Chapter Summaries

Fan Daoyi entered the Guixu freebie game and joined Chen Wu and a new player in a maze dungeon. When the guide’s route led them in circles and they encountered a killer, Chen Wu fled and left Fan Daoyi behind with the killer.

• Fan Daoyi woke in the game, struck a blond player with his cane, and introduced himself to Chen Wu and a new player.
• Chen Wu explained that the freebie game’s dungeons were easy to clear by following guides, while Fan Daoyi concealed how little he knew.
• Chen Wu led the group through the maze, but they repeatedly returned to familiar places despite following different paths.
• The group spotted a towering killer chopping meat behind a half-open door, and Chen Wu urged them to hurry away.
• The killer emerged and called the group fresh food, so Chen Wu ran off and asked Fan Daoyi to hold him back.
• Fan Daoyi watched Chen Wu disappear, bowed politely, and wished him a safe journey.

Fan Daoyi confronted his disobedient subordinates and arranged for them to torment the trapped players while he sought more fear to replenish his dwindling origin. He then learned the Barrier Ghost had invented a rule to leave work early and accepted its report in exchange for sparing it punishment.

• Fan Daoyi ordered Butcher to prolong the players’ ordeal and drain them of hope.
• Fan Daoyi summoned Vase Woman to keep the blond player alive, but the player panicked and gnawed on himself under an illusion created by the dark figure.
• Fan Daoyi assigned Vase Woman and Butcher to figure out how to grow flowers, then gave the dark figure additional work.
• The Barrier Ghost told Fan Daoyi that the remaining players were arguing over a supposed rule about hanging a head to open the way to life.
• The Barrier Ghost admitted it had fabricated the rule to leave early and reported that another subordinate had encouraged the ghosts to slack off.
• Fan Daoyi praised the Barrier Ghost’s report and said it would offset its wrongdoing, promising not to punish it.

Fan Daoyi reached Chen Wu and used the Barrier Ghost to twist his arm, then let the newcomer kill him to fulfill the maze’s condition. He allowed the newcomer to leave, then went to check on the butcher and found his subordinates had trapped the blond man in a vase and were passing credit among themselves.

• Fan Daoyi confronted Chen Wu and used the Barrier Ghost to injure him, while claiming he had come to help them escape.
• The newcomer stabbed Chen Wu through the neck and head, completing the condition to hang a head and open the path to life.
• Fan Daoyi let the newcomer run, reasoning that Chen Wu’s death counted as escape, and ignored the Barrier Ghost’s plea to share the others’ punishment.
• Fan Daoyi encountered a wet Female Ghost, who admitted she had seen the escaping human but left him for the butcher to handle.
• Fan Daoyi found the blond man’s head trapped in a vase while the shadow and Vase Woman kept him alive, and the butcher credited the pharmacist for the grisly work.

Fan Daoyi investigated the Apothecary’s misconduct, then gathered the uncanny creatures to confront their neglect of the games. He crushed a rebellion, revived the dead to force them into labor, and left the creatures to settle their grievances with Barrier Ghost.

• Vase Woman exposed that Butcher had taken a bribe from the Apothecary, while Butcher tried to implicate her.
• Fan Daoyi found the Apothecary dissecting a player and called for a meeting about the creatures’ poor work and lost fear.
• A creature attacked Fan Daoyi after the gathered creatures mistook his reprimand for weakness, and Fan Daoyi revealed his power by killing and tormenting the rebels.
• Fan Daoyi revived the creatures he had killed, bound their souls, and assigned them to work in the games without rest.
• Vase Woman, Butcher, the Apothecary, the Flower Tender, and the Sculptor each offered excuses, so Fan Daoyi played Barrier Ghost’s recording blaming them all and left their squabbles to them.

Fan Daoyi left the beginner instance and entered the human world, where he adopted a student identity and began preparing to use Guixu entrances to restore his strength. Meanwhile, the Dragon Group received news that someone had died in the supposedly safe beginner instance and saw a photograph of Fan Daoyi.

• Fan Daoyi ordered the game staff to reform the instances, assigned Xuan Miao to coordinate the work, then left early; the staff concluded he needed fear to restore his damaged origin and decided to keep slacking off.
• Fan Daoyi exited Guixu onto a busy street, vanished after sensing he was being watched, and received a student identity from Xuan Miao.
• Fan Daoyi enrolled at Qingyun City No. 1 High School, used his origin to absorb knowledge from his books, and considered Dawnlight Academy as a route to enter Guixu.
• A man told Xia that someone had died in a green-level beginner instance and that only one person had cleared it; Xia saw a photograph of Fan Daoyi and wondered if he was a Daoist.

