Chapter Summaries

Xia Pingzhou's King protected him from Su Zimai's attacks as his Queen Statue drove her to the brink of death. Just as the Queen was about to kill her, Black Cocoon restrained the statue and revealed that Su Zimai was his collaborator.

• Xia Pingzhou's King blocked Su Zimai's fireballs while his Queen Statue and other chess pieces countered her magic creatures and attacks.
• Su Zimai exhausted her magic and panicked as the Queen Statue cornered her, leaving her to fear for her life and remember her brothers, Gu Qiye and Gu Wenyu.
• Xu Sanyan tried to shoot Xia Pingzhou, but the King's barrier stopped his Mist Burst Bullet.
• Xia Pingzhou ordered the Queen Statue to strike Su Zimai, but Black Cocoon bound its arms with Restraint Bands before the dagger could hit her.
• Black Cocoon said Su Zimai was his collaborator, and Su Zimai looked at him through tears and murmured, "...Brother?"

Black Cocoon rescued Su Zimai from the auction house while Xu Sanyan and Lin Zhengquan escaped, and the battles inside the Movie World ended without either side securing a victory. The survivors heard a dragon’s roar from the Mirror World as Black Cocoon left Su Zimai safe in a Tokyo bookstore and went to find Blue Arc.

• Black Cocoon used a stored transport ability to evade Oda Takikage and carry Su Zimai out of the auction house.
• Xu Sanyan covered his and Lin Zhengquan’s retreat with mist, and the two escaped while Oda Takikage, Xia Pingzhou, and Lan Duoduo stayed behind.
• Bloodline and Ayase Origami fought Ke Qirui in the Movie World, then let her leave after Black Cocoon reported that he had rescued Ke Zinan.
• Ke Qirui returned to the auction house as the Movie World collapsed, and the group heard a dragon roar from the Mirror World; Lan Duoduo suspected it was Red Dragon Wales.
• Black Cocoon brought Su Zimai to a bookstore, where she thanked him and fell asleep after he left to look for Blue Arc.

Blue Arc fought Urushi Haramichi’s Troupe members while Li Qingping battled White Greedy Wolf in the Mirror Auction hall. As both fights escalated, Li Qingping summoned an Epoch-Grade Anecdote, and a dragon’s roar rang through the hall.

• Urushi Haramichi revealed that the Mirror Guardian was dead and the Mirror World exit was sealing, forcing Blue Arc to consider using the Troupe’s door to return for Wheat.
• Urushi Haramichi sent Jack the Ripper, Anluns, and Andrew against Blue Arc, while White Greedy Wolf confronted Li Qingping and the Second Prince.
• Blue Arc endured the Troupe members’ attacks, then struck Anluns and Ripper with a surge of electricity, leaving both badly injured.
• Li Qingping summoned four Popular-Grade Anecdotes against White Greedy Wolf, who destroyed the lantern, the circus joker, the wedding-dress woman, and the Volcano Giant.
• Li Qingping drew and crushed an orange-patterned card, revealing an Epoch-Grade Anecdote as a dragon’s roar filled the auction hall.

Urushi Haramichi identified the sleeping Zhou Jiuya while Li Qingping and White Greedy Wolf unleashed a devastating clash inside the Mirror Auction House. Blue Arc was overwhelmed and feared Wheat was dead, but Ghost Bell arrived as time stopped and threatened the troupe members who surrounded him.

• Urushi Haramichi learned that Zhou Jiuya was protected by the Nameless Ark and ordered Oda Takikage to approach him through the shadows, but the golden barrier forced Oda away.
• Li Qingping transformed into the Red Dragon Wales phantom, and White Greedy Wolf revealed his Heavenly Day Wolf form before their collision cracked the Mirror World.
• Blue Arc escaped the Mirror Auction House badly wounded, but Andrew's bullet shattered his arm and sent him crashing into the real-world auction house.
• Surrounded by troupe members, Blue Arc asked where Wheat was, and Xia Pingzhou told him that she had left; Blue Arc then sank into despair as he thought about his family and the people he had failed to save.
• A clock tower appeared and stopped time just as the troupe members prepared to kill Blue Arc, and Ghost Bell appeared before him and threatened to slaughter anyone who touched him.

