Chapter Summaries

Jiang Rui climbed to rank 2,365 in the arena with a 100 percent win rate, then stopped matchmaking and went to meet Ye Xiaoqian at an arcade. Ye Xiaoqian challenged him to a match, suggesting that his hidden rating might pair him with top hundred players.

• Jiang Rui reached rank 2,365 after hours of arena battles and realized that his strongest advantages were the Great Sage and Predator.
• After waiting five minutes without a match, Jiang Rui messaged Ye Xiaoqian, who sent him a location pin.
• Jiang Rui found Ye Xiaoqian playing a dance machine at a futuristic arcade and teased her about her skill and record.
• Ye Xiaoqian asked about Jiang Rui's rank and learned he had earned the reward for reaching the top 3,000 with a 100 percent win rate.
• Ye Xiaoqian leaned close and challenged Jiang Rui to play a round together.

Jiang Rui and Ye Xiaoqian met Olyric and Lucy, who were preparing to leave New York after the Night Watch forced Olyric’s family out. Olyric revealed that the Night Watch’s demigod had arrived in New York while the Truth Society’s Hunter stole a sealed artifact in Washington, suggesting the attack had drawn the Night Watch away.

• Jiang Rui and Ye Xiaoqian received Olyric’s call and gave him their location in Entertainment District 56.
• Olyric arrived with Lucy and told Jiang Rui and Ye Xiaoqian that his family was withdrawing from New York.
• Olyric explained that the Night Watch had reached an agreement with his family and that its demigod had come to New York.
• Olyric revealed that the United States military, led by the Iron Throne, safeguarded only three S-rank sealed artifacts.
• Olyric said the Truth Society’s Hunter had stolen sealed artifact S-023 from the Black Night Sanctuary in Washington seven hours earlier.

Jiang Rui, Ye Xiaoqian, and Olyric discussed the Truth Society’s alliance with the Distorters and the attacks on Xia Country. Ye Xiaoqian challenged Jiang Rui to a Void Duel, and they were matched into a ruined city arena.

• Olyric told Jiang Rui and Ye Xiaoqian that New York remained relatively safe, while the Night Watch’s demigod would likely take control when he arrived.
• Ye Xiaoqian explained that the Truth Society had joined the Distorters, but its divided forces and the secrecy surrounding supernaturals kept a full-scale conflict from breaking out.
• Ye Xiaoqian admitted she wished she could take part in the world-shaking events, and Lucy teased her for wanting to risk her life.
• Ye Xiaoqian challenged Jiang Rui to a duel, and the Void Duel matched No. 2365 Moe King against No. 29 Ye Xiaoqian.
• Jiang Rui and Ye Xiaoqian entered a random Doomsday City arena, where Ye Xiaoqian equipped her Type-Moon battlewear and prepared to fight.

Jiang Rui and Ye Xiaoqian fought in the arena, where her sniper tactics and Demon Breaking Bullets pushed him to adapt. After Jiang Rui avoided using Avalon and said he would get serious, Ye Xiaoqian pulled him into the Shadow World and launched an assassin combo.

• Ye Xiaoqian used a feint and Shadow Strike to get behind Jiang Rui and shoot him with a special bullet.
• Ye Xiaoqian followed with Demon Breaking Bullets, while Jiang Rui blocked them by raising a massive ball of earth.
• Jiang Rui admitted his combat experience was lacking and declared he would get serious.
• Jiang Rui summoned Gan Jiang and Mo Ye as Ye Xiaoqian attacked from his shadow and drew him into the Shadow World.
• Ye Xiaoqian clung to Jiang Rui's back through layers of shadows as he shifted into lightning but failed to shake her.

Jiang Rui fought Ye Xiaoqian as her shadow techniques and the arena’s chaos pushed him to unleash powerful abilities. Spectators recognized that Ye Xiaoqian had used woven shadows as bait and that her real attack was still to come.

• Jiang Rui used Great Sage’s calculations to predict Ye Xiaoqian’s dagger attack, then struck her with Fantasy Collapse and a Spiral Sword.
• Jiang Rui’s curses briefly weakened Ye Xiaoqian, but a Holy Bullet and spreading shadows followed as shadow creatures appeared in the arena.
• Olyric met Huoyue in the stands, where Huoyue thanked him for wiping out the Fire Foxes.
• Jiang Rui used Holy Light to dispel the shadows and the creatures that emerged from them.
• A blurry spectator explained that Ye Xiaoqian had woven the Shadow World herself and used shadow bait to make Jiang Rui waste his mana; he said her real killing blow awaited him at dawn.