Xia Baoguo arranged for He Piaojian to protect Fan Daoyi at school, where He Piaojian confronted a group of black-robed attackers with a shit-smeared mop. The attackers unleashed their abilities, and He Piaojian prepared to fight back in self-defense.

• Xia Baoguo decided to investigate Fan Daoyi while sending someone to protect him, and agreed to assign Dui Lake, who was He Piaojian.
• He Piaojian transferred into Fan Daoyi's class, and Fan Daoyi sensed that he had participated in the game at least five times.
• Fan Daoyi used Xuan Miao to investigate He Piaojian and discovered his two legendary abilities, One Heart of the Sword and Water Too Clear Has No Fish, a Shameless Man Is Invincible.
• Fan Daoyi sensed killing intent and hid on the rooftop as He Piaojian confronted several black-robed figures with a mop and a bucket of foul liquid.
• He Piaojian disarmed the attackers, accused them of breaking the law, and took their weapons, but they attacked him and then activated their abilities.
• He Piaojian declared that he would act in self-defense as the black-robed figures began fighting him.

He Piaojian killed most of the Council Hall assassins who attacked him, but one escaped by hiding in shadows and followed Fan Daoyi. Fan Daoyi trapped the survivor and questioned him about the officials, revealing that he did not know what the title meant.

• He Piaojian fought off the black-robed attackers, killed them, and claimed they had been mistaken for thugs even after they revealed they were from the Council Hall.
• Fan Daoyi arranged for a cleanup team to remove the bodies, and He Piaojian realized one assassin had escaped.
• The surviving black-robed man hid in shadows and followed Fan Daoyi into a deserted alley, planning to assassinate him.
• Fan Daoyi trapped the assassin in the alley’s only patch of shadow and forced him out of hiding.
• The assassin accused Fan Daoyi of killing Parker, while Fan Daoyi asked him to explain what the officials were.

Fan Daoyi killed the black-robed man after tricking him into believing he might join his organization, then tried to turn the corpse’s discovery into a source of fear. After the authorities contained the incident, He Piaojian visited Fan Daoyi in the infirmary and confronted him about the killing.

• Fan Daoyi used shadow needles to kill the black-robed man after extracting fear from him.
• Fan Daoyi anonymously reported the corpse on the school forum, then had Xuan Miao arrange an infirmary alibi.
• Fan Daoyi learned the authorities had quickly suppressed news of the corpse and that his forum account had been banned.
• He Piaojian exposed students who were faking illness to skip class, then showed his official ID to visit Fan Daoyi.
• He Piaojian sat beside Fan Daoyi and asked whether he had killed the black-robed man.

He Piaojian questioned Fan Daoyi about Parker and the dead Council Hall agent, then tried to create incriminating evidence with an edited recording. He Piaojian concluded Fan Daoyi was sharp and used the attack on him to demand compensation from the Council Hall.

• Fan Daoyi admitted responsibility for Parker’s death while describing the guixu events with selective truths and lies.
• He Piaojian recorded and edited Fan Daoyi’s answers to make it sound as if he confessed to killing the Council Hall agent, but Fan Daoyi remained calm.
• He Piaojian told his contact that Fan Daoyi’s admission about Parker could not convict him and that the Council Hall had no direct evidence.
• He Piaojian concealed what he knew about the other attackers and called himself honest, then pointed out that a Chinese citizen had been injured.
• He Piaojian asked his contact for gold coins so he could demand an explanation and compensation from the Council Hall.

He Piaojian secured reimbursement and delivered Fan Daoyi’s compensation, while Fan left the money exposed in his desk to tempt a bullying student into stealing it. After the student repeatedly took bills, Fan prepared to reel him in.

• He Piaojian called Qian Heaven and quickly received reimbursement for his expenses.
• Fan Daoyi’s classmates watched a news report about He Piaojian’s canned-herring attack on the council hall, recognizing him as the blurred informant.
• He Piaojian gave Fan Daoyi a thousand yuan in compensation, and Fan left the cash exposed in his desk.
• A student who bullied classmates stole a hundred-yuan bill from Fan’s desk while the class was away.
• Fan used an invisible red thread to track the thief and watched as he stole more bills on later occasions.
• Fan let the thief continue taking money until his desire overcame his restraint, then prepared to reel him in.