Ghost Bell fought the White Crow Troupe to protect the badly wounded Blue Arc, but Urushi Haramichi and Oda Takikage used Blue Arc to corner him. Black Cocoon then revealed that he had taken Robert hostage, leaving the Troupe Leader facing another threat.

• Ghost Bell arrived, stopped Blue Arc's bleeding, and attacked Ripper and Anluns after identifying Ripper as the one who had wounded Blue Arc.
• Urushi Haramichi sent Lan Duoduo, Andrew, Xia Pingzhou, and Ayase Origami to the Mirror World, then ordered Ripper, Bloodline, and Anluns to fight Ghost Bell while he maneuvered with his crows.
• Ghost Bell used his clock tower's time-stop ability and shadow to injure Ripper and Anluns and fend off the Troupe's attacks.
• Urushi Haramichi deduced that the clock tower stopped time for one second every ten seconds, while Ghost Bell's shadow protected the tower and Blue Arc.
• Oda Takikage appeared behind Ghost Bell and held a Katana to Blue Arc's throat, exploiting Ghost Bell's need to protect him.
• Black Cocoon revealed that he had restrained Robert and threatened to kill him if Urushi Haramichi or the Troupe approached.

Black Cocoon forced the White Crow Troupe to exchange Blue Arc and Robert, escaping with Blue Arc and Ghost Bell through a door made with Robert’s stolen power. Back in the Mirror World, the troupe watched Li Qingping’s Heavenly Day Wolf battle the Red Dragon until a figure seated in an untouched chair awakened.

• Black Cocoon suppressed Robert’s powers, stole his ability to create wooden doors, and negotiated an exchange while threatening Robert’s life.
• Urushi Haramichi accepted Black Cocoon’s terms, and Oda Takikage exchanged Blue Arc for Robert as Ghost Bell waited in the rain beyond the door.
• Black Cocoon pulled Blue Arc through the door and escaped with him and Ghost Bell before Oda Takikage could free Robert.
• Urushi Haramichi sent Robert and the injured Ripper to a safehouse while the other troupe members returned to the Mirror World.
• Hacker reported that he had stored the auction goods, and the troupe watched Li Qingping’s Heavenly Day Wolf fight Red Dragon Wales while protecting the Second Prince.
• Urushi Haramichi noticed that a figure seated in an untouched chair had awakened.

Zhou Jiuya woke during the Mirror World auction and forced the White Crow Troupe to surrender two antiques and Oda Takikage’s life. After the survivors escaped, the chapter ended with Black Cocoon offering Ghost Bell a chance to cooperate.

• Zhou Jiuya pinned White Greedy Wolf beneath the Nine Dragons Cauldron, demanded the Moonlit Thousand Bird Mirror and Wind God Thunder Drum, and took both antiques with his Tonggu Compass.
• Zhou Jiuya demanded Oda Takikage’s life, and Lan Duoduo died when a bronze pillar crushed her as Ayase Origami tried to protect Oda Takikage.
• Oda Takikage approached Zhou Jiuya to spare the troupe, and Xia Pingzhou knocked Ayase Origami unconscious before Zhou Jiuya killed Oda Takikage.
• Urushi Haramichi used his crow to recover White Greedy Wolf, then led the White Crow Troupe out of the collapsing Mirror World while Li Qingping carried away the unconscious Second Prince.
• Zhou Jiuya exchanged messages with Ke Qirui and found a Playing Card bearing a threat that all four Lake Hunt members would die at their next meeting.
• Black Cocoon told Ghost Bell that Blue Arc was in the Exorcist Association’s care and offered to help Ghost Bell survive, reach the top of the world, and take revenge if they cooperated.

After the auction operation, Ji Minghuan claimed rewards for Unit 1 and Unit 2, improved Black Cocoon’s attributes and skills, and returned with the surviving White Crow Troupe members to Oda Takikage's Cafe. He fell asleep beside Ayase Origami, leaving the creation of Unit 3 for the next morning.

• Ji Minghuan used Black Cocoon to get warm milk from an izakaya, then returned to the hotel and claimed rewards for three completed Main Quests.
• Ji Minghuan raised Black Cocoon’s Spiritual, Strength, and Speed attributes and learned Restraint Belt Blade, Restraint Belt Torrent, and Capacity Enhancement.
• Ji Minghuan synchronized with Unit 2, Xia Pingzhou, and used the Bishop Statue to heal Anluns and Jack the Ripper after the White Crow Troupe left the auction venue.
• Ji Minghuan carried the unconscious Ayase Origami through Robert’s door back to Oda Takikage's Cafe, where Hacker messaged Xia Pingzhou about splitting the proceeds from the auction items.
• Ji Minghuan claimed Xia Pingzhou’s quest reward and postponed creating Unit 3 until morning before falling asleep beside Ayase Origami.