Jiang Rui defeated Ye Xiaoqian after revealing that she had attacked a clone, while Ye Xiaoqian accepted the loss and considered a new sequence. After reuniting with her companions, she asked her Shadow Church mentor about the sequence that suited her, and the mentor showed her Shadow Weaver.

• Ye Xiaoqian's assassination struck Jiang Rui's clone, but Jiang Rui revealed his real body had been hiding nearby.
• Ye Xiaoqian called Jiang Rui a dog, threw her dagger at him, and admitted defeat, raising Jiang Rui's rank to 1799.
• A spectator messaged Ye Xiaoqian that she should consider a sequence other than Shadow Dancer, and she explained that she wanted to develop all her attributes.
• Ye Xiaoqian reunited with Olyric, Rimuru, and Lucy, then told her Shadow Church mentor that she and Rimuru were companions.
• Ye Xiaoqian asked which sequence suited her, and her mentor displayed Shadow Weaver.

Jiang Rui and his companions returned to New York after the battle and found a contaminated wasteland guarded by the Night Watch. At the family’s gathering, Ye Xiaoqian said goodbye to Jiang Rui and departed with her relatives.

• Jiang Rui, Ye Xiaoqian, and Olyric used team Teleportation to return to New York, where the battle had left a vast, contaminated basin.
• Olyric told the Night Watch that the group were the only survivors and asked where his family was.
• A Night Watch leader escorted them through the dangerous area, explaining that ordinary soldiers guarded its perimeter and that the contamination had spread despite the demigod’s precautions.
• Olyric apologized after Lucy challenged the Night Watch for placing ordinary soldiers in danger, then led the group through a barrier to the waiting family members.
• Ye Xiaoqian said goodbye to Jiang Rui and teleported away with her relatives, while a young man among them nodded to Jiang Rui.

Jiang Rui left Olyric and the others, then returned to his shop in New York disguised as Brent. There he discovered Anna asleep on a sofa behind the bookshelves.

• Jiang Rui declined to leave with Olyric and departed after asking whether the demigod might come after him.
• Olyric learned that the elders had ordered the family to retreat and stop investigating the Esoteric Alliance for the time being.
• Jiang Rui used the Wraith state to conceal himself, circled around, and returned home disguised as Brent.
• Jiang Rui surveyed his renovated shop and reflected on his plans to rest before pursuing further advancement.
• Jiang Rui found Anna sleeping on a sofa behind the bookshelves and slowly reached toward her.

Jiang Rui discovered that a gray mist had affected Anna and many other sleeping people across New York, and suspected a Nightmare was using dreams to search their subconscious minds. He began investigating what the citywide ability was targeting while Anna returned to work.

• Jiang Rui detected a faint gray mist inside Anna, which vanished as she woke, and wondered whether it came from a curse or supernatural contact.
• Anna told Jiang Rui that two people claiming to be FBI agents had asked about him, and offered help from her lawyer family if he had committed a crime.
• Jiang Rui said he had saved two government agents, asked Anna whether she had experienced anything unusual while sleeping, and suspected the mist was connected to dreams.
• Jiang Rui sent a Water Clone to inspect nearby sleeping people and found the same gray mist affecting residents in all four directions.
• Jiang Rui learned that Nightmares could search people's subconscious minds through dreams and wondered what target in New York justified an ability covering the whole city.

Jiang Rui’s quiet office received two visitors, one of whom represented the Iron Throne and delivered an invitation for him to visit a branch office. The envelope also contained a reward and documents confirming his legal identity as Brent, leaving him wondering what the Iron Throne was.

• Jiang Rui and Anna discussed the empty office and speculated about Jiang Rui’s profession while waiting for customers.
• Two suited men arrived, and Anna identified them as FBI before Jiang Rui sensed that the man in sunglasses was supernatural.
• The man thanked Jiang Rui for saving Night Watch personnel and said he represented the Iron Throne.
• He told Jiang Rui to visit a location specified in the envelope and explained that it contained his reward and documents establishing Brent’s civilian identity.
• The man left, and Jiang Rui read the envelope’s seals identifying the Council East Asia Branch and Iron Throne New York Branch.

