Chapter Summaries

Qu Jianlei interrogated Qi Feixiong, who revealed where Quantum’s Supreme, Steve, was hiding and shared details about Quantum’s forces and headquarters. Qu Jianlei was left intent on pursuing Steve and investigating Quantum.

• Qu Jianlei threatened Qi Feixiong’s family and assets, prompting Qi to cooperate in exchange for their safety.
• Qi Feixiong confirmed Qu Jianlei had killed Zheng Ziyang and revealed that Steve was at Looking River Tower in Three Bridges Garden, near the Papong Black Market.
• Qi Feixiong said Quantum had brought nine people to Second Star: one Supreme and eight A-ranks, including him.
• Qu Jianlei asked for Quantum Group’s headquarters, and Qi Feixiong said its administrative office was in the Bei Hai Star Region, though he did not know the exact location.
• Qu Jianlei asked if Qi Feixiong had anything else to say.

Qu Jianlei killed the remaining two A-ranks, hid their bodies, and infiltrated Three Bridges Garden to hunt Steve. After a long wait, he sensed a powerful Water Attribute mental scan from Looking River Tower and prepared to strike when an opportunity appeared.

• Qu Jianlei killed the Fire Attribute A-rank after the man cursed him, then buried all four corpses and erased traces of their aura.
• Qu Jianlei drove to Papong and cautiously infiltrated Three Bridges Garden, stopping within a hundred meters of Looking River Tower.
• Qu Jianlei waited in hiding through the night, avoiding patrols and keeping his perception restrained as dawn approached.
• Qu Jianlei sensed a faint elemental fluctuation nearby and then detected mental fluctuations coming from Looking River Tower.
• Qu Jianlei recognized the building's occupant as a likely Supreme and Water Attribute user, judged him to be Steve, and remained concealed while waiting for a chance to attack.

Qu Jianlei watched Steve investigate Looking River Tower, weighing whether to kill him as Steve’s unease slowly eased. Just as Steve called one of the four A-rank warriors to search the area, he sensed a strange fluctuation and spotted cold, indifferent eyes in the White Mist.

• Qu Jianlei decided he could wait for days to kill Steve rather than risk attacking in daylight.
• Steve emerged from hibernation, sensed a faint fluctuation, and scanned the area four times with his perception.
• Steve went to the fourth floor of Looking River Tower and used its Night Vision Device to search the surroundings.
• Qu Jianlei stayed concealed, and his decision to wait caused Steve’s unease to fade.
• Steve called one of Quantum’s A-rank warriors to investigate, then sensed a strange fluctuation and saw cold eyes in the White Mist.

Qu Jianlei ambushed Steve with Bewitching Heart and a series of Mental Attacks, then wounded him with Golden Spears. The chapter left Steve disoriented and unable to use his mental defense as Qu Jianlei’s second Mental Attack struck.

• Qu Jianlei used Bewitching Heart to make Steve mistake him for a military attacker.
• Steve tried to counterattack by manipulating water vapor, but Qu Jianlei struck him with a full-force Mental Attack.
• Qu Jianlei recovered from Steve’s mental resistance and fired more than ten Golden Spears, three of which pierced Steve.
• Steve stayed upright despite his dizziness, allowing Qu Jianlei’s Golden Spears to hit him.
• Steve tried to evade Qu Jianlei’s second Mental Attack, but it arrived before he could use his defensive equipment.

Qu Jianlei fought Steve, a Water Attribute Supreme, at Looking River Tower, using Mental Attacks and golden arts but discovering how difficult it was to damage him. Old Lady Jia helped subdue Steve and carried him away with Qu Jianlei, who set the tower ablaze before following her.