Fan Daoyi pretended to search for the thousand yuan he had secretly given away, while using the thief’s guilt and fear to torment him. The thief woke from a nightmare clutching the stolen money, still haunted by Fan Daoyi’s question about where it was.

• Fan Daoyi searched his desk for the missing money and checked the school’s broken surveillance footage with He Piaojian, who grew suspicious and arranged for the cameras to be repaired.
• Fan Daoyi returned to class and unsettled the thief with a smile and a silent stare, making the thief fear that his theft had been discovered.
• The thief panicked in the restroom when he thought he saw Fan Daoyi in the mirror asking where the money was.
• That night, the thief dreamed that Fan Daoyi showed him evidence of his thefts and pursued him through a world of mirrors into an abyss.
• The thief woke drenched in sweat with the stolen money crumpled in his hand, still hearing Fan Daoyi ask where it was.

The thief was haunted by visions of Fan Daoyi and the money he had stolen, then broke down as Fan Daoyi confronted him with the theft and his death. He awoke in class to find Fan Daoyi playing a video of the theft, unsure whether his terrifying experiences had been dreams or reality.

• The thief saw a rooftop silhouette fall and found the stolen banknotes appearing as spirit money before they changed back.
• Fan Daoyi’s gaze and words drove the thief from class to gather money, and the thief extorted a younger student for the rest.
• The student’s face became Fan Daoyi’s, who confronted the thief and revealed that he had died the previous night.
• Fan Daoyi showed the thief spirit money and accused him of scattering it beside his corpse, while the thief insisted the visions were fake.
• A second Fan Daoyi and an accusing crowd trapped the thief in a vision before he awoke beside his overturned desk.
• The thief saw Fan Daoyi playing a video of the theft in class and wondered whether he could distinguish dreams from reality.

Fan Daoyi trapped the thief in a nightmare until he chose to stay silent, then coughed up blood and was taken to the school clinic. He Piaojian suspected someone had poisoned Fan Daoyi and went to Xia Baoguo seeking a reason to investigate.

• The thief repeatedly died in dreamlike scenes until he learned that acting like a quiet mute kept him alive.
• Fan Daoyi watched the thief settle into silence, then coughed up blood as He Piaojian noticed the smell and took him to the school clinic.
• He Piaojian left Fan Daoyi at the clinic, where the school doctor dismissed him after Fan Daoyi complained that his heart was tired.
• Fan Daoyi rested alone in a grove while He Piaojian left school to meet Xia Baoguo.
• He Piaojian told Xia Baoguo he suspected Fan Daoyi had been poisoned and offered to resolve the trouble surrounding the complaint letters.

Fan Daoyi watched a wealthy student attack a girl in the school grove, then intervened and turned the encounter into a test of the pair’s fear and loyalty. After the boy escaped using a life-saving ability and marked the girl with a tracking light, Fan Daoyi killed her and disappeared before teachers arrived.

• Fan Daoyi woke in the grove and found a wealthy student threatening a girl.
• When the student attacked him with fire, Fan Daoyi took control of the flames and trapped the pair.
• Fan Daoyi gave the girl a dagger and told her he would let her go if she killed the student, but the boy’s shield sent her flying and he vanished after a red tracking light struck her.
• Fan Daoyi told the girl the boy’s family would pursue her, then offered to help by killing her to erase the tracking traces.
• Fan Daoyi burned the girl and disappeared after explaining that he had promised to let her go only if she killed the boy.

As the gaokao approached, Fan Daoyi and He Piaojian investigated the strange death at school and suspected the Four Fiends Cult might be involved. After the written exams, Fan Daoyi entered Guixu with Wang Long and a thief among his targets, while surveillance insects followed the examinees; he made a surprising choice just before entering.

• After Wang Long woke and revealed a mysterious third party had been present, the principal blamed the incident on an intruder and Wang Haotian dropped his complaint against the school.
• He Piaojian returned, questioned students about the burned corpse, and suspected the Four Fiends Cult might be connected to the incident.
• Fan Daoyi completed the three days of academic exams and estimated that his scores would put him around the middle of the pack.
• At the Guixu entrance, the mayor warned examinees against fighting or killing and explained that teachers would monitor the exam.
• Fan Daoyi spotted Wang Long and a thief in his group, noticed surveillance insects following the line, and settled on a surprising choice before entering Guixu.