Jiang Rui learned more about the Iron Throne and the Council while Anna pressed him to explain his work. After dinner, he left Anna at the shop to sort out its accounts, aware she was hoping to investigate on her own.

• Jiang Rui explained to Anna that the Iron Throne was an organization like the FBI, then took her to a nearby coffee shop.
• While working at the coffee shop, Jiang Rui recalled what Ye Xiaoqian had told him and learned that the Iron Throne managed supernatural society in the United States, while the Council was a faction formed by the United Nations.
• Jiang Rui considered investigating nearby homes before Nightmare reached New York, but Anna demanded to know more about his work and he refused.
• Anna treated Jiang Rui to an upscale dinner as an apology for hitting him, then stayed at the shop to sort out its expenses and profits.
• Jiang Rui went upstairs, realizing Anna planned to investigate the shop's documents herself.

Anna inspected Jiang Rui’s document pouch and discovered a mysterious card and a message about the night. A weakened Ascendant girl collapsed into the shop, and Jiang Rui stopped Anna from calling emergency services as the girl revealed herself to be another bat.

• Anna sneaked over to Jiang Rui’s desk and examined his document pouch, finding a card marked 1000, identification papers, and a glowing message that read, “Never do evil. The night shelters you.”
• Anna considered looking through Jiang Rui’s computer, while Jiang Rui learned from Great Sage that a high-energy entity was approaching.
• A pale, petite girl entered the shop and collapsed, and Anna tried to call emergency services.
• Jiang Rui ended Anna’s call and told her to let the girl go, then asked Ciel to check whether anyone was pursuing her.
• The girl rose and tried to intimidate Jiang Rui, but his pressure forced her to retreat, revealing sharp fangs and red eyes.

Jiang Rui confronted a weakened vampire who claimed to be a True Ancestor, while Anna learned that vampires existed. After the girl failed to feed on Jiang Rui, he asked what had brought her to his shop.

• A barefoot vampire appeared in Jiang Rui's shop, and he warned her not to harm his employee, Anna.
• The girl dismissed ordinary vampires and declared herself a True Ancestor, releasing an intimidating vision of her imposing form.
• Jiang Rui recognized that the True Ancestor was weakened by backlash and picked her up, prompting her to struggle and curse at him.
• The True Ancestor bit Jiang Rui's wrist but could not draw blood or magical power from his body, and he tossed her onto a chair.
• Jiang Rui asked the True Ancestor why she had come to his shop in the middle of the night.

Jiang Rui hid the injured True Ancestor vampire inside his body as two Night Watch members investigated his shop. After recognizing his role in saving one of their people, the Night Watch thanked him and told him to collect his insignia at the Iron Throne branch.

• Jiang Rui saw two Night Watch members approaching and offered to help the True Ancestor girl evade them.
• The vampire warned Jiang Rui to stay out of trouble, but he turned into black mist and swallowed her to conceal her from the investigators.
• Jiang Rui reassured Anna, who learned that her boss was a Demon King and that their shop served supernatural customers.
• Two Night Watch members entered the shop and questioned Jiang Rui about its missing insignia.
• Jiang Rui showed the Night Watch his card, and one member thanked him for saving one of their people and told him to collect his insignia at the Iron Throne branch.
• The Night Watch asked about suspicious activity, and Jiang Rui denied noticing anything unusual.

Jiang Rui hid Lilith from the Night Watch and learned that she was a True Ancestor tied to the Esoteric Alliance. He demanded that the imprisoned vampire tell him everything, leaving her fate uncertain.

• The Night Watch questioned Jiang Rui about the vampire but left without detecting Lilith, while Jiang Rui kept her hidden inside a barrier.
• Jiang Rui told Anna that he had saved Lilith because he considered her a good person and warned Anna that her exposure to the mysterious meant she could not simply resign.
• Jiang Rui ordered Anna to serve as his personal assistant and make coffee as Lilith complained from her confinement.
• Jiang Rui realized that the demigod Nightmare's search might have targeted Lilith and wondered why she was being hunted.
• Lilith identified herself as Lilith Yegorovna Ekaterina, the first True Ancestor beneath the progenitor, a representative of the Blood Moon, and a member of the Esoteric Alliance.
• Jiang Rui illuminated the darkness and demanded that Lilith tell him everything, threatening to kill her if she refused.