• Qu Jianlei struck Steve with a Golden Wheel Slash and a full-powered Golden Arrow, but Steve's body resisted the attacks and he charged after Qu Jianlei.
• Qu Jianlei hit Steve with a third Mental Attack, knocking him down, while the strain caused Qu Jianlei to bleed from his nose.
• As people approached Looking River Tower, Qu Jianlei spread thermite around Steve and prepared to use sedative gas, but Old Lady Jia arrived and said the powder would not easily kill him.
• Old Lady Jia lifted Steve and fled, and Qu Jianlei followed after setting the fourth floor on fire.
• Old Lady Jia asked whether Qu Jianlei had a vehicle, and he released his stolen off-road vehicle and drove them away to find a suitable place.

Qu Jianlei and Old Lady Jia examined Steve after the fight, and she explained the protective talisman and how difficult Supremes were to kill. Their talk turned to Qu Jianlei’s plan to wait for another attacker and to his ideas about cause and effect, leaving Old Lady Jia offering him Steve’s talisman.

• Old Lady Jia found an anchor-shaped protective talisman on Steve and explained that it had given his Water Attribute body extra toughness.
• Qu Jianlei decided to wait for another Supreme rather than investigate the other suspects, then shot Steve to test his durability and ensure he was dead.
• Old Lady Jia explained that Steve could no longer self-destruct after Qu Jianlei destroyed his mind, and she pressed him about his reference to the True Spirit.
• Qu Jianlei told Old Lady Jia about cause and effect and the will of the universe, and she offered him Steve’s protective talisman.

Qu Jianlei and Old Lady Jia went to work after killing Steve and four A-ranks, discussing talismans and the risks of Quantum’s retaliation. While Qu Jianlei inspected his spoils at the library, Quantum’s two agents in Plant City realized their four teammates had disappeared and considered contacting a Supreme.

• Qu Jianlei buried Steve, cleaned up the scene, and drove with Old Lady Jia to the library in her off-road vehicle.
• Qu Jianlei offered Old Lady Jia an Item-Storing Talisman and asked her to explain what she knew about talismans.
• Qu Jianlei told Old Lady Jia he had acted against Quantum because its people had recklessly provoked him, and she warned him not to tell outsiders about his Mental Spell.
• At the library, Qu Jianlei counted his spoils and found a sealed box among Steve’s Energy Blocks, but he postponed opening it.
• In Plant City, Quantum’s two A-ranks failed to reach their four teammates in Greenwater and discussed contacting a Supreme.

The Quantum Group discovered that Steve and four Rank A Warriors had vanished after confronting Black Sky, and its attempts to recover them met fear and refusal. After learning the dispute involved the Electromagnetic Movement Technique, the Teru Consortium agreed to help find the missing people but warned the Quantum Group against starting another fight.

• The Quantum Group learned that Steve and four Rank A Warriors had disappeared, and investigations linked their last known whereabouts to a battle at Looking River Tower.
• The Quantum Group concluded that Black Sky had targeted its members and asked an honorary Supreme expert to investigate, but he refused after hearing the matter might involve the military's forbidden Electromagnetic Movement Technique.
• The Quantum Group offered a reward to recover Steve, but other forces declined to take the job, while the Teru Consortium investigated why the Quantum Group had pursued Black Sky.
• The Nine Lives Cat Fund hinted that Black Sky was suspected of possessing the Electromagnetic Movement Technique, and the Teru Consortium judged that the Quantum Group had been blinded by profit.
• The Teru Consortium offered to help locate the missing people but told the Quantum Group not to provoke another conflict and to negotiate even if Steve had been killed.

After the battle at Three Bridges, Quantum struggled to deal with the loss of its Supreme while its remaining operatives hid in fear. Qu Jianlei tried to conceal his injuries as Sophia, Zi Jiuxian, and Xiang Xue separately brought him news of the incident, and he left with Sophia while Xiang Xue watched.