Ji Minghuan upgraded Xia Pingzhou’s skills before he and Ayase Origami prepared to flee Tokyo after the auction massacre. As they left the Cafe, Ayase Origami called him by name for the first time and told him not to die.

• Ji Minghuan saw that Xia Pingzhou’s codename had changed to “White Crow Troupe Member No. 12: 'Chess Player,'” then used all three Skill Points to learn Cavalry Training, King of Puppets, and Demon Hunter.
• Xia Pingzhou found Ayase Origami examining Taki Kage’s repaired reading glasses, and they spoke about Taki Kage, Lan Duoduo, and the danger of seeking revenge.
• Xia Pingzhou told Ayase Origami that the underworld was searching for them and that Hacker had prepared a Human-Snake Ship for their escape from Tokyo.
• Ayase Origami said they would leave after packing and invited Xia Pingzhou to buy clothes with her, but he said they should wait until they had left Japan.
• As they departed the Cafe, Ayase Origami called him Xia Pingzhou and told him not to die.

Ji Minghuan created his third Game Character and chose Yagubalu, a juvenile Eternal Abyss Shark who had infiltrated the Whale Garden Box as the Third Prince’s pet. He selected the Whaler Hunter path, and the system began sending Yagubalu into the Whale Garden Box.

• Gu Qiye told Ji Minghuan that the Gu family would leave Japan at noon and asked him to invite Wheat to return with them, but Wheat declined.
• Ji Minghuan, Gu Qiye, and Gu Zhuoan boarded a plane home while Ji Minghuan’s second body traveled toward Venice with Ayase Origami.
• With all his bodies safely occupied, Ji Minghuan spent nine Split Points to begin creating his third Game Character.
• Ji Minghuan chose the rare character Yagubalu, the last juvenile Eternal Abyss Shark, whose mission offered a chance to devour the Legendary Whale or protect the Whale Garden Box.
• Ji Minghuan selected the Whaler Hunter growth path, and the system began generating Yagubalu and preparing to enter the Whale Garden Box.

Ji Minghuan entered the body of Yagubalu, a palm-sized shark disguised as a Nobe Shark, and learned that it had infiltrated the Whale Garden Box to devour the Legendary Whale. He gained Cesar’s trust and received a new quest to protect the Third Prince from his brothers’ assassination attempts until August 1.

• Ji Minghuan loaded Yagubalu’s memories and learned that the shark could change its size and appearance, and had once grown to a hundred meters long.
• Ji Minghuan learned from Yagubalu’s memories that the frail Third Prince Cesar was twelve, isolated in his bedroom, and had little experience of the outside world.
• Cesar picked up the Crystal Ball, and Yagubalu spoke to him, claiming to be a vegetarian shark and asking him to bring Anecdote Fragments from the palace vault.
• Cesar agreed to secretly bring Yagubalu Anecdote Fragments and received a Pigeon Messenger letter announcing that Li Qingping had returned.
• Cesar left to fetch Li Qingping, while the system marked Ji Minghuan’s trust-gaining quest complete and assigned him to protect Cesar from the First Prince and Second Prince until August 1.

Ji Minghuan explored Yagubalu’s growth system and learned that the shark could grow by devouring Anecdote Fragments, then spent time with Cesar in the Whale Garden Box. As Cesar confided his admiration for Li Qingping, Li arrived at the Floating City.

• Ji Minghuan raised Yagubalu’s Strength to D+-rank, learned Surging Dark Tide, and discovered that devouring Anecdote Fragments would enlarge the shark and could awaken powers.
• Cesar told Yagubalu that Li Qingping was delayed after an auction in Tokyo, and admitted he wanted to leave the Whale Garden Box and see the outside world.
• Cesar brought Yagubalu to the terrace, showed him the floating islands and Royal Court Hall, and explained that the hall held Era Grade Anecdote Fragments belonging to deceased Royal Court Team heroes.
• Cesar described Li Qingping as the only person who understood him, praising his talent and recounting how he had left the Whale Garden Box at twelve to find the Era Grade Fragment Red Dragon Wales.
• Li Qingping’s Undying Bird flew to the terrace, and Cesar spotted Li waiting at the entrance to the Floating City.