He Piaojian entered the college entrance exam Guixu as its monitoring system failed, cutting off examinees in every region. While officials prepared for mass deaths and launched rescue efforts, Fan Daoyi manipulated the exam site’s rules and kept the thief’s reason suppressed.

• He Piaojian warned an Azure Dragon Guard to report anything unusual during the exam, then entered Guixu.
• The monitoring insects went haywire at every exam site, and Xia Baoguo prepared for the possibility that no examinees would survive.
• Xia Baoguo received [Four Symbols]’ instruction to speedrun Guixu and wish for a rescue, while members of several organizations rushed to Guixu entrances.
• Fan Daoyi’s rule changes took effect across the copied exam instances after their entrances closed, leaving the examinees unwatched.
• Wang Long rejected an examinee’s suggestion that they get acquainted, and Fan Daoyi claimed the thief was mute and needed special care.
• When an examinee wondered whether the thief would die in the question-and-answer portion, the word suppressed the thief’s returning reason and made him believe he was in another dream.

Fan Daoyi joined Wang Long and the other students as they entered Guixu, where Wang Long chose to ignore the guide and lead them to the office. Fan Daoyi questioned the students’ reliance on guides and noticed signs that the instance had changed, leaving him to wonder how they would respond when familiar rules no longer helped them.

• Wang Long revealed he was the Wang Family heir, drew the students’ admiration, and offered to show them a different Guixu experience.
• Fan Daoyi recognized Wang Long’s hostility but concealed his own intentions as the safe zone disappeared and the school came into view.
• Wang Long proposed going straight to the office instead of following the guide, and most of the students chose to follow him.
• Fan Daoyi joined Wang Long’s group and observed that the school seemed largely unchanged, despite the students ignoring his earlier advice.
• Fan Daoyi questioned the students’ dependence on the guide after noticing that the classrooms had far more girls than boys.

Fan Daoyi discovered that the principal had altered the teachers’ programming to favor Wang Long, then freed Jiang Lin from his dreamlike confusion and hinted that he should find a substitute. Jiang Lin decided Wang Long could take his place, setting their conflict in motion as Fan Daoyi watched.

• A girl abandoned Wang Long’s group and ran back to her classroom after seeing the students and a figure watching them in the darkness.
• Wang Long brought the other students into the office and pressured Fan Daoyi to wait outside, where Fan Daoyi overheard signs that the principal had altered the teachers’ programming to favor Wang Long.
• Fan Daoyi snapped an unseen red thread at Jiang Lin’s neck and asked whether he wanted to escape the dream.
• Fan Daoyi told Jiang Lin he needed a substitute, and Jiang Lin concluded that Wang Long should repay his debt by taking his place in the nightmare.
• The players emerged from the office praising Wang Long, and Fan Daoyi watched as Jiang Lin fixed his feverish gaze on him.

Fan Daoyi took control of the school office, manipulated the discipline committee member, and helped Jiang Lin kill a teacher and take his seat. He then persuaded the girl that several students might have skipped class dishonestly and entered the classroom with Jiang Lin to investigate, leaving the players stunned.

• Wang Long led the students into the classroom while Fan Daoyi stayed behind to face the teacher questioning him.
• Fan Daoyi shut himself in the office and declared class over, after which the girl arrived carrying the teacher's severed head.
• Fan Daoyi gave Jiang Lin a pen and ordered him to kill the teacher posing as a student and take his seat.
• Fan Daoyi led the girl to suspect that one late student and seven students claiming to help the principal had lied about their absences.
• Fan Daoyi and Jiang Lin entered the classroom with the discipline committee member, shocking the players who expected her to kill them.

Wang Long antagonized Jiang Lin and Fan Daoyi, then discovered signs of violence in the teachers’ office and saw Fan Daoyi tending flowers in the garden. That night, a female ghost attacked Wang Long in his dorm, where he remained trapped despite using a defensive item.

• Wang Long harassed a female classmate and tried to sit with the discipline monitor, so Jiang Lin threatened his fingers with a pen at Fan Daoyi’s prompting.
• Wang Long went to the office, found bloodstains, and learned from the remaining teacher that the other teachers had gone home.
• Wang Long saw Fan Daoyi watering flowers in the garden and hurried after the teacher to the dormitory.
• Fan Daoyi remarked that Wang Long’s sins included lust and finished tending the flowers.
• Wang Long shared a dorm room with a girl, whose body shriveled into a skeleton that grabbed him.
• Wang Long’s defensive item shattered the skeleton, but it reassembled and seized him again.