Chapter Summaries

After Gwendolen was shot, he and Qu Jianlei argued over whether Qu had released a recording that might expose the Stahl Family’s retaliation. Gwendolen fainted, and his sister Glady took charge, ordering his guard to offer Qu a refund for the recording.

• Qu Jianlei denied fabricating the recording and taunted Gwendolen that releasing it could make him safer, enraging Gwendolen until he fainted.
• Glady arrived at the hospital and demanded a list of suspects, then questioned the guard about Panda and the recording.
• After learning Panda had defeated Smiling Face and was not easily intimidated, Glady ordered the guard to offer him a refund in exchange for the recording.
• The guard hesitated because Gwendolen never refunded money, but Glady ordered him to deduct it from Gwendolen’s account and said she would handle any complaint.

Qu Jianlei met with Glady, Gwendolen’s older sister, who came to buy his recording for five hundred thousand credits. Their discussion turned to the Stahl Family and information Qu Jianlei had about possible threats, but he kept the details to himself and suggested Glady investigate who had been asking about the family.

• Qu Jianlei refused repeated calls about the recording until Glady arrived at the library with two B-rank guards and offered to buy it.
• Glady ordered the C-rank guard to pay Qu Jianlei five hundred thousand credits from Gwendolen’s account, while refusing to lend her brother any money.
• Qu Jianlei agreed to provide the recording only after receiving payment, then warned Glady that the Stahl Family had connections across star regions and was dangerous to provoke.
• Glady pressed Qu Jianlei for more information, but he withheld what he knew because he did not trust her or want the information to leak.
• Qu Jianlei suggested Glady investigate who had recently been asking about the families, and she agreed to look into it.

Qu Jianlei took the assassins’ proposed attack on the city seriously and captured them before they could act. In the underground chamber, he questioned the surviving woman, who realized that the intelligence behind their mission had badly underestimated him.

• Glady paid Qu Jianlei five hundred thousand in cash for the recording and asked him to deal with the assassins, while Gwendolen fainted after hearing about the money.
• Qu Jianlei went to the resort hotel and overheard the assassins discussing plans to cause a Fire Explosion before heading to the academy.
• After the assassins fell asleep, Qu Jianlei used repeated Mental Attacks to incapacitate the man and knock out the woman.
• The woman woke in an underground chamber with her cultivation sealed and learned that Qu Jianlei had captured her and removed her belongings.
• Qu Jianlei refused to spare the woman, then revealed that he was No Attribute and could use both fire and electricity as well as powerful Mental Spells.

Qu Jianlei learned how the two assassins had been hired and why the Stahl Family’s lack of local support had pushed them toward a hardline plan. After questioning the female counselor, he killed her, destroyed the scene, and left with a few unusual instruments.

• The female counselor explained her background, her partnership with the male assassin, and how the Stahl Family’s limited cooperation had led them to favor killing their opponents.
• Qu Jianlei realized the Stahl Family had withheld the local context the assassins needed, though he mistakenly believed they had deliberately chosen to eliminate him and other families.
• The counselor confirmed that the middle-aged assassin was dead and described how the pair found assignments through intermediaries connecting legitimate clients to the Black Market.
• She revealed the Black Market’s location and the intermediary’s name, hoping the information would help her survive, but Qu Jianlei killed her and destroyed the scene.
• Qu Jianlei left with little money or useful equipment, but took several rare instruments from the counselor’s Item-Storing Talisman.

Qu Jianlei stayed out of the investigation after eliminating the two assassins, while their disappearance exposed the Stahl Family’s plot and prompted pressure from the authorities. The Stahl Family began sending younger members away, but Heltman’s men blocked their departure, leaving the family increasingly cornered.