Cesar revealed that he had bonded with the Era Grade Christmas Sleigh and reunited with Li Qingping, who told him about life outside the Whale Garden Box. After Li Qingping left, Ji Minghuan considered the danger facing Cesar and planned to enlist the White Crow Troupe using the treasures in the Royal Treasure Vault.

• Cesar summoned his Christmas Sleigh and took Li Qingping for a ride above the Whale Garden Box, while the Nobe Shark secretly insulted Li Qingping in Mandarin.
• Li Qingping returned with Cesar to his bedroom and told him about the Tokyo Auction, his friend Gu Wenyu, and his plans to stay in the box for a while.
• Cesar said he had bonded with the Christmas Sleigh at age nine, though he remained a D-Rank Anecdote Envoy and wanted to explore the outside world rather than seek power.
• After Li Qingping departed, Ji Minghuan warned Cesar cryptically that he needed to survive and considered using Yagubalu to fight the Royal Court Team.
• Ji Minghuan decided to bargain with the White Crow Troupe by offering treasures from the Royal Treasure Vault and bring them into the Whale Garden Box.

Ji Minghuan learned that Cesar’s father was bedridden with an illness linked to Bernardo Edward and that the White King Scepter made the throne highly coveted. When an assassin entered Cesar’s bedroom, Yagubalu killed him and warned Cesar that his brothers were behind the attack, but Cesar dismissed the warning and went back to sleep.

• Cesar told Yagubalu that his father was gravely ill, that the Holy Grail might cure him, and that the White King Scepter was hidden in a treasury only a ruler could open.
• Cesar described the Anecdote Academies and said his butler taught him at the Floating Castle.
• After Cesar fell asleep, Yagubalu left the Crystal Ball and spotted a masked intruder approaching the castle on Floating Stairs.
• The intruder summoned a werewolf, but Yagubalu swallowed it, killed the man, and devoured the Werewolf fragment, increasing his True Size by two meters.
• Yagubalu told Cesar that his brothers had arranged the assassination, but Cesar refused to believe him and fell asleep again.

Su Zimai told Ji Minghuan that she was an Exorcist and demonstrated how her Magic Glove could transform a pigeon into a giant monster. Ji Minghuan learned that she had kept her identity secret for half a year, while Gu Zhuoan watched news about the White Crow Troupe’s attack in Japan and recognized its leader.

• Ji Minghuan warned Gu Qiye and Gu Zhuoan that Su Zimai was home, and Gu Qiye decided they should act naturally rather than confront her immediately.
• Ji Minghuan tried to greet Su Zimai, then asked what an Exorcist was; she invited him upstairs to explain privately.
• Su Zimai explained that Exorcists fought demons and hid their existence to prevent public panic, then admitted she had been an Exorcist for about half a year.
• Su Zimai revealed her Magic Glove and demonstrated its powers by turning a pigeon into a gigantic monster outside her window.
• Gu Zhuoan watched a report about the White Crow Troupe’s attack on the Japanese underground auction and vowed to catch its leader, Urushi Haramichi.

Su Zimai told Ji Minghuan about her dangerous work as an Exorcist and her search for answers about her mother’s death. After Ji Minghuan’s staged fall frightened her, they reconciled, then Su Zimai remembered she was late for dinner with important people and took him along.

• Su Zimai told Ji Minghuan she became an Exorcist to meet someone from Rainbow Wing and learn why her mother died, and asked him to keep her secret.
• Su Zimai explained that Ke Qirui had suspected Ji Minghuan was Blue Arc, while Ji Minghuan said Black Cocoon had also tricked him.
• Ji Minghuan pretended to fall from the rooftop, and Su Zimai used her Magic Wardrobe to save him before panicking when she thought he was hurt.
• Ji Minghuan reassured Su Zimai, and she calmed down enough to laugh with him as they sat together above the city.
• Su Zimai remembered she was late for dinner with important people and brought Ji Minghuan along, planning to leave him outside the restaurant.

