master Wu returned through the woods and found Lin Jiu alive among the bodies; Master Wu treated him and said he needed century-old ginseng to replenish his depleted blood essence.
• Lin Yuan carried Lin Jiu to Ping'an County, where they learned the town was locked down and saw refugees suffering outside its gates.
• Lin Yuan approached a steward with a thousand-tael banknote and negotiated a way for three people to enter the town.
• The steward introduced himself as Lin Hai, and Lin Yuan gave the false name Song Zhong before agreeing to meet at midnight.

Lin Yuan, Lin Jiu, and Master Wu entered the city through a dog hole after Lin Hai bribed Lieutenant Liu to look the other way. Lin Hai then tried to kill Li San for witnessing the payment, but spared him when Li San claimed to know a secret.

• Lin Hai led Lin Yuan, Lin Jiu, and Master Wu through a hole in the northern city wall, where Lieutenant Liu accepted a hundred taels to pretend he had seen nothing.
• Lin Yuan paid Lin Hai a thousand taels, and the group went their separate ways.
• Lieutenant Liu gathered ten city guards and plotted to rob or kill the travelers, believing Lin Hai had more money on him.
• Lin Hai confronted Li San, who had followed them, and began strangling him to keep the thousand-tael payment secret.
• Li San claimed he knew a secret, so Lin Hai released him and demanded to hear it.

Lin Yuan discovered that Lin Hai and Lieutenant Liu’s men were targeting him, then killed them all and recovered his money. As he left the alley, a woman on a nearby rooftop called out to him.

• Li San told Lin Hai that Lin Yuan had entered the city, and Lin Hai killed him before rushing to report the news to Madam Zhao Yan.
• Lieutenant Liu’s soldiers killed Lin Hai, then Lieutenant Liu kept the stolen banknotes and killed two soldiers who challenged his share.
• Lin Yuan revealed himself, admitted he had killed Ergou, and attacked Lieutenant Liu and his men after refusing their offer to part peacefully.
• Lin Yuan killed the soldiers and Lieutenant Liu, retrieved his banknotes and the silver ingots, and staged the bodies to look as if they had killed one another.
• A woman on a nearby rooftop asked Lin Yuan if he was Lin Yuan, and he reached for his saber.

Lin Yuan met Shen Qing, a Dragon Guard captain investigating the Lin household’s purchases of controlled grain and iron, and gave her a lead about hardened soldiers among the bandits at Black Wind Mountain. Back at the inn, he learned the Life-Severing Saber and activated his epiphany, finding himself in a strange expanse of white mist.

• Shen Qing introduced herself as the Dragon Guard captain inspecting Ping'an County and told Lin Yuan she was investigating the Lin household’s large purchases of grain and iron.
• Lin Yuan told Shen Qing that hardened soldiers had joined the bandits who ambushed Lin Dafu below Black Wind Mountain, and she decided to investigate the mountain.
• Shen Qing gave Lin Yuan a token and told him to take it to Wang's Tea House if he found more leads, then left.
• Lin Yuan returned to the inn, where Master Wu said Lin Jiu needed century-old ginseng and a Qi and Blood Pill to recover.
• Lin Jiu taught Lin Yuan the Lin family’s human-tier Life-Severing Saber, and Lin Yuan wondered whether he could combine it with the Army-Breaking Saber Art.
• Lin Yuan activated his epiphany and found himself in a boundless expanse of white mist.

Lin Yuan bought hundred-year-old ginseng to treat Lin Jiu, but Lin Shan tried to take it from him at Spring Revival Hall. Lin Yuan fought off Lin Shan’s guards and left with the ginseng, while Lin Shan ordered men gathered to pursue him.

• Lin Yuan abandoned his failed attempt to merge saber arts, stabilized his cultivation, and left the inn to find medicine for the unconscious Lin Jiu.
• Lin Yuan bought genuine hundred-year-old ginseng at Spring Revival Hall for five thousand taels.
• Lin Shan and Physician Sun tried to claim the ginseng after Lin Yuan had paid, but Lin Yuan refused to sell it and pushed Physician Sun away.
• Lin Yuan recognized Lin Shan as his elder brother in name but remained unrecognized, then defeated one guard and forced another to retreat.
• Lin Yuan left the hall with the ginseng, and Lin Shan ordered his guard commander to return to the estate and gather men.