• The Teru Consortium rejected Quantum's demands, while the authorities refused to help Quantum contact Black Sky and said any Quantum operatives on Second Star would be monitored.
• Four Quantum A-rankers hid in a courtyard in Plant City and asked their group for help escaping the planet.
• Sophia visited Qu Jianlei, noticed his pale complexion, and warned him that the Black Market near Three Bridges had been sealed after a rumored battle between Supremes.
• Zi Jiuxian told Qu Jianlei that a Supreme had gone missing and said she needed to ask someone about it.
• Xiang Xue offered Qu Jianlei a ride and a private discussion, but he chose to leave with Sophia after Xiang Xue tried to intimidate her.

Qu Jianlei recovered from his fight, investigated the sealed box Steve had hidden, and discovered a broken hairpin that Xiao Hu recognized and that repelled his Mental Strength. The discovery left him wondering whether the hairpin came from ancient Shenzhou and what power it had possessed before breaking.

• Xiang Xue warned Qu Jianlei that An Supreme's disappearance and the battle in a busy district would trigger a crackdown, and they agreed to share relevant information while keeping quiet about their cooperation.
• Qu Jianlei rested, gave Old Lady Jia an Item-Storing Talisman, and later opened the sealed box at an abandoned factory without triggering anything.
• Qu Jianlei found an alloy hard hat and a document pouch in the box, then discovered a broken, gourd-tipped rod concealed beneath the hat's lining.
• Xiao Hu reacted strongly to the broken object and showed Qu Jianlei a three-dimensional image identifying it as a hairpin.
• Qu Jianlei sensed that the broken hairpin repelled his Mental Strength and concluded that it was a magical treasure capable of resisting Mental Attacks.

Qu Jianlei let Xiao Hu absorb the energy from the Broken Hairpin, which eased many of his injuries but left the hairpin cracked and powerless. He put the broken pieces and the unopened document pouch away before going to work, where he found Old Lady Jia dozing at the Rare Books Building.

• Qu Jianlei concluded that Steve had likely died without using the Broken Hairpin and considered how the Empire might have damaged it.
• Xiao Hu insisted on taking the Broken Hairpin, and Qu Jianlei used it while meditating in the posture Xiao Hu showed him.
• Qu Jianlei absorbed the hairpin’s cool energy for nearly two hours, easing his headache and healing much of his upper-body soreness and hidden injuries.
• The Broken Hairpin split into two cracked pieces, so Qu Jianlei wrapped them and stored them with the unopened document pouch in his Item-Storing Ring.
• Qu Jianlei went to the library for his cleaning duties and saw Old Lady Jia dozing by the Rare Books Building’s entrance.

Qu Jianlei learned from Old Lady Jia that the Broken Hairpin was a valuable Divine Script artifact from an ancient civilization and that its energy had helped restore him. After leaving the library, he was nearly taken for a thorough investigation, but Old Lady Jia intervened and helped him go free.

• Qu Jianlei showed Old Lady Jia the Broken Hairpin’s remains, and she identified it as a rare defensive artifact worth at least ten Supremes.
• Old Lady Jia explained that the hairpin was connected to Divine Script and that stories also described powerful offensive hairpins.
• After examining the remains, Old Lady Jia asked how Qu Jianlei had damaged them, and he refused to explain.
• Qu Jianlei learned that the hairpin’s energy might have restored him and confirmed that Divine Script belonged to a short-lived civilization.
• City guards and patrol guards began investigating people throughout the Old District, and investigators questioned Qu Jianlei at the library.
• Old Lady Jia called Qu Jianlei to help sort books, and the curator identified her as an A-rank guarding the Rare Books Building, prompting the investigators to let him go.

Qu Jianlei studied Steve’s documents and discovered clues about divine script, Supreme cultivation, and a realm beyond Supreme. He learned that Old Lady Jia had once failed to break through to Above Supreme, then confronted her about it the next day.