Su Zimai and Ji Minghuan joined Ke Qirui for dinner with Lake Hunt members Zhou Jiuya and Zhuge Hui. Ji Minghuan learned that Rainbow Wing member Urushihara Ruri might be connected to Sodalitas Salvifica and considered whether that connection could give him leverage over Urushi Haramichi.

• Su Zimai went to meet Ke Qirui while Ji Minghuan waited nearby, hoping to observe Lake Hunt without revealing his Black Cocoon identity.
• Ke Qirui invited Ji Minghuan to join her and Su Zimai for dinner, and they met Zhou Jiuya and Zhuge Hui in a private room.
• Ke Qirui introduced Su Zimai as a fast-rising exorcist, and Zhuge Hui praised her talent before asking about Ji Minghuan.
• Zhou Jiuya and Zhuge Hui discussed Lake Hunt's strength compared with Rainbow Wing, and Zhuge Hui said Urushihara Ruri's ability countered his.
• Ji Minghuan recalled that Urushihara Ruri had requested a meeting with the Instructor and wondered whether she was linked to Urushi Haramichi and Sodalitas Salvifica.

Ji Minghuan learned that Lake Hunt planned to confront the Nian Beast and that the White Crow Troupe’s new No. 5 would meet the group in Venice. Back in Sodalitas Salvifica’s prison, he was assigned a mission to capture Red Light and learned that Sun Changkong would soon visit him.

• Zhuge Hui told Ji Minghuan that Lake Hunt planned to enter the mountains and curb the demons’ growing boldness, especially the Nian Beast.
• Ji Minghuan returned home with Su Zimai, while Xia Pingzhou and Ayase Origami traveled by smuggling ship toward a flight to Venice, where the Troupe’s new No. 5 awaited them.
• Instructor told Ji Minghuan that his first mission was to capture the deranged Exorcist Red Light, whose real name was Shi Yimin, and bring him back if possible.
• Ji Minghuan suspected Red Light might be bait and considered finding him first to set an ambush that could protect himself and Kong Youling.
• Instructor said Sodalitas Salvifica was still tracking Red Light and told Ji Minghuan that Sun Changkong, the Mythic-Grade Anecdote Great Sage Equaling Heaven, would soon come to see him.

Ji Minghuan met Sun Changkong, who revealed that she carried the Mythical Fragment of Great Sage, Heaven's Equal Sun Wukong and could use its first layer of power. As Sun Changkong showed him her Somersault Cloud, Ji Minghuan suspected Sodalitas Salvifica had deliberately caused the children's tragedies to make them dependent on the organization.

• Sun Changkong entered the Imprisonment Room, and Ji Minghuan learned she was a girl who carried the Mythical Fragment of Great Sage, Heaven's Equal Sun Wukong.
• Sun Changkong explained that Sun Wukong had once lost control and killed her parents and an entire village before the Instructor brought her to Sodalitas Salvifica.
• Ji Minghuan suspected Sodalitas Salvifica had engineered the children's traumatic pasts to make them accept its control, then asked Sun Changkong whether the organization had helped subdue Sun Wukong.
• Sun Changkong said the Instructor had taught her to seal the stronger layers of her power, and she agreed to protect Ji Minghuan on their upcoming mission.
• Sun Changkong summoned her Somersault Cloud, invited Ji Minghuan to ride it, and pulled him aboard as it shot toward the room's ceiling.

Ji Minghuan and Sun Changkong rode her Somersault Cloud through the Imprisonment Room and became friends as they talked about guilt, trust, and their pasts. Sun Changkong returned to her room, while Ji Minghuan went to sleep thinking about his Unit 2’s arrival in Venice and his heart still held by Ripper.

• Sun Changkong carried Ji Minghuan on her Somersault Cloud, and he joked with her about being feared as a world-destroying villain.
• Sun Changkong told Ji Minghuan that she blamed herself for the deaths of her adoptive family after bonding with Sun Wukong’s Anecdote Fragment.
• Ji Minghuan reassured Sun Changkong with a joke about destroying the world and said he wanted white hair to resemble a friend; the two introduced themselves and agreed to be friends.
• Instructor ended their conversation, and Sun Changkong helped Ji Minghuan down from the cloud before leaving the Imprisonment Room.
• Ji Minghuan watched television, worried that Xia Pingzhou had not reminded him to retrieve his heart from Ripper, then fell asleep in his Spirit World.