Lin Yuan went to the Treasure Pavilion to buy martial arts manuals and found a way to purchase more than a hundred Mortal Grade saber techniques. As Xiao He prepared to complete the sale, someone suddenly snatched the thousand-tael banknote from his hand.

• Lin Yuan refused the little beggar’s plea to become his disciple and entered the Treasure Pavilion.
• A blue-clad maid told Lin Yuan that Qi and Blood Pills might be available at an auction in three days, then dismissed his request for Mortal Grade manuals.
• Lin Yuan approached Xiao He after seeing an older maid scold her, and Xiao He offered to show him the pavilion’s Mortal Grade saber manuals.
• Lin Yuan inspected three manuals, then decided to buy all 103 books in the chest for a thousand taels.
• As Lin Yuan handed Xiao He a thousand-tael banknote, a figure darted out and snatched it.

Lin Yuan learned that Lin Shan had rounded up beggars while searching for the little beggar, then hurried to the City God Temple and found the beggars slaughtered. As Lin Yuan tried to comfort the surviving little beggar, a cold glint flashed before his eyes.

• Lin Yuan returned to the inn with a chest of saber manuals and reached entry level in every technique after studying them.
• Lin Yuan learned that Lin Shan had ordered constables to gather beggars and rushed toward the City God Temple, worried about the little beggar.
• Lin Shan questioned the beggars, learned the little beggar had escaped, and discovered his little sister was dead.
• Lin Shan struck down a constable who objected, then ordered the guards to kill the gathered beggars.
• The little beggar returned to the temple, rejected the idea of joining Lin Shan, and formed a plan to approach Lin Yuan.
• Lin Yuan arrived at the temple and offered condolences, but a cold glint flashed as he reached to help the little beggar up.

After the little beggar ambushed him and tried to exploit his guilt, Lin Yuan killed him and reflected on the danger of trusting others. At his new home, Lin Yuan combined insights from more than a hundred saber arts and unlocked the first move of the incomplete Heaven-Questioning Saber.

• The little beggar stabbed at Lin Yuan, but Lin Yuan stopped the dagger, kicked him down, and demanded the truth.
• The little beggar admitted he had used his sister's death to gain Lin Yuan's sympathy and attacked to seize his wealth.
• Lin Yuan killed the little beggar after rejecting his plea for mercy, then left the City God Temple shaken by what he had experienced.
• Lin Yuan bought a secluded residence for eight hundred taels, and told Lin Jiu and Master Wu that he had learned the ruthless nature of the world.
• Lin Yuan entered the enlightenment space and merged insights from over a hundred saber arts into a single phantom.
• Lin Yuan's phantom unleashed a powerful saber strike, unlocking the first move, Opening Move Shakes Kunlun, of the incomplete Heaven-Questioning Saber.

Lin Yuan completed the Five Qi Converging to the Origin Art, broke into the Early Qi and Blood Realm, and discovered that it had created five regenerating illusory organs that doubled his attributes. As Ping'an County faced a bandit siege and Shen Qing remained missing, Lin Yuan heard that the relief general was named Zhao Wuya.

• Lin Yuan deduced the first move of the Earth Rank Heaven-Questioning Saber, broke through to the Early Qi and Blood Realm, and collapsed from severe internal pain.
• Lin Yuan awoke with five illusory organs that doubled his attributes and could be regenerated with the Five Qi Converging to the Origin Art.
• Lin Yuan learned that roving bandits had reached Ping'an County's gates and that grain prices had soared, then heard at Wang's Tea House that relief troops were expected soon.
• Lin Yuan used his Imperial token to seek Shen Qing and learned from the shopkeeper that she had been missing for two days.
• Lin Yuan suggested Shen Qing might have gone to Black Wind Mountain, then heard that the approaching relief general was Zhao Wuya.

Lin Yuan realized that the Zhao Clan might be plotting rebellion and rushed toward Black Wind Mountain, where Shen Qing was trapped after discovering Zhao Meng’s private soldiers and their hidden stores of provisions and refined iron. Uncle Fu reached her, but the two were cornered at the cliff as Xiong Ba closed in.