• Qu Jianlei decided not to tell Glady about the assassins and continued watching events unfold rather than risking harm to ordinary people.
• The Stahl Family, Pollyanna, and the Ye Family learned of the two assassins’ disappearance, and clues linking them to Gwendolen’s attack made them suspects.
• Glady informed Heltman, who had a trusted subordinate contact the people from the Skybow Star Region; their coded reply convinced the Stahl Family that the assassins had lost control of their fate.
• The Stahl Family tightened security and faced accusations of breaking its agreement, then began planning to disperse its members and send younger relatives to another star region.
• The Stahl Family sent four children and two adults away under the guise of tourism, but Heltman’s men stopped a later group of eight at the port over incomplete paperwork.

The Stahl Family collapsed after the death of Rommel and a crackdown ordered by the Second One, while Qu Jianlei watched without intervening. Glady questioned him about the missing Psychological Counselors, and the Engineering Academy approved and began work on the library renovation.

• Glady alerted her husband after the Stahl Family tried to flee Fourth Star, and the guard captain restricted their departure; the family then announced that Robin Han had killed himself.
• Rommel refused Pollyanna’s demand that he confess and proposed seeking the Third Boss’s protection, but an intruder killed him in his room.
• The Fourth Boss ordered an investigation, and the Second One had patrol guards arrest Stahl Family members; the family’s assets were divided among rivals, leaving Qu Jianlei to watch its collapse.
• Glady asked Qu Jianlei whether he had been responsible for the missing Psychological Counselors, but he denied understanding her question; she offered him a favor before leaving.
• Halik approved the library rectification proposal, and staff finalized a renovation plan that the academy approved using the library’s own funds.
• Halik brought a construction crew to the library and ordered work to begin the following day.

Qu Jianlei spent his days reading while the library was renovated, then went shopping with Xiang Xue, Aunt Liu, and Zi Jiuxian to buy materials for his Defense Array. After cooking dinner for them, he revealed that he suspected military personnel had been watching their group.

• Qu Jianlei refused Halk's request to supervise the library renovations and borrowed books to read in his dormitory.
• Qu Jianlei went shopping with Xiang Xue, Aunt Liu, and Zi Jiuxian after the Stahl Family's collapse eased the danger of leaving the academy.
• Qu Jianlei searched for scarce array materials, and Xiang Xue offered to provide whatever he still needed for free.
• Aunt Liu urged the group to return to the academy before dark because unrest had worsened Abundance's public security.
• Qu Jianlei cooked dinner for the three women, who nearly finished all four dishes and the soup.
• Qu Jianlei told Aunt Liu that he thought military personnel had been watching them, while Zi Jiuxian said the military often communicated with the academy.

Qu Jianlei and Xiang Xue tested a Defense Array at Green Water Academy, where a Wood Attribute officer confronted them and tried to recruit them for military research. After they refused, he reported their work to a military research leader, who ordered him to bring a miniature camera on his next visit.

• Qu Jianlei spent several nights testing the Defense Array while Xiang Xue bought materials and kept curious onlookers away.
• A Wood Attribute officer recognized the array and challenged Xiang Xue about researching it without military authorization.
• Xiang Xue invoked Green Water Academy’s Old Dean, and Qu Jianlei refused the officer’s offer to join a military research institute.
• The Wood Attribute officer called a military research leader and described the array as an outdated defensive mechanism being researched by two teachers.
• The research leader ordered the officer to recruit Qu Jianlei and Xiang Xue, even forcibly if necessary, and told him to bring a Glimmer miniature camera next time.
• The officer warned that Qu Jianlei was B-rank and that a confrontation could draw the Engineering Academy’s A-rank members.

Qu Jianlei and Xiang Xue were attacked by a Wood Attribute A-rank soldier who had previously shot at Xiang Xue. Qu Jianlei resisted the soldier’s Mental Attack and kept him from escaping, until Cheng Qingshan arrived.

• Xiang Xue caught Yi Suo watching Qu Jianlei set up formations with a Low-Light Camera, and the School Protection Team checked his identity before he stopped coming.
• A different soldier confronted Qu Jianlei and Xiang Xue, and Qu Jianlei recognized him as the Wood Attribute Warrior who had shot at Xiang Xue.
• The Wood Attribute Warrior’s Mental Attack failed against Qu Jianlei, while Qu Jianlei’s improvised defense drained much of the attacker’s Mental Strength.
• Xiang Xue fired a Three Stars Arrow as Qu Jianlei used his dagger and positioning to keep the Wood Attribute Warrior under pressure, and Aunt Liu arrived to protect Xiang Xue with Wood Armor.
• The Wood Attribute Warrior drew a Laser Pistol but could not create an opening as Qu Jianlei struck him again, and Cheng Qingshan arrived.

Cheng Qingshan intervened when an A-rank Wood Attribute Warrior attacked Xiang Xue and fought Qu Jianlei and a Water Attribute teacher at the academy. After capturing the attacker and ordering an investigation, he accompanied Qu Jianlei to put away his experimental materials and ask him about his work.

• Cheng Qingshan watched Qu Jianlei and the Water Attribute teacher suppress the Wood Attribute Warrior before firing a tracking Golden Arrow to stop the fight.
• The Wood Attribute Warrior released a cloud of smoke and tried to escape, but Cheng Qingshan tracked him down and wounded him until he surrendered.
• Xiang Xue told Cheng Qingshan that the attacker was not a soldier and admitted she intended to kill him later because he had tried to assassinate her twice.
• Cheng Qingshan sealed the Wood Attribute Warrior's cultivation and ordered the School Guard to take him away carefully, while Xiang Xue warned against healing him.
• Cheng Qingshan told Qu Jianlei to make a statement, then agreed to accompany him to put away his experimental materials and ask about his experiment.

Cheng Qingshan questioned the captured A-rank Warrior about his attack on Xiang Xue and learned that her family’s Supreme had killed one of the Warrior’s relatives. After investigating Qu Jianlei’s connections, Cheng Qingshan discovered that Jia Shuiqing was Zi Jiuxian’s great-grandmother and wondered who the other notable people connected to her were.

• Cheng Qingshan spoke with Qu Jianlei about his array and Mental Attribute armor, then asked Xiang Xue why the A-rank Warrior had attacked her.
• The A-rank Warrior admitted that Xiang Xue’s family’s Supreme had killed one of his relatives, but he refused to identify the Supreme.
• Cheng Qingshan learned that the A-rank Warrior knew Qu Jianlei only as an administrator at the Old Town District Library and that Xiang Xue had been recognized from a previous battle recording.
• Cheng Qingshan called to buy information about Jia Shuiqing’s current connections and received an encrypted file two hours later.
• Cheng Qingshan discovered that Jia Shuiqing was Zi Jiuxian’s great-grandmother and noted that four people in the file were remarkable.

Xiang Xue refused to let military officers take her away without showing authorization, and Cheng Qingshan arrived to challenge their demand. The confrontation ended with Military Discipline Officer Gavin asking whether Cheng Qingshan was obstructing a military operation.

• Xiang Xue said she would not let the suspect go unpunished, while Qu Jianlei continued developing a Defense Array that could withstand multiple Rank B attacks.
• Cheng Qingshan told an array expert about Qu Jianlei's work, prompting the expert to seek an introduction and an intelligence broker to ask about the Engineering Academy.
• That night, two military armored vehicles arrived at the wasteland, and Aunt Liu covered Xiang Xue, herself, and Qu Jianlei with Wood Armor.
• Gavin demanded that Xiang Xue come with the military for questioning, but she refused and demanded to see his authorization.
• Cheng Qingshan arrived and urged Gavin to question Xiang Xue there; Gavin accused him of obstructing a military operation.

Gavin came to question Xiang Xue about the disappearance of Jettell, an A-rank penitent who had tried to assassinate her, but Cheng Qingshan warned him that powerful Supremes stood behind the academy staff. Gavin learned the circumstances of Jettell’s disappearance but found no evidence connecting Xiang Xue’s family to it, leaving her uncertain whether her father had acted.