• A middle-aged investigative chief warned his team not to provoke Qu Jianlei, explaining that Qu Jianlei had restrained himself despite being powerful enough to defeat Supremes.
• Qu Jianlei reviewed Steve’s documents, confirmed that “Heaven, Profound, Earth, Yellow” was part of divine script, and studied Steve’s cultivation notes.
• Qu Jianlei called for Xiao Hu but received no response, so he stopped studying and turned to Steve’s travel journals and diaries.
• Qu Jianlei found Steve’s diary entry suggesting that a realm beyond Supreme existed and that other Supremes had once denied Steve an opportunity to pursue it.
• Qu Jianlei read that Jia Shuiqing had failed to break through to Above Supreme, then asked Old Lady Jia about her attempt the next day.

Qu Jianlei refused to explain Taoist cultivation concepts to Old Lady Jia, then returned to revising his Defense Array while the Grave Robbers and Greenwater City faced continued scrutiny. Old Lady Jia later warned him that Planet Three's military was seeking him, and the chapter ended with her revealing that a newly advanced Above Supreme from Garbage Star was pressuring Second Star's authorities.

• Qu Jianlei told Old Lady Jia that cultivation required unifying body and mind and condensing Original Self-Awareness, but he refused to explain the concept further.
• Qu Jianlei left the Rare Books Building, and Old Lady Jia decided to seek other methods to learn what she wanted.
• Qu Jianlei completed the third revision of the Defense Array, but he lacked materials to test it and Xiao Hu remained absent.
• Old Lady Jia asked Qu Jianlei whether he had conflicts with Hope Three Star's military and told him Planet Three's military had issued a joint investigation notice seeking him.
• Qu Jianlei connected the military's interest to Pan Yifu's rescue on Zalifu, but Old Lady Jia said an Above Supreme was applying pressure.
• Old Lady Jia revealed that the Above Supreme was newly advanced and supposedly came from Garbage Star.

After learning that military pressure and Kushnier’s interest in Black Sky could threaten his quiet life, Qu Jianlei accepted help arranging a temporary assignment on Fourth Star. He left with Zi Jiuxian, where he encountered Xiang Xue aboard the starship and learned she also seemed to be in a hurry to leave.

• Old Lady Jia warned Qu Jianlei that Second Star’s government was under pressure from the military and Kushnier, then suggested he lie low; she said someone would contact him with arrangements.
• Zi Jiuxian offered to take Qu Jianlei to Fourth Star as a temporary academy assistant on a support mission, and he accepted after learning her great-grandmother had suggested the timing.
• Qu Jianlei completed the temporary employment paperwork, secured two months of leave from Kadani at the library, and boarded a starship with Zi Jiuxian.
• As inspections tightened, Qu Jianlei and Zi Jiuxian used the support mission’s fast lane and entered their room aboard the starship.
• Xiang Xue and her B-rank female guard entered the room; Xiang Xue questioned Qu Jianlei’s trip to Fourth Star and he asked why she was leaving in such a hurry.

Xiang Xue joined Qu Jianlei and Zi Jiuxian’s support mission to the Engineering Academy after leaving Second Star to avoid trouble tied to her father. The group reached Hope Fourth Star and settled in at the academy, where an unexpected arrival upset Zi Jiuxian.

• Xiang Xue volunteered to join the academy support mission as an unpaid teaching assistant, and Zi Jiuxian agreed to try her out for a few days.
• Four days later, Qu Jianlei, Zi Jiuxian, Xiang Xue, and Xiang Xue’s guard arrived at the Engineering Academy in Fengrao and registered their specialties.
• Di Yinyuan welcomed the visitors and offered to arrange a meeting with the Vice Dean, but Zi Jiuxian declined and asked to receive work assignments instead.
• Qu Jianlei and Xiang Xue discussed An Chongfeng, whom Xiang Xue said also liked history, while Zi Jiuxian insisted the academy would deal with him.
• A short-haired man ran up calling out to Zi Jiuxian, who angrily told him to get away from her.

Qu Jianlei began assisting at Engineering Academy’s library, then intervened when students attacked an Awakened student in a grove. He escorted the student away, while Robin Han and the others vowed revenge against him.

• Qu Jianlei met Sally at the library and learned she had awakened after her normal awakening period had passed.
• Qu Jianlei offered Sally suggestions to improve the library, but director Halk did not respond for several days.
• Qu Jianlei heard a student calling for help and entered a grove, where seven or eight students were attacking an Awakened student.
• Qu Jianlei threw the attackers aside and broke Robin Han’s arm, then stopped the student he had rescued from retaliating.
• The rescued student told Qu Jianlei that Robin Han had attacked him over Irina, and the injured students vowed to kill Qu Jianlei.

Qu Jianlei spent a rest day exploring Fourth Star with Xiang Xue, Zi Jiuxian, and the female guard. In a park, two B-rank Ability Warriors ambushed him, and Zi Jiuxian stepped forward to handle the confrontation, saying she had immunity.

• Qu Jianlei reported Irina and Robin Han to the Academy through Zi Jiuxian, but the Academy only warned Robin Han to focus on his studies.
• Xiang Xue invited Qu Jianlei to explore Fourth Star, and Zi Jiuxian joined them to avoid Bella Ni.
• The group visited shops, bought local goods and seasonings, ate at Snack Street, and spent the afternoon in a park.
• A B-rank Fire Attribute user ambushed Qu Jianlei with a gust of wind and drew a Laser Pistol after Qu Jianlei dodged.
• The female guard and Xiang Xue confronted the attacker, then a B-rank Wood Attribute user appeared to back him up.
• Zi Jiuxian arrived, formed Gold Sand Armor, and told the others to leave the matter to her because she had immunity.

Zi Jiuxian, Xiang Xue, Aunt Liu, and Qu Jianlei followed two men outside the city after the men threatened Qu Jianlei over his conflict with Robin Han. When the fight turned against the men, one revealed he was a Patrol Captain, and Xiang Xue used Water Dragon Binding to restrain him.

• Zi Jiuxian refused to fight in the city and followed the two men outside with Xiang Xue, Aunt Liu, and Qu Jianlei.
• The smiling man said they had come because Qu Jianlei had offended someone, and Zi Jiuxian identified Robin Han as the likely reason.
• Aunt Liu attacked Cold Face before he could complete Wood Armor, while Qu Jianlei joined her and cut off half of Cold Face's left fist.
• Zi Jiuxian and Xiang Xue fought the smiling man, and he shouted that he was a Patrol Captain when he saw his companion badly wounded.
• Zi Jiuxian ordered the men to surrender, but Xiang Xue cast Water Dragon Binding and commanded, "No resistance!"

After stopping the fight, Zi Jiuxian confirmed that Smiling Face was patrol captain Gao Telo and questioned him and the assassin he had brought to attack Panda. Qu Jianlei forced the silent assassin, Schleek, to reveal his identity and contract, leaving Schleek alarmed by the power and connections of the people he had targeted.

• Smiling Face identified himself as Gao Telo, and Zi Jiuxian sealed his cultivation and then sealed the Cold Face man's cultivation before allowing Gao Telo to bandage him.
• Zi Jiuxian contacted the academy, which confirmed that Gao Telo was a patrol guard and sent his photo; the group then questioned the two men while waiting for academy personnel.
• Gao Telo said Robin Han's uncle had asked him to teach Panda a lesson, and that he had hired the Cold Face man, though he knew little about him.
• Qu Jianlei reopened the Cold Face man's wound and pressed on it until the assassin agreed to identify himself as Schleek of the Blood Moon Mercenary Group, hired for five Rank B Crystals.
• Schleek explained that he had returned from thirty years of penal service and had only just finished his observation period, while Xiang Xue and Aunt Liu questioned him about Blood Moon's history and leaders.
• Schleek realized that the people he had attacked might be backed by a Supreme and regretted accepting the job.