• Lin Yuan connected Zhao Wuya to the Zhao Clan and suspected that Lin Dafu had been murdered for uncovering their rebellion plans.
• Shen Qing fought off bandits at Black Wind Mountain after discovering the Zhao Clan’s private soldiers, weapons, and provisions.
• Xiong Ba used his men and military crossbows to prevent Shen Qing from escaping and attacked her with a spiked mace.
• Uncle Fu and the Dragon Guards charged up the mountain, but the crossbowmen killed several guards and wounded Uncle Fu.
• Shen Qing helped Uncle Fu to his feet as Xiong Ba’s men surrounded them at the cliff.

Shen Qing used the Shen Clan’s life-consuming Moon-Destroying Slash to wound Xiong Ba, but he survived and broke through into the Second Rank. As Xiong Ba celebrated and threatened her again, a youth in a blue-green robe appeared and challenged his boast.

• Shen Qing attacked Xiong Ba and tried to draw the fight toward the bandits so Uncle Fu could escape, but Xiong Ba struck her down.
• Shen Qing unleashed the Moon-Destroying Slash, burning away her lifespan and inflicting a grievous wound on Xiong Ba.
• Xiong Ba rose from the blood and broke through into the Second Rank, while Shen Qing collapsed in Uncle Fu’s arms.
• Xiong Ba began boasting about his martial career, but a youth standing on a bluestone boulder interrupted him with, “So what if you were seventeen?”

Lin Yuan used the Heaven-Questioning Saber to slaughter Black Wind Stronghold’s bandits, then faced Xiong Ba, whose Second Rank strength overwhelmed his first strike. As Xiong Ba attacked again, Lin Yuan unleashed his trump card by exploding his organs to pour immense energy into his saber, ending the chapter as a thirty-meter blade of blood-red Qi erupted.

• Lin Yuan cut down waves of bandits with repeated uses of Opening Move Shakes Kunlun, shocking Shen Qing, Uncle Fu, and the survivors.
• Xiong Ba recognized Lin Yuan’s powerful saber technique and challenged him, but his spiked club shattered Lin Yuan’s thirty-foot Saber Qi and forced him back.
• Shen Qing and Uncle Fu rushed to Lin Yuan, and he sent them behind him before confronting Xiong Ba’s next attack.
• Lin Yuan exploded his lungs, organs, liver, and kidneys to feed power into his saber, then released a thirty-meter streak of blood-red blade Qi.

Lin Yuan killed Xiong Ba and the bandits at the stronghold, where Shen Qing discovered the Zhao Clan’s rebellion plans. After they reached Ping'an County and suspected the bandits outside were Zhao Wuya’s allies, Shen Qing sent Uncle Fu to seek reinforcements and asked Lin Yuan how to identify infiltrators in the city defenses.

• Lin Yuan slew Xiong Ba and the bandits with a single saber strike, then pretended the attack had cost him something.
• Shen Qing told Lin Yuan and Uncle Fu that the Zhao Clan had hidden provisions and refined iron, while Uncle Fu reported Zhao Wuya was marching on Ping'an County with thirty thousand troops.
• Shen Qing ordered the provisions burned and the refined iron buried before the three hurried toward Ping'an County.
• Lin Yuan suspected the bandits surrounding the county were allied with Zhao Wuya and that the rebellion was part of a larger scheme to open Qing Prefecture to invasion.
• Shen Qing sent Uncle Fu to Qingshan Commandery for reinforcements and asked Lin Yuan how to expose infiltrators among the city defense troops.
• Lin Yuan proposed distributing pay at the drill ground the next day without requiring the soldiers to wear armor.

Shen Qing recruited County Magistrate Wu Wei and Deputy Magistrate Wang Ruogu to help her move against Commandant Zhao Meng. Their banquet ambush failed when Zhao Meng anticipated a trap and his sword-bearing guard blocked Shen Qing’s attack.

• Wu Wei delayed opening the granaries, hoping to gain prestige and promotion, until Shen Qing told him about the danger surrounding Zhao Meng and promised to protect his post.
• Wu Wei realized Shen Qing might be related to the powerful Shen commander in the capital and hurried with her to confront Wang Ruogu.
• Zhao Meng received Wu Wei’s invitation to discuss grain prices and decided to attend with twenty capable men, despite his guard’s concern that it might be a trap.
• At the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, Wu Wei and Wang Ruogu urged Zhao Meng to lower grain prices, but Zhao Meng asked what they had uncovered.
• Shen Qing burst through a painted screen and attacked Zhao Meng, but his sword-bearing guard deflected her saber and pulled him clear.