• Cheng Qingshan warned Gavin that Xiang Xue and the other academy staff had formidable backing, and Gavin agreed to question them without escalating matters.
• Gavin revealed that the military was investigating the disappearance of an A-rank warrior, and Zi Jiuxian and Cheng Qingshan recognized the missing man as Jettell.
• Gavin explained that Jettell had disappeared near a hospital after leaving his belongings in storage, leading the military to suspect he had not fled voluntarily.
• Xiang Xue said she had remained at the academy and refused to answer whether her family’s Supreme was involved, since Gavin had no evidence against them.
• Gavin asked whether Xiang Xue feared Jettell might harm her if he had escaped, and she said he had failed to kill her twice before.
• Xiang Xue decided to ask her family that night whether they had acted, while suspecting her father might have ensured Jettell would not survive.

Gavin failed to investigate Xiang Xue and Panda, while the military began courting them over their array research. Hals visited Qu Jianlei regularly, and his mention of an incoming delegation from the Planet Three War Zone left Qu Jianlei startled.

• Gavin confronted Xiang Xue and Cheng Qingshan about Jettell’s disappearance, but left without getting answers from them or Panda.
• Gavin learned that Xiang Xue and Panda had been researching arrays, then told the deputy commander that the investigation was blocked by the Academy Faction.
• The deputy commander discovered that Xiang Xue and Panda were visiting instructors and learned that they had helped suppress Jettell.
• Hals visited Qu Jianlei and Xiang Xue to offer military support for their array research, but Qu Jianlei refused to share details or accept recruitment.
• Hals continued visiting Qu Jianlei over the next five days, then mentioned that a delegation from the Planet Three War Zone was arriving, startling Qu Jianlei.

Qu Jianlei learned that the Empire’s war zones inspected one another’s arsenals and asked Zi Jiuxian to gather information about the Third War Zone. After studying details about Kushnier’s loyalist Wei Shile and several rare-attribute warriors, Qu Jianlei spotted a potential lead in the name Tesla.

• Hals explained that the Great War Zones regularly exchanged information and inspected one another’s arsenals, while Qu Jianlei questioned the system’s critics.
• Qu Jianlei asked Zi Jiuxian to discreetly gather general military information with a focus on the Third War Zone, and she sought help from her great-grandmother, Old Lady Jia.
• Old Lady Jia sent Qu Jianlei information on the Third War Zone’s leaders, including Supreme Deng Xisi and Rank A Wei Shile, a loyal former assistant to Kushnier.
• Qu Jianlei considered how to target Wei Shile without harming innocents or alerting Kushnier, but he could not devise a suitable plan.
• Qu Jianlei noticed Tesla’s name in the information and became interested in the Stone Attribute Rank B.

Ke Pulin and Conwell went shopping in Fengrao City with military escorts, where a suspicious shopkeeper and a Rank C man tried to exploit them. Qu Jianlei, Xiang Xue, and Aunt Liu witnessed the confrontation, while the academy had been told that Jettell would never appear again.

• Ke Pulin persuaded Conwell to go out shopping with her, and the Inner Guard assigned soldiers to escort them.
• The group found Fengrao City disorderly and encountered people who watched them with ill intent.
• Ke Pulin haggled over Rouge Jade, but Dull Blade urged her to leave after receiving a communication.
• A Rank C Earth Attribute man confronted the group, demanded compensation for wasting the shopkeeper's time, and backed down when Dull Blade invoked the mutual inspection.
• The shopkeeper told the man that Dull Blade had treated Ke Pulin with particular respect, and he threatened to investigate.
• Qu Jianlei, Xiang Xue, and Aunt Liu watched from nearby after going out to buy formation materials, and Xiang Xue had been told Jettell would never appear again.

Qu Jianlei became interested in a C-rank Light Attribute soldier and sought a discreet way to approach the Third War Zone, while Xiang Xue and Aunt Liu agreed to help. Days later, mysterious packages delivered to three Third War Zone A-ranks revealed an internal matter, and Supreme Deng Xisi allowed Fourth War Zone officer Gavin to observe under threat of consequences if he revealed anything.

• Qu Jianlei sensed Conwell’s Mental Coercive Pressure and learned that a nearby short female soldier was a C-rank with a Light Attribute.
• Qu Jianlei asked Xiang Xue to find Light Attribute cultivation methods and arrange discreet contact through the Third War Zone; Aunt Liu agreed to use underground channels while avoiding the Fourth War Zone.
• On the fourth day, Wei Shile and two other Third War Zone A-ranks received packages whose delivery had escaped surveillance.
• After the packages were inspected, Wei Shile and the other recipients reacted to their contents, and Wei Shile approached the only A-rank who had received no package.
• Gavin demanded to observe the Third War Zone’s internal matter, and Deng Xisi permitted him to stay while warning him not to leak anything.

Wei Shile investigated Tesla after an anonymous report accused her of colluding with Space Pirates, and the evidence led him to order her interrogation and torture. While he took a break at a restaurant, he disappeared on the way to the restroom, and another man sent to look for him also failed to return.

• Gavin and the Third War Zone's Rank A members confronted the female Rank A, and Deng Xisi arrived to guarantee her as the group investigated the matter.
• Wei Shile took charge of the anonymous report, verified its detailed evidence, detained Tesla, and placed the female Rank A under house arrest.
• After reviewing the evidence, Wei Shile recognized the sensitivity of Tesla's military position and authorized the interrogators to torture her when she denied the accusations.
• Wei Shile warned Tesla that the Space Pirates had sold her out and that the military had located one of her contacts, but she continued to deny being a spy.
• Wei Shile went drinking at a restaurant with colleagues and guests, then disappeared after leaving the private room to use the restroom.
• A Rank B went out to search for Wei Shile but did not return, prompting the others in the private room to suspect something was wrong.

After Wei Shile and a Rank B subordinate vanished, the Fourth and Third War Zones searched for them and debated whether a Supreme or Space Pirates were responsible. Qu Jianlei revealed that he had killed the two men and that his plan to divert attention toward Tesla had worked so well that it brought Supreme Kushnier to Hope Fourth Star.

• Wei Shile and a Rank B subordinate disappeared from the hotel, prompting soldiers and Supreme Deng Xisi to search Fourth Star without finding them.
• The investigators considered Wei Shile’s enemies and suspected a Supreme might have killed him, then focused on possible Space Pirate retaliation because he had been interrogating Tesla.
• Deng Xisi ordered Tesla’s interrogation intensified to identify whether the Space Pirate force she had colluded with included a Supreme.
• Qu Jianlei explained that he had used information about Space Pirate spies to divert the exchange delegation’s attention, then killed Wei Shile and the Rank B who arrived afterward.
• Qu Jianlei returned to the academy, but four days later Supreme Kushnier arrived on Hope Fourth Star.

Kushnier arrived on Fourth Star to investigate Wei Shile’s disappearance, but his attempts to control the investigation met resistance. Qu Jianlei grew wary of Kushnier’s motives and asked Xiang Xue to gather information about him; Aunt Liu found a lead but could not pursue it further.

• Kushnier questioned Deng Xisi about whether a Supreme was involved in Wei Shile’s disappearance, then investigated Wei Shile’s circumstances and found no obvious reason he had been targeted.
• Kushnier tried to reopen the package investigation and interfere with Tesla’s interrogation, but the Third and Fourth War Zones blocked his efforts.
• Kushnier searched Fourth Star with his perception for two days, found no trace of Wei Shile, and pushed to have the Third War Zone lead inspections of outgoing flights.
• Hals complained to Qu Jianlei about Kushnier’s actions, prompting Qu Jianlei to consider that Kushnier might have a larger plan.
• Qu Jianlei asked Xiang Xue to investigate Kushnier, and Aunt Liu agreed to make inquiries on his behalf.
• Aunt Liu returned the next afternoon with useful information about Kushnier but said she could not pursue it any further.