Jiang Rui negotiated with Lilith, trading blood for her intelligence and a drop of essence blood, then absorbed her power and gained the mutated Sequence 8 Blood Moon Shadow. He left the encounter with several abilities modeled on Lilith, including summoning the Blood Moon, flight, and rank suppression.

• Lilith weighed the danger of provoking Jiang Rui while the Esoteric Alliance faced a siege and refused to yield despite being weakened.
• Jiang Rui offered Lilith coffee infused with his blood in exchange for her intelligence and one drop of essence blood.
• Lilith gave Jiang Rui a drop of her essence blood, which he consumed and analyzed.
• Jiang Rui absorbed Sequence 8 Vampire, which mutated into Sequence 8 Blood Moon Shadow and granted him blood-related traits and abilities.
• Jiang Rui discovered that he could summon the Blood Moon, fly with mana wings, suppress lower-ranking Vampires, and mimic Lilith's forms.

Jiang Rui gained vampire abilities and questioned Lilith about why the world’s forces were hunting her. Lilith revealed that the Truth Society had disrupted her group’s plans and said she would leave for London at dawn.

• Jiang Rui discovered that he had gained a True Ancestor Aura and joked with Ciel about vampire advancement paths.
• Lilith explained that her blood could serve as high-level advancement material, while Jiang Rui teased her and stopped her from drinking his blood.
• Jiang Rui asked Lilith why the Night Watch was hunting her, and she said most of the world’s forces were pursuing her group.
• Lilith said the Night Watch knew her group’s objective and hoped to profit, but the Truth Society disrupted their plans.
• Lilith revealed that Nightmare was a demigod near the peak of Sequence 3 and said she would leave for London at dawn.

Lilith warned Jiang Rui that powerful forces, including Nightmare, were pursuing the Last Piece of the Puzzle, then said she was going to London and would not get involved. Meanwhile, Emily investigated a series of killings targeting Esoteric Alliance members and found no clear explanation; Lilith revealed that even powerful beings had entered the fray at risk of aberration.

• Lilith told Jiang Rui that Nightmare was involved, that its forces were nearing angelhood, and that she planned to leave for London rather than join the conflict.
• Emily arrived at the scene of the twenty-third murder and criticized the police chief and the authorities for withholding information and failing to solve the cases.
• Emily reviewed footage showing a killer who could erase mystical traces but remained visible to ordinary cameras, and she questioned why someone was eliminating Esoteric Alliance members.
• Jiang Rui asked who held the puzzle, and Lilith said she had entered the conflict out of curiosity before realizing that even powerful beings were risking aberration to take part.

Jiang Rui pieced together the forces contending in New York and wondered whether to join their struggle, then endured Iron Throne’s interrogation and received a Night Watch business license. Emily decided not to interfere in another factional clash yet and planned to use The Leaker to find the witch for a talk.

• Jiang Rui wondered whether The Final Piece of the Puzzle was tied to The Truth Society’s plans and whether New York’s chaos was connected to them.
• Lilith dismissed New York as ordinary supernatural-world turmoil, wished Jiang Rui luck surviving it, and flew away as a bat.
• Jiang Rui was seized by Iron Throne personnel, interrogated for three hours, and released with a license bearing the Night Watch emblem.
• Emily criticized the middle-aged man for giving Jiang Rui the answers he needed, but said she would let the men responsible for the decision handle any consequences.
• Emily learned of another factional clash and chose to wait, then directed her companions to use The Leaker to find the witch and arrange a talk.

Jiang Rui considered whether to make Anna extraordinary while Emily recruited Daniel for a dangerous mission. After Anna spent several nights away from home with Jiang Rui, Mr. Smith insisted she come home for dinner, worrying that the young people were not exercising restraint.

• Jiang Rui weighed turning Anna into a vampire servant or helping her obtain a potion or contract, then told her to learn meditation and use Google.
• Emily asked Daniel to find Ascendants for her, but he reminded her that twenty-one people he had introduced had died in her previous operation.
• Emily apologized but said she was a soldier following orders, then forcibly requisitioned Daniel for unpaid service.
• Mr. Smith called Jiang Rui to ask whether Anna would come home for dinner, and Jiang Rui realized he might be warning him off.
• Anna blushed when she remembered she had not gone home for three nights, while Mr. Smith insisted she return and worried that the young people had not taken proper